E.—lb

41

the work of examining was made pleasant by the courtesy of the teachers and the cheerful obedience and good manners of the children. I have, &c, The Chairman, Education Board, South Canterbury. Jas. Gibson Gow, M.A., Inspector.

APPENDIX. Extracts feom Bepobts on Disteiot High Schools. I have great pleasure in reporting favourably on the character of the work done in both schools. It will be seen from the table of marks given below that the pupils in the Waimate School are ahead of those in Temuka; but it would have been discreditable had it been otherwise, as there are fewer of them, and they are fortunate in having a more liberal provision made for the teaching of the higher subjects. Special praise is due to the classes in algebra and Euclid in the Waimate School. Several of the pupils gained full marks in algebra; and from the appearance of the papers in Euclid it was evident that the teacher fully appreciated the value to beginners of correctly drawn figures and orderly arrangement of the parts of a proposition. The Temuka pupils would do well to pay more attention to this. The suggestions which were made last year for securing greater accuracy in Latin grammar must be repeated. Without perfect familiarity with the rudiments no real progress can be looked for. The girl who took the senior Latin paper at Waimate acquitted herself with great credit. In Temuka one girl was examined in French. Her translation of the prescribed work was correct, and in translation at sight she was almost as successful. Her pronunciation is not good.

Waimate District High School. — Table of Marks and Syllabus of Work. — December, 1886.

Temuka District High School. — Table of Marks and Syllabus of Work. — December, 1886.

NOKTH CANTEEBUEY. Sik,— Christchurch, 28th March, 1887. We have the honour to present our annual report on the schools of the North Canterbury District for the year 1886. At the end of the year there were in operation 148 schools supported or subsidised by the Board. Of this number one aided school "was brought into connection with the Board towards the end of the year, and another school, closed temporarily, had not yet been reopened when the Inspector was prepared to examine it. The remaining 146 were examined for standard classification ; but in one of these, recently opened, the class and additional subjects had not progressed sufficiently to justify a numerical estimate. As in former years, it was found impossible to complete the series by the end of December ; but, with an additional member on the staff, we hope to be able to do so in the future, as far, at least, as the circumstances of the schools will permit. The percentage of passes for the district, estimated on the roll-number of schools examined, is 3861, the percentage of failures is 29-16, the percentage on class-subjects 44-6, and the average additional marks 54-2. 6—E. Ib.

No. Class. No. of nt™™* 6 Syllabus of Work done. 4 1 2 3 4 5 (i 7 Euclid, senior Euclid, middle ... Euclid, junior Algebra, senior ... Algebra, middle ... Algebra, junior ... Latin, senior 1 1 l2 1 1 5 1 70 70 30 66 91 92 81 Books I., II., III., and IV. Books I. and II. Book I. Todhunter—Chaps. I. to XXX. Todhunter—Chaps. I. to XXII. Todhunter—Chaps. I. to XIII. Appendix Principia Latina—Part I.; Principia Latina —Part II., pp. 60—120. Principia Latina—Part I. to end of exercises on verbs. Principia Latina —Part I. to end of exercises on active voice. 8 Latin, middle Latin, junior 3 2 49 68

No. Class. No. of Pupils. Average Mark per Cent. Syllabus of Work dono. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Euclid, senior Euclid, junior Algebra, senior ... Algebra, junior ... Latin, senior Latin, middle Latin, junior French 2 5 1 5 2 6 5 1 48 17 60 52 55 40 42 67 Books I., II., III., and IV. Book I. Todhunter—Chaps. I. to XXX. Todhunter—Chaps. I. to XIII. Principia Latina—Part I. to page 103. Principia Latina—Part I. to page 86. Principia Latina—Part I. to page 28. Charles XII. (Voltaire) —61 pages.