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E.—9

AKAROA HIGH SCHOOL. 1. General Statement of Receipts and Expendituee for the Year ending 31st December, 1894. Receipts. £ s. d. Expenditure. £ a. d. To Balance 127 3 5 By Office expenses 0 17 0 Current income from reserves 152 4 7 Teachers' salaries and allowances . 200 0 0 School fees 106 13 0 Prizes 2 2 0 Interest on current account 2 9 6 Printing, stationery, and advertising 3 3 6 Cleaning, fuel, light, &c. 2 0 0 Book and stationery account and other temporary advances . 4 16 Rents, insurance, and taxes 41 6 8 Expenses letting reserves 6 9 3 Legal expenses 6 7 0 Interest on overdraft 0 10 Balance 122 2 7 £388 10 6 £388 10 6 H. C. Jacobson, Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer Examined and found correct —James Edwaed FitzGeeald, Controller and Auditor-General.

2. Woek of Highest and Lowest Classes. Highest. —Arithmetic, Algebra. French . Macmillan s Course, Book I. Euclid Matriculation standard. Latin Via Latina, page 142. English The Tempest, Longmans' School Composition , School Geography , Mason's Grammar History Matriculation period. One pupil did Junior Scholarship work. Lowest. Arithmetic, Standard VI. Euclid : Book I. English Scott's Marmion, canto 6. Longmans' Junior School Composition and School Grammar French (just beginning) Latin Via Latina, to page 100.

3. Scholaeships. The school gave free education to one pupil.

ASHBURTON HIGH SCHOOL. 1. Report of the Boaed. Sir, — Ashburton, 2nd February, 1895. I am directed to forward to you the following report:— As will be seen by the returns furnished herewith, the staff consists of three teachers, viz. headmaster, headmistress, and assistant mistress. The personnel having been, at the end of year, entirely changed, and the Board having been fortunate in securing teachers of high academical status and exceptionally good qualifications as teachers, the suggestion of the Inspector-General that the amalgamation of the two schools, boys and girls, would conduce to efficiency and economy had been anticipated by the Board, which prior to the receipt of his report had decided upon that course, and has since carried it into effect. There are already indications that the result will prove satisfactory The Board has also, in furtherance of its desire to popularise the school, and insure that its advantages shall be more largely availed of, reduced its fees by the amount of one guinea per term, and has also given eight scholarships, carrying free education and use of books, to be competed for by all children in the county other than High School pupils, and has, in addition, given three scholarships open to the High School pupils only These have all been awarded. A request has been received from a deputation of the two large primary schools in Ashburton and Hampstead, which have together an attendance of over eight hundred pupils, for admission to the High School, either free or at a greatly reduced fee, of pupils now attending those schools who have passed the Sixth Standard but, after careful consideration, the Board has decided that its finance will not permit of its acceding to the request, and has agreed to the following resolution on the subject " That the Borough School Committee be informed that the Board, having recently reduced its fees from three guineas per term to two guineas, with the object of making the advantages of the school more widely available, is not able to see its way to any further reduction, unless the proposal recently mooted be given effect to, viz. that capitation allowance be granted to secondary schools in respect of pupils admitted from primary schools at specially reduced fees. Under which circumstances the Board would be prepared to further consider the question." The Board hopes that the steps it has taken, as above detailed, will have the effect of considerably increasing the attendance at the school, and has reason to believe that this anticipation will, during the ensuing year, be realised. I have, &c, The Secretary, Education Department, Charles Beaddell, Wellington. Secretary.