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WESTLAND. Sib,— Education Board Office, Hokitika, 7th March, L9lO. I have the honour to present a report for the year 1909 on the schools of the Westland Education District. The tables accompanying the report present information concerning numbers and general conditions with special reference to the inspection of thirty-four public and five private (Catholic) schools. The following table is a summary of the numbers and average age of the standard classes at the end of the school year. In addition, it may be stated that thirty-seven pupils received instruction in a lower standard in arithmetic and two in a higher class in that subject.

Beyond the slight increase in the number on the roll, the information supplied calls for no commeni . It will be a matter of regret, however, if the advance in the number of pupils working in a lower standard in arithmetic is found to indicate a tendency to use to a greater extent this method of classification. Every effort should be exerted to avoid its frequent adoption. During the year all schools receive one announced visit, and, with the exception of six schools in the southern portion of the district, at least one other visit was made. Where occasion demanded, other opportunities for inspection were taken. Of thirty-six schools inspected the efficiency in twenty was " good" or " very good," and of ten " satisfactory," leaving six in which only moderate success was obtained. The general result may be accepted as commendable. In a table submitted to the Board, information is also supplied as to the number of half-days on which the schools have been open during the year. It will be seen that seventeen have been in operation on 420 or more half-days, eleven on 410, five on at least 400, and three on less than that number ; two of these being closed early in the year. The normal full year may be taken as 420 half-days, and there should be adequate reason in each case for any reduction in the number. While it is true that the average attendance of the Westland District has for a number of years been maintained at a creditably high percentage of the roll-number, consideration must be given to the inadequacy of regular attendance if the schools are closed unduly, and to the obligation on those responsible to furnish an opportunity for full and continued study of the courses of instruction. The granting of extra vacations and holidays when the circumstances do not warrant the indulgence tends to retard the formation of habits of steady application, and leads to overpressure and to indifferent methods of teaching. In addition to the inspection of schools, extra examinations were held in December at Hokitika and Stafford in connection with the granting of certificates to pupils of the Sixth Standard. At these central examinations nine schools were represented. In othf-r cases certificates were issued as a result of the test made during the annual visits. Of seventy-four pupils on the roll of this class at the end of the year, sixty-eight presented themselves, and there were awarded forty-five proficiency and fourteen competency certificates. The proportion of full passes has risen to 61 per cent., and may be accepted as satisfactory. Owing to the retention of some pupils in the Fifth Standard in arithmetic, the number of those qualifying must always be to some extent limited. The number of pupils that had previously gained certificates of proficiency was forty-seven, and of these forty-one were pupils of the secondary classes of the District High School. The remainder mostly preferred to revise the work of the Sixth Standard, and were re-presented. Only in a few instances was there any serious attempt to prepare the full course prescribed for Standard VII. The course of the students of the secondary classes is the subject of reference at greater length in a separate report. It may be emphasized here, however, that owing to the demands on the staff it is not possible to provide differentiation in the selection of subjects. The girls should follow a course differing in several important respects from that prescribed for boys. In the same way the manual and technical side of education should receive more attention in the case of some students. As there is only one district high school, a system of itinerant teachers of special subjects is not feasible. Parents, moreover, usually demand preparation for the more usual two or three years' courses. The term of three years has ordinarily ended with the Matriculation Examination. The extension of the requirement-, has recently been adopted, and a substitute will be necessary if pupils are to be encouraged to remain

Glasses. Number on Roll. Present at the Average Age of Annual Pupils Examination, in each Class. lecondary classes and Standard VII itandard VI V IV HI II I 'reparatory 47 74 87 114 115 123 132 422 Yr.s. m<36. 44 17 4 68 14 2 84 12 8 109 12 0 112 11 I) 120 10 1 128 8 8 413 6 11 Totals ... 1,114 1,078 11 8* * Mean of average a| Eβ.