JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19436, 23 October 1925, Page 10

JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS

SUGGESTED ESTABLISHMENT IN

DISTRICT. MATTER REFERRED TO EDUCATION DEPARTMENT. The Senior-Inspector of the Wanganui Education Board, (Mr I'. G. A. Stuckey) recommended the board, at Wednesday night's meeting, to consider the ‘establishment of Junior High Schools in this district. The inspector proposed that the Department be approached with a view to the conversion into Junior High Schools of Victoria Avenue School, (Wanganui), and Central School Palmerston North as from 1* ebruary 1 next. These schools would take all the Standard V and Standard VI pupils in their respective towns, involving a re-

distribution STnong the remaining schools of the Standard IV pupils from the two schools affected. In Palmerston North a new school would probably be required on the site, for which the board was now negotiating, or, possibly, extension of one or more of the existing schools. Tn Wanganui it would probably be necessary to add a room to Queen’s Park and to admit infants to the school, and also to make Central Infants' School a full school—at present it is was carrying only half its capacity. This, with tho opening of schools at Tawhero and St. John’s Hill, would probably suffice for immediate needs.

The Central School committee, Palmerston North, asked the board to make representation that a Junior High School be established at Central School at the earliest practicable data by retaining at the school in 1926 the pupils at present in Std. VI. This would give a Junior High School of just over 300 pupils, and would enable a child to proceed in its education uninterrupted from the infant school to the age of fifteen. Mr Mclntyre said he believed the Junior High School system was a great failure in Auckland.

Mr W. R. Birnie remarked that it was very difficult to reconcile the two suggestions. He was in a quandary about the matter. The Junior High School as suggested by Mr Stuckey would be a distinct break in the education of the children. There must be no three separate places of education.

At present they had the primary school, the proposed junior institution, and secondary and technical schools. They had too many schools ht the present moment. The Junior High Schools would mean a depopulation of the number of school children under the board’s control.

Mr W. F. Durward:—“And teachers, too.” He added that if a Junior High School —which he opposed—was established they would lose the children from Std. IV upwards. He considered a junior institution should be attached to the primary schools. Certainly that was the best method. It was decided to refer both recommendations to the Department.