E.—2.

The following are the numbers from the Catholic schools :

The total number of pupils on the rolls of the inspected schools in the district at the time of the annual examination was therefore 14,877. Table Iβ furnishes a comparison with the numbers given in 1908.

Table Ib.

From this table it will be seen that there is still a steady increase in the number of pupils attending the primary schools in our district. In the last five years there has been an increase of over two thousand pupils. The average ages in the various classes show very little, change, but there is still a somewhat high percentage of pupils in P. classes. In 1908 the percentage for the Dominion was 34-27 ;in our district in 1909 it was 36-6. In the 1908 annual report of the Education Department it is pointed out that this increase has been general throughout the Dominion for some years past. The percentage in this district, however, is so high that there is little doubt teachers are keeping the pupils too long a time in the preparatory classes. The following table shows where a number of our schools stand in this matter :—

Table II.

107

< Number on r, K..11 at Annual 1>r <*ent »t Examination. Ex »<"ination. Average Ages of Pupils mj each Class. Clauses. Standard VII VI V IV HI II I Preparatory 11 11 69 67 87 86 81 77 120 119 87 83 99 97 358 344 Yrs. mos. 15 5 14 4 12 11 11 10 11 1 10 0 9 2 6 10 Totals 1)12 884 11 5* * Mean of average age.

Classes. Number on Roll, 1908. Number on Roll, 1900. Average Ages, 1908. Average Ages, 1909. Standard VII .. VI .. V .. IV .. Ill .. II .. I .. 246 851 1,231 1,451 1,637 1,583 1,644 5,005 273 912 1,242 1,465 1,602 1,619 1,735 5,117 14 10 13 11 13 1 12 3 11 2 10 3 9 2 7 1 Yrs. mos. 14 11 13 11 13 2 12 3 11 4 10 3 9 1 7 0 Preparatory Totals .. Catholic schools . . 13,648 778 13,965 912 Totals .. 14,426 14,877

School. Percentage Av A of Primary l'upils in Preparatory 1'reparatorv-class: .,. , , .,. Classen. Pupils. StaadaidVl. Eltham Distrid High I [awera District High Queen's Park Marton District High Feilding District High Campbell Street Foxton Manaia \\ averley Patea District High .. Taihape District High Raetihi Apiti Yrs. mos. 38-9 7 1 14 2 38 7 5 14 7 311 7 2 13 7 38-7 7 2 13 8 32-1 7 0 14 4 35-9 7 0 14 2 38-9 7 5 14 5 36-9 7 7 13 8 33 7 4 13 11 39-9 7 1 13 5 44-9 7 2 14 0 341 7 4 14 2 36-8 7 1 13 11