HIGH SCHOOL JUBILEE.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 April 1935, Page 6

HIGH SCHOOL JUBILEE.

The golden jubilee celebrations of the New Plymouth Girls’ High School are a landmark in the history not only of Taranaki but of New Zealand, for a school of its size i that is handling ’ and moulding each year the raw material of 300 women citizens cannot be other than a very significant institution. The High School is not a large school, but it has proved itself in general an admirable institution, and in particular a progressive place of learning sensitive to the needs of the area which it serves. The occasion of its golden jubilee is a reminder of the fine record Taranaki possesses in education matters. Fifty years ago the school opened with a roll number of 20 pupils, but the fact that there were more girls seeking admittance than could be accommodated showed that it did not open too soon. Since the first day in 1885 it has gone steadily ahead, more swiftly perhaps in the last decade because its foundation had been so firmly laid by scores of generous women and hundreds of loyal pupils. In a jyoung country and in a pioneer province it stands as a memorial to the power that enthusiasm and courage have in beating down obstacles. On the scholastic side the school has already won a high place; in . sport its representatives have been able to hold their own with most opponents. Ultimately it is not, however, the shining brilliance of the few or the magnificent successes of this. or that team that will bring honour to the school. It is the sound average intelligence and the clean sportsmanship of the vast majority who pass quietly and profitably through their school life without the floodlight of publicity upon them. A school must be judged by the actions of those who, after leaving it, settle down to create and shape a new generation, and whole success or failure will reflect uncompromisingly their early training. The high school is building for itself a fine tradition, not merely in stone and land, but it lives and personalities. As such it is of inestimable value to the community.