HIGH SCHOOL BOARD.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 3331, 5 December 1883, Page 2

HIGH SCHOOL BOARD.

The annual meeting of tho High School Board was held last evening in the Secretary’s office. Present —Archdeacon Harper, Dr Lovegrove, Rev, W. Gillies, Messrs J. H. Sutter, J. C. McKerrow, S. W. Goldsmith, J, ManChester, J. Jackson, J. Talbot. return op members. The Secretary read the official declaration of tho return, on 28th ult., of Archdeacon Harper, Dr Lovegrove, Messrs J. Manchester, J, O. McKerrow, J. Talbot, as members of the Board. ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN. Mr McKerrow proposed, and Dr Lovegrove seconded —“ That Archdeacon Harper be appointed Chairman for the ensuing year.” Carried unanimously. In assuming the Chairmanship, Archdeacon Harper expressed his thanks to the Board for the honor conferred upon him. He said he had felt reluctant to assume the position, on account of the work and responsibility it entailed, but he had been prevailed upon to accept these, and he should do his best to discharge his duty fairly. He trusted the Board would, one and all, work harmoniously for the good of the school. (Applause.) REPORTS. Mr Gillies, on behalf of tho SubCommittee, reported that it had been decided to recommend that the holidays commence on 7th inst., and terminate on January 28, also that the midwinter or half-term holidays be curtailed. The report was adopted. The report of the Prize Committee was to the effect that they had purchased the prizes, keeping within the limits of the sum voted by the Board, viz., £4O. Messrs Hutton’s gold medals it was proposed to award to tbo most proficient boy and girl, in commercial and domestic education respectively, as discovered by a special examination by the Rector to-day. There had been some confusion about the medals, owing to its not having been specified what class of pupils were to be eligible. The Sub-Committee now proposed to get out of the difficulty by having a special examination, the marks for which were to be added to the marks gained at the professorial examination, The Committee acknowledged the receipt of £1 from Mrs Oramond towards class prizes, and two prizes for needlework from Mesdames Plante and Jackson. Mr Gillies had contributed two prizes, to be awarded to the boy and girl coming next the scholarship winners. The report was adopted.

Mr Gillies read the reports of Inspectors Brown and Shand, of which the Sub-Committee recommended copies should be appended to the prospectus. Professor Brown reported at very considerable length. The following extracts will serve to indicate the tenor of his report:— “ December Ist, 1883. “To the Chairman of the Board of Governors of Timaru High School.

“ Sir, —I have the honor to submit my report on tbo work of the Timaru High School in Classics, French, English and History. Speaking of the school as a whole, I find the subject that is best done is French, if the pronunciation be omitted. After that come Latin and history. These three subjects attain an average decidedly above that of a good secondary school in the colonies. The subject which stands lowest is English, chiefly through tho very low percentages obtained in composition. But the grammar is so good that it quite makes up for this failure, and leaves the English about equal to the average of a good secondary school. “ Comparing the two sides of the school, I find that if the four subjects betaken together, the girls get almost the same percentage as the boys—a little above 50 per cent —and in any examination such an average is an excellent one. The girls surpass the boys in Latin by Gi per cent; tho boys surpasss the girls in English by 2 per cent, and in history by 6:, per cent, while the two sides are equal in French, each attaining an average of 541- per cent ******

All through the school, the weak point is, as I have said, the composition. Few of the pupils have any idea of consecution in writing or of punctuation, whilst a large number seem quite incapable of appreciating what a sentence is. If a little more of the time which is evidently given to parsing and theoretical grammer were given to the practical application of grammatical rules to composition, this evil which is a widespread one amongst secondary schools in New Zealand, would rapidly disappear. If teachers would spend twice as much time as they do at training their scholars in ready manipulation of their own language in writing, there would be fewer failures in examinations, and perhaps fewer in practical life; for where two candidates in examination, or for success in life, are equal in acquisitions, it is power of expression that differentiates the successful from tho unsuccessful. To express ideas fluently and well in written language is the one accomplishment without which all others arc lost,”

Professor Brown, in reviewing tho French classes and History, speaks in terms of unqualified praise, concluding as follows: “I have criticised tho school with all tho more candour, and indicated its weakness with all tho more pointedness, that I feel it can well afford such criticism, holding as I am convinced by tho examination it does, a good position among the boys’ high schools of the largest towns in Now Zealand. If it continues to do as good work as it has done this year, and try to remedy the faults L have pointed out, its pupils will bo able to hold their own with those of tho host Now Zealand schools.

“ Before closing I should like to say one word in praise of the discipline of the school. I spent three days in it, occupied in oral examination, and during all this time all the classes wore con-

ducted, without exception, with the most perfect order. An excellent tone holds throughout the school; the pupils seem to respect their teachers as teachers should be respected, while discipline is kept without any effort on the part of the teachers. “ I append to this report tables which show at a glance the comparative position of each class in each subject. In one column I state the average percentage obtained by each elass ; in a second, the work done during the session; in a third, the hours per week spent on the subject; in a fourth the number of pupils present at the examination, and in a fifth the number in the class. In the first of the tables will be seen in brief a comparison of the work of the whole school on its two sides.

