S. Hilda's Collegiate School.

New Zealand Illustrated Magazine, Volume VII, Issue 2, 1 November 1902, Page 143

S. Hilda's Collegiate School.

By HILDA KEANE

WT is strange to find that in most m\ parts of New Zealand the fact ill of the Kilburn Sisterhoods' J.l having an institution here is unknown. I have been asked many questions about this interesting establishment, and gladly give my impressions of the work done by these self-sacrificing women in our own colony. I have not space for a description of the origin of the sisterhood. Let it suffice that it is a community wellknown to England in general, to London in particular. This community of the Church of England has done much to elevate and educate orphans and waifs. Recognizing, too, that schools where girls of a better class might receive a sound education with which the principles of religion were combined, were

practically non-existent, the sisters conceived the idea of establishing select colleges for the purpose. In New Zealand a great field lay before them, and after much anxious thought and at the invitation of Bishop Neville, of Dunedin, two Kilburn sisters were despatched to our shores. They opened a school in Leith-street, which on account of growing numbers of pupils they had soon to leave. They then moved to Heriot Row where commanding a beautiful view of Dunedin and the harbour the S. Hilda's Collegiate School is now situated. The building is a very large one, containing cosilyfurnished sitting-rooms with an abundance of comfortable easy chairs. Well-fitted class-rooms are in numbers, and a large drill-hall,

in which, beside the numerous displays, the scholars give very good dramatic and musical entertainments. The chapel which is attached is a veritable picture, when on festival days the altar is hung with curtains of cream and pale blue, and adorned with masses of flowers, purest white, or golden yellow, according to the season. Its congregation of reverent school girls is a sight which parents who value religious training would delight to see.

The large dormitory contains between twenty and thirty cubicles. Each girl has her own tiny room, with bed, washstand and chest. She is allowed to adorn it with pictures, etc., and as there is a large staff of servants, the boarder's duties consist merely of making her bed and keeping her clothes in order and neatly mended. It is an interesting sight to see the lines of neatly-costumed girls set out for their walk. They dress in navy serge, coat and skirt, wearing sailor hat with pale blue and Voi_. VII.— No. 2.— 10.

white diagonal ribbon, clasped with the silver buckle which is their badge, bearing the words : " Pro Ecclesia Dei." Nothing could be neater than this costume, and the healthy, happy faces of the boarders complete the picture. The routine of life at S. Hilda's is as interesting as it is varied. The governesses, of whom five are resident, take the greatest pleasure in co-operating with the girls in their games, their reading, their dances, their amusements and work of all kinds. At 6 a.m. on week days the

boarders rise, and after forty-five minutes for dressing, are summoned to preparation or practice. At 7.30 the gong sounds for breakfast, and the laughter and chat in which sisters, teachers and pupils indulge is as good to hear as the evidence of healthy appetites is to see. Then come prayers, reverential and conducted on the model of the service of Common Prayer. The. morning walk, in winter term, follows. Then at 9.30, when the great crowd of day-girls adds its numbers, the lines assemble, from kindero-arten

mites to girls in their teens, to the sound of music in the large drillhall. Here a sister conducts short school nrayers, and on Mondays distributes the honour badges and " orderly " medals of the week. It is very pleasing to observe the smile of the happy girl who is thus honoured for the week's work in her form.

School is conducted on the most modern principles, except that there is an absence of the pernicious cramming so prevalent nowadays. Work goes on smoothly and pleasantly. The relations of teachers

and taught are of the happiest kind. The discipline is, in a word, perfect. There is no fuss, no idleness among pupils, no forcing or strain by the teacher. From a teacher's point of view the work is delightful, and one hears no murmur of reproach from the pupils. The upper classes are prepared, in capable hands, for matriculation and scholarship examinations. Music is taught thoroughly under Mrs Blandford. It is the pride of S. Hilda's that all the girls ever presented have passed their matri-

culation ' creditably, - with no failures, and if I remember rightly, similar success has attended the music examinations.

The great feature of this school is the careful, thorough and reverent modelling of character. One of the sisters conducts daily, in each class, a lesson in divinity. At this time the greatest care is taken to teach the history of the English Church, the meaning and import of its rites and prayers, and the application of the great truths of Scripture to the daily life. No detail of the ordinary life of women is left to chance

teaching. The pupils are taught to be Christian Churchwomen and ladies. Those who wish are trained, with utmost reverence, for their confirmation, and the clergy have none amongst their classes who realize more fully than the S. Hilda's girls the import of this ceremony. With the greatest confidence I assert that no one, daygirl, boarder, or teacher can come into contact with the unassuming, instructive and Christian life of the Sisters of S. Hilda's, without experiencing a wonderful deepening of

the moral life. There is no ostentation of the same ; it is simply that the influence, the atmosphere is there ; and every minute of the life of these women, charming, gentle and devoted, is a consecration and an endeavour to elevate the lives of those who are associated with them. The great love and respect of those who are connected with them is a grand if silent testimony to the good they are doing to New Zealand girls.

At 11 a.m. the interval comes, with tea for the resident girls. They work again till 12.30. Dinner is served at 1 ; school resumes at 2,

and at 4 the day-girls disperse ; though so happy is their school life that if looks say anything, many would gladly linger. Then the boarders have afternoon tea before their walk. Following preparation, comes supper; and then recreation — such a happy time, and all too short ! Prayers at 9 finish fche day's life, and by 10 lights are out and the girls asleep in their comfortable beds.

Saturday brings afternoon picnics in summer to bun -.din's lovely little spots of bush or creek or sea, and evening reading, games, music, or impromptu plays. On Sundays letters are written before and after

Church, and books are read, the girls quietly passing the time. The whole life is so happy and helpful that the girls are always bright, always kind and loving. Their devotion to the sisters and to the governesses is very marked. And the entertainments they organize show quite exceptional talent ! Their annual mission bazaar is an evidence of the work they get through to help others. Lady Ranfurly takes a deep interest in S. Hilda's, and the girls delight to see her and to receive their prizes at her hands. Altogether the institution is one of

The Chapel.

which New Zealand ought to be proud, and the motto of S. Hilda's is one which I should like to see more widely known among our girls : " Beati mundo corde."— (Blessed are the pure in heart.) There are girls from Hawke's Bay, from Wellington, from Canterbury, from Otago, at S. Hilda's, and if people knew more about the school, branches would have to be established in other cities than Dunedin. I shall always be pleased to give personally any details omitted in my rough sketch, of such an interesting and excellent school as this, which is dedicated to the Saint Hilda of English history.