B-—9.

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Latin. —Lower First, Division 11. There seems to be a distinct line of demarcation in this form, about half of them doing their work very well, the remainder, considering their age and opportunities, did fairly If the staff of masters were larger it would be possible to make two forms out of this class with advantage.—Lower First, Division I. The work done was satisfactory, in the case of a few boys, very good.—Upper First The work hero was also quite satisfactory.— Second Form The work was very good.—Third Form I cannot report so well of the work of this form. It is, however, a large form just emerging from what may be called the " Delectus " period, and attempting Latin authors without having the way smoothed for it by any of the ingenious and sympathizing devices whereby it is sought to make learning easy Every teacher knows that such a transition period is inevitable, and necessary, and " profitable for edifying," but it is a trying period to all concerned, for the "edifice" progresses so slowly that it is often difficult for both boys and masters to believe it is making any progress at all.—Fourth Form The translation was satisfactory, perhaps a little stiff in style, but there was a remarkable absence of nonsense, such as far more ambitious pupils are only too apt to write down, in the hope that an examiner may discover some meaning in it. The Latin composition paper was rather hard, but was done very fairly, and free from bad grammatical errors.—Fifth Form Several of the boys were absent, being in for a matriculation examination. The translation and composition were both good, accurate, and intelligent. Though not so striking as it was last year, yet the work is even more promising, for the standard is higher, and tho boys are younger, and promise to make better scholars for their age. The paper in Latin accidence was well done throughout the school. Roman and General His wry. —This part of the work was very well done. The boys had evidently been well taught throughout. I do not mean to say that there were ho examples of error, both amusing and astounding, but I have always believed that it is fairer to attribute such mistakes to what one may call original sin on the part of the boy. For example, when a boy says that " the ancient Britons were red, but they painted themselves blue," one can scarcely find fault with a teacher because it has not, perhaps, occurred to him to inform his class that an unpainted ancient Briton was more or less white. The questions were answered correctly and fully, and, what is more important still, they were not answered in the words of the book. The boys used words and expressions of their own , sometimes, it is true, more colloquial than classical, yet such as showed that they not only know their facts, but realized also the relation of the facts to each other and could trust themselves to tell the story in their own words. Greek. —In this subject, as in Latin, some of the best boys were absent, and for the same reason. I was, therefore, unable to examine the highest form, viz., the Fifth, but the record of work sent in is well up to the mark of the fifth form of an English public school.—Form Four The work was very accurately done, and very promising in the translation. The Greek prose composition was a little hard, but was very fairly done. Some of the reading had been done privately without the supervision of the form-master. This is a frequent practice in the higher forms of English schools, and tends, I think, to promote self-reliance and stimulate thought. In the lower forms the work in Greek was very satisfactory I was especially struck with the familiarity that the boys showed with the grammar of the language. With regard to the work as a whole, I would point out that the standard, especially in Latin and Greek, has risen considerably Last year the highest work was up to Fourth Form standard this year it is no misnomer to call the highest form a Fifth Form. This is the most remarkable in the case of Greek, because, as I remarked last year, this subject labours under considerable disadvantages. I must notice, too, that the English used in translating was singularly clear and grammatical, and free from that sort of nonsense which at once shows that a boy is working in the dark. For the benefit of those who attach importance to the comparison of one year's marks with those of another, I rnasr say that the marks gained this year were higher than last. Not that I mean to say that it necessarily conveys any idea of the true state of a form to say, for example, the Fifth Form is 4-J- per cent, better or worse than it was last year For this to have any meaning one must assume that the work done by the form, and the papers set by the examiner, were exactly equal in difficulty both this year and last year. And, even if such an assumption were possible, this comparison of average percentages may be very unfair to a teacher One or two beginners or stupid boys, added to the form in the term just preceding the examination, may bring down the average 10 per cent. My experience in teaching and. examining for the last thirteen years leads me to think that such comparisons of averages only mislead, by an appearance of accuracy, the governors of schools. It is enough to certify that the work attempted this year is higher than that of last year, and that it has been done sufficiently well to justify the attempt. Even were the marks lower than last year, yet everybody knows that higher work well attempted is an advance upon lower work perfectly mastered. I have, &c, F W Haslam, The Governors, Boys' High School, Ghristchurch. Professor of Classics.

4. Bepoet of the Examinee in Feehch. Juniors. —Very good throughout, especially J Watt, E. Shanks, and Priest. Form I. —Very good throughout, especially J W Nutt and Hyndman. Upper First. —Particularly good, especially Greenwood, F Gibson, Nathan, and Maclaren. Form 11.- —Hardly satisfactory Form lll. —Very good indeed, especially A. Bailey, T. A. B. Bailey, A. W Newton, and Butterfield. Form IV. —Translations from French into English good, grammar and translation from English into French not very satisfactory Canterbury College, 17th December, 1883. Chas. Tubbell, M.A., Examiner.