“Professor of English and History “ Canterbury College.” Professor Shand thus reported on the Mathematics, Arithmetic and Geography —“ Sir, —I have the honor to report that on the 21st and 22nd ult. I examined the High School in the subjects assigned to me, namely, Mathematics, Arithmetic and Geography. The higher classes in all the subjects were examined by means of written papers, the same papers being set for the two sides of the school. As it was not possible for me to bo present in all the rooms in which the examination was being carried on, the Rector placed each of the classes under examination in the charge of a member of the staff who was not the master or the mistress of that class. In this and every other respect, the arrangements made were entirely satisfactory and the perusal of the papers has given me no grounds for believing that any communication or copying took place among the pupils.” Of the Mathematical work generally, the Professor writes in very favorable terras. Ho adds :—The highest mathematical class contains, on the boys’ side, two pupils, and on the girls’ side, three pupils. Both of the boys and one of the girls have road as far as the limits prescribed for the competition for University scholarships, and the papers set to them contained questions up to these limits. As the results of the examination of this class will be of particular interest to the Board of Governors, I give in full the percentages of the marks obtained by the pupils : CLASS lII.—MATHEMATICS. Boys.

These figures seem to me to bo highly satisfactory. “In arithmetic I examined the two lowest classes on both sides, orally. Class 1., both of boys and girls, did fairly well; but Class II did not come up to my expectations, being indeed very little better than Class I. The paper set to Class 111 was well answered by a few of the boys, Guscett heading with 92 per cent of the marks; the class, however, has a bad “ tail,” the influence of which brought down the average marks to 42£. The girls are more equal, none of them being so good as the best boys nor so bad as the worst. Their marks in the same paper reached an average of 45|, which is a fair result, seeing that they did not profess to have done quite as much as the boys. A paper ranging over the whole subject of arithmetic was set to Classes IY and V on both sides of the school, this paper was very well done by the boys, two or three of the best virtually clearing it, and it was well done by the girls. The following are the average percentages : —Class IV— Boys, 69; girls, 52£, Class V—Boys, 93 ; girls, 68.

Classes 111. and IV. on both sides I also examined oralty, giving them examples to be worked on their slates, with a view of testing their quickness and accuracy. Class 111. did rather poorly ; Class IV. much better, but still not quite so well as in their written papers, probably for the reason that they are less accustomed to this style of examination.

In geography all the classes were examined by means of written papers, One paper was set for classes 1., 11., and 111., on both sides of the school. The easy questions which were within the reading of the two junior classes were fairly answered by them, the girls being quite as good as the boys. The boys and girls of Class 111. only were expected to answer the whole paper, and the marks obtained by them averaged 57 per cent for the boys and 45 per cent for the girls. A more difficult paper was set for Classes IV. and V., and it was well answered by a good proportion both of the boys and girls. The average marks obtained were 55| per cent for the boys, and 54 per cent for the girls. “It gives me pleasure to add that, notwithstanding the two or throe weak points noted above, the general impression produced on my mind by the whole course of the examination is a highly favorable one. The discipline and tone of the school, which almost surely go hand in band with efficiency, seemed to be all that could be desired. With regard to the two highest classes, to the condition of which one naturally attaches the greatest importance, I was happy to find them on both sides of the school a good deal stronger in all their subjects than I had ventured to expect, and it reflects credit alike on the governing ho ly, the Rector, and the teaching staff that so high a standard should already have been reached in a school so recently established. “ John Shand. “Dunedin, December Ist, 1883.” The reports were received with much satisfaction ; and members referred with pleasure to their exhaustive character. The report of the sub-Oommitteo recommending that the reports in full be appended to the prospectus for the ensuing year, was unanimously adopted, and a vote of thanks, in addition to their fees, was passed to Professors Brown and Shand.

The Rector’s report was then road. It was to the effect that tho attendance remained at 88, that all arrangements had been made for speech day; and that Mr Miller was well-deserving of the increase of salary sought by him. Mr Sutter moved, and Mr Gillies seconded—‘‘That Mr Miller be awarded a bonus of £25 for extra services, BOARD MEETINGS. Mr McKerrow proposed that the Board should not meet with so much frequency as had been hitherto tho custom. Ho thought onco every throe months would be enough ; if there were any special business, a special meeting could at any ho called, on tho requisition of two or throe members. Power could be conferred upon certain members and tho Secretary to pay salaries, &c.

The suggestion which was favorably received, was held over for further consideration. SPEECH DAY. It was resolved that the Chairman and the Mayor should address the meeting at the distribution of prizes, and that the class prizes should be distributed by the chairman and the snorts prizes by a lady. ACCOUNTS. Accounts to the amount of £329 15s 9d were passed for payment. MISCELLANEOUS. Mr Gillies offered to work out a table of percentages, (to be kept for reference by parents) in connection with the late examination of the school by the professors. The offer was accepted with hearty thanks. On the motion of Mr McKerrow (ho meeting adjourned till the 18th inst.

PERCENTAGES FOR WHOLE SCHOOL. Boys. Girls. Total. Latin 46i 53 50 French 5H 54| 54jEnglish 49 47 48 History 53 4 Qi 50 All four subjects 50| 50J 50| “ (Signed) J. M. Brown

TrigoEuclid, Algebra, nometry. A 67 81 69 B 61 79 71 Girls. L 62 64 — M 43 50 — IS 50 64 40