HIGH SCHOOL AT ELTHAM.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 September 1934, Page 4

HIGH SCHOOL AT ELTHAM.

Whatever may be the result of the suggestion that a High School be established at Eltham there is no question but that the Stratford High School Board and the principal of the Stratford High School, Mr. A. H. R. Amess, are approaching the matter in the right spirit. As the board’s principal expert Mr. Amess has stated the case for a continuance of the existing arrangements, whereby pupils from Eltham attend the Stratford High School, with clarity. But he admits there are other factors to be taken into consideration, and the board’s acceptance of the suggestion made by Mr. Amess, namely, to discuss the matter with the Eltham School Committee, was quite a wise course to take. The board and the residents of Eltham have one aim in common. They desire to give the pupils in the Eltham district the best facilities obtainable for their secondary education. The arguments in favour of larger rather than smaller high schools were well stated to the Stratford board, and there is no doubt they will be carefully considered at Eltham, as well as the alternative, a junior high school, suggested by Mr. Amess. It can be left to the good sense of both localities to see that no spirit of parochialism is allowed to sway the decision arrived at. Eltham’s desire to be fully equipped in regard to education establishments can be fully understood, and however satisfactory the train services may be the fact of pupils travelling by railway to school undoubtedly adds to the anxieties of many parents. That and other reasons for the establishment of a local high school will doubtless be placed before the proposed conference of the school authorities concerned by the representatives of the Eltham district, and it should not be difficult to decide which course is the best to take in the interests of the pupils. That, after all, is really all that matters. The suggestion made by a member of the Stratford board that the conference should be open to the Press has much to commend it. The matter is one of public interest to two important districts, and the more freely it is discussed the more likely is public opinion to stand behind the wisest proposal.