SCHOOLS IN WAIKATO.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18629, 9 February 1924, Page 10

SCHOOLS IN WAIKATO.

EXTENSION AT LEAMINGTON OPENING BY MINISTER. NEEDS OF OTHER SCHOOLS.■ j [BI TKDSGBAPH.— COMLBgPOKDKNT.] CAMBRIDGE. Friday. The additions to. the Leamington State School were formally opened to-day by the Minister for Education, Hon. C.' 3. Pare. The Minister welcomed to the district by Mr. F. Lye, M.P., who thanked Mr. Parr for his assistance in obtaining the grant for the present additions. The Minister, in replying to the welcome, referred to his old associations with the district. He paid a tribute to the work of the' old pioneers of the district. 'As Minister, for Education, he said, it was his duty to facilitate and foster the growth of the school work of the Dominion. The annual education bill, he said, was now ?£ millions sterling, but he considered that every penny had been Well spent. It had been his aim to do the best possible for the teachers in the way of increased ( salaries,, particularly to the country teachers. In respect to provision «or facilities for teaching country children, the Auckland Education Board had helped him considerably. Three deputations from the committees cif .other school districts were afterwards received by Mr. Parr. The Rotorangi committee asked that a grant be made for school extensions on the grounds of overcrowding. The Minister stated that, having visited the school that morning, he did not think there was excessive overcrowding at present. However, he noted that the primer class was large for a school of that size, and he would recommend to the Cabinet that a grant bo made for an extension of the present room at both ends, with a partition in the centre of the building. The Kaipaki committee asked for a new teacher's residence inplace of the present very old building. The Minister advised the committee to place the matter before the Education Board. If the board considered . the matter an argent one he would give it fair consideration. * The Cambridge committee asked whether an exchange could be arranged with the Department of Agriculture for a property of seven acres in Clare Street, owned by the department, for four acres of the present school site. The present site of the school was practically in the heart of the town, and was twicei the value of the property of the Department of Agriculture. The committee was desirous of placing all the school facilities of the borough upon one site. The Minister agreed to consult the Minister for Agriculture on the subject. . . NEW JULTAMATA SCHOOL. OPENING CEREMONY TO-DAY. The new Matamata School, to be opened by the Minister for Education this afterjiioon, is later intended for a Technical College, but will at present be used for the accommodation of the pupils of the high school. It is an attractive looking building standing in most ideal surroundings—the immediate vicinity being an old residential site—well planted with trees and ornamental shrubs. The school is built on a terrace overlooking the south end of Matamata but with an easterly aspect. • There is ample room for playing fields, the ground comprising about a dozen acres altogether. . • The • building which is a commodious and' well-appointed one, is nicely finished with plaster ceilings and panelled walls..'. » is also fitted for electric light. ' .