PETONE TECHNICAL SCHOOL

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7024, 12 January 1910, Page 6

PETONE TECHNICAL SCHOOL

The Petone Technical School Board met last night. There were present the .chairman (ICev. A. Thomson), and Messrs Castle, McKenzie, Lodder, i'indlay, and Duncan. The secretary was directed to write to the subscribers asking- them to nominate their representatives on the board for the ensuing year. It being reported that school boys were making use of the wood workroom during the holidays, and were neglecting to make it secure on leaving, it was resolved that no scholars be permitted to use any of the school property except when accompanied by a responsible teacher. The director submitted his annual re-, port —the sixth since the establishment of the school. Most of the classes, it was mentioned, had been better filled than in the previous year, whilst one additional class had been started. The total number of entrants in the several classes was 239, as against 136 in 1908, and 189 in 1907. The aid; class was being filled by the granting of a number of free scholarships to promising pupils from the primary schools. Very successful day classes for woodwork and cookery, for primary school scholars, were also being held. The number of entrants in the- various classes for the year had been—English 31, Latin and book-keeping 26, mathematics 41, short- ; hand and typewriting 30, carpentry and architectural drawing 25, dress-cutting 17, mechanical drawing 13, art 16, electricity 10, plumbing 22, sign writing 8. Extracts from the. reports of individual instructors were appended. The report of the instructor in mechanical drawing and machine construction stated that one student (Mr C. Marsden) had passed his examination as third engineer, whilst six had entered for the next South Kensington examination. Referring to the carpentry class the chairman sai-d that it was inevitable carelessness must manifest itseSlf (as mentioned in the report) if the students •were not asked to work with some object in view. He thought the students should be •, encouraged to enter for the South Kensington examinations. The art students, too, he would like to see entering for the City and Guilds examinations as in. the Wellington school. The director said he was not in a .position to set the programme for the arts instructor. He would undertake to consult the carpentry instructor with a view to the chairman's suggestion being given effect to.