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suburban schools to receive instruction under such conditions as will minimise the necessary absence from the class-room. General.—The thanks of the community are due to Mr. J. Studholme for his generous action in donating prizes foi the best-kept school garden and school grounds in the Ashburton County. Recognition on the part of our leading citizens of the importance of this and other phases of school life is of the greatest service in furthering the cause in which all have a common interest. The order and discipline in our schools in the great majority of cases is highly creditable to all concerned, and pupils are almost everywhere well mannered and well behaved. In the service itsell much earnestness and enthusiasm are shown in endeavouring to give expression to the spirit underlying recent developments and changes, and—sometimes under conditions of considerable difficulty— in the faithful, conscientious, and intelligent discharge of important and oneroua dutiea. We have, &c, Thos. Ritchie, B.A. ) T. S. Foster, M.A. I Inspectors. The Chairman., Education Board, Christchurol:. E. K. Mulgan, M.A. )

SOUTH CANTERBURY. Sir,— Education Office, Timaru, 13th March, 1907. We have the honour to present our annual report for the year 1906. At the close of the year there were seventy-six schools in operation. In addition to the public schools we examined the five Roman Catholic schools of the district. The following- table contains a summary of examination results : —

There is an increase for the year of sixty-eight in the roll-number. The increase is greatest in the Preparatory classes and in Standard I, while there is a falling-ofl of twenty-seven in Standard VII. Of the 147 pupils of Standard VII, 118 are on the rolls of the district high schools as against 130 last year. Only nineteen pupils of Standard VII are found in schools other than district high schools, as against forty-four during the previous year. The number of pupils present at our annual visit was 4,830, an increase of one from last year; but in explanation of this it is to be noted that owing to an outbreak of measles at Geraldine the number of absentees from that school alone was 119 out of a rollnumber of 209. But for this the increase would have been something over one hundred instead of one, for with the Geraldine returns omitted the attendance throughout the district was 96 per cent, of the roll-number. The following is a summary of results for the five Roman Catholic schools : —

Classes. Number on Boll. Present at Inspector's Annnal Visit. Average Age of Pupils In each Class. Standard VII VI ... V ... IV ... Ill ... II ... I ... Preparatory « ... i 174 408 514 605 622 609 631 1,613 132 398 490 579 588 588 595 1,460 Yrs. mos. 15 1 13 8 12 11 12 0 11 0 10 0 8 10 6 11 Totals 5,149 4,830 11 3* * Mean of average age.

Classes. Number on Roll. Present Average Age of at Inspector's Pupils Annual Visit. in each Class. Standard VII VI V IV III II I Preparatory '.) 47 50 71 59 61 50 180 Yrs. Mos. 9 14 9 46 14 2 47 13 4 69 12 7 55 11 8 60 10 8 46 9 6 158 7 10 Totals 527 490 11 9* Mean of average age.*