KING EDWARD TECHNICAL COLLEGE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20592, 15 December 1928, Page 23

KING EDWARD TECHNICAL COLLEGE.

The annual breaking-up ceremony of the lung .Edward Technical College took place in Burt Hall yesterday afternoon, when there was a large attendance of parents and visitors. The chairman of the Board of Governors, Sir. T. Scott presided. Mr Scott welcomed those present, and mentioned the fact that the school completed 30 years of work on that day. He could look back to personal contact with the school for a period of 26 of those years, for IS of which he had had tlie honour to be chairman of the board. During Lis connection with the board of managers, he had seen the inaguration of the’ free place system, the commencement of day technical classes, and the creation of the Technical High School, He felt proud to-day of the fruit borne of the labours of those stalwarts who worked before bis time and with him, as -he .saw an institution in, full'vigour, that numbered 600 full-time pupils and counted in the community as a secondary school of the first rank. The total number of students for whose education the Dun-. edin Technical School Board was wholly responsible had now practically reached the 2000 mark—l3Bl in evening classes and 635 in the Technical High: School, less SO transfers from _ one institution to the other, or 1936 in all. It was no small tribute to the far-sightedness of the board of managers that the buildings it then designed had proved so far 'quite equal to tlie demands made on them in 14 years of rapid, growth, but the board felt it was’again time to make plans for a greater future, ■ Within a few weeks, half an acre of land behind the school would come into the possession of the board, and during the poxt session it should be rapidly made available for a boys’ play area—a necessity which was long overdue. He was more pleased on that account to learn of the schools’ continued improvement in out-door games, a technical high school of some 600 students had a claim to- be regarded as a separate entity, so that its importance ought not be lost sight of in the large institution which the board of managers controlled, therefore the. board had consented to permit the Technical High School to adopt new colours, .navy bluo, fawn and white, and a new two-colour badge in Although three new teachers were added to the staff in 1927, the work of this session had laid too heavy ’a burden upon the permanent staff, and he was glad to say that the Education Department, recognising this, was prepared ,to endorse the appointment of two more teachers atonce., At least one of ' these should be appointed immediately school re-assembled.' ’ . Following the chairman’s remarks the Rev. A. Mead delivered a' brief address. He congratulated the scholars on ’their scholastic as well as educational achievements during the past year. He emphasised the importance of sport as an educational factor, and said that, in his opinion, it was one of the greatest aids of all to education, in that it brought them to realise when they, went out into the world that, they should play a team, game with their fellow men and women. He reminded the children that they were the builders of the New Zealand of the future, but before they could do that they first must build a fine character. For the third year in succession, said the principal (Mr W. G. ’Aldridge) ; he was pleased to report a record enrolment in tlie .Technical High School —a rise in three years from 390 to 635. For the first time in the history of the school the demand on space had been as great during the day as in the evenings. With the exception of the commercial course, there had been growth in every department in the school, but most particularly in the domestic, where the number of entrants jumped from 38 to 69. An attempt wajs made at the time of enrolment to divert from the full commercial course'all those pupils who could not undertake to remain for two years, as well as those who did not actually intend to seek a livelihood as skilled office assistants. A course known as the general business course was. opened for such as expected to become employed in shops and warehouses. He was glad to say that parents took full advantage of the opportunity so offered, enabling' them to conduct separately two varieties of commercial course within the school. At the same time there was a falling off in the total enrolments for commercial work, of which the cause appeared later, when over a score of young girls attempted to enrol for a commercial course in evening classes. He felt it his _ duty seriously to warn parents against such a course of action. To snatch from only evening instruction enough commercial knowledge to hold her own against a girl trained full time in the day required of a ghT such an unusual combination of ability, will power, and strong physique that TO cases out of 20, were doomed to failure from the start. In their own full-time course, on the other hand, he had been highly gratified with the progress made. Like all 'technical high schools, they reacted very quickly to fluctuations in the prosperity of the town and district. Seaking generally, parents had been markedly anxious during the past two years to take the first opportunity jof employment for their son or daughter, and in consequence the average length of stay of pupils at the school, though improving, still remained too short. Although they lost a fair number of junior pupils in 1 1927 to employment, not a- great number left during- tlie Christmas holidays, and a number of parents were almost in despair of finding employment at the beginning of this year. The tide turned definitely about six months ago, since when pupils had been securing employment in increasing numbers, until only 450 remained for annual examinations. Under ideal conditions, no pupil would leave the Technical High School before completing two. full years’ attendance. This state of things was still far off. but the board had decided to mark its belief in its desirability by not awarding hereafter a Technical High School certificate to any pupil of less than two years’ standing. How much greater the establishment should be permitted to grow was an open question, but for his own part he counted it still a pi i\ ilege to assist in the development of such a vigorous scion of the country’s educational stock, partly because of th tt intrinsic interest and value of the work but no less because of the excellent corporate feeling which it seemed invariably to engender among the members of ones staff.

The various awards won during the year were then presented, and at the conclusion of the ceremony the visitors and parents were entertained at afternoon tea by the staff. During the afternoon the school choir rendered several numbeis, and Miss Edna Dry, who also acted as accompanist, played a pianoforte solo.