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NORTH CANTEEBUEY Sic,— Christchurch, 18th March, 1886. In accordance with the provisions of the Education Act, the Education Board of North Canterbury has the honour to submit the following report of its proceedings for the year ended 31st December, 1885 :— BoAED.-r-The three members who retired by rotation on the 31st March, 1885, were Mr. W Montgomery, Mr G. Booth, and Mr. S. C. Farr. At an election held on the sth March for the purpose of filling the vacancies thus created, Mr. W Montgomery, Mr. G. Booth, and Mr. T. H. Anson were returned. Mr H. E. Webb was re-elected Chairman , but on the 3rd September he resigned the chairmanship and his seat on the Board. Mr. Webb had been a member of the Board since it was first constituted .in 1878. His long experience, arid the warm interest he took in all educational affairs, rendered his services particularly valuable, and his resignation was received with much regret. Mr. Booth was elected Chairman, and Mr. C. C. Bo wen a member of the Board, in place of Mr. Webb. The Board held twenty-four meetings during the year , average attendance of members, 720. New Schools and Buildings.—During the year 1885 new school districts were formed at Charing Cross (between Kirwee and Greendale) and Bangitata (between that river and the Hinds), and arrangements were made for the division of the Ashburton District so as to form the suburbs of Hampstead and Trevorton into a separate school district, to be called Hampstead. The division took effect on the Ist January, 1886. New school buildings were erected at Annat, and masters' houses at Waiau and Pendarves. Large additions were made to the schools at Ashburtonside (now Hampstead), Fendalton, Kaiapoi, Kaikoura Town, Papanui, and Eakaia South, and smaller additions or considerable improvements to the schools at Christchurch West, Halswell, Sydenham, Opawa, Lakeside, Eakaia Little, and Pigeon Bay The total expenditure on buildings was £9,073 4s. Id. Table No. 7 (appended to this report) shows how the amount was distributed among the various school districts. • Maintenance op Schools.—The expenditure on teachers' salaries amounted during the year 1885 to £47,543 16s. 4d., and the incidental expenditure on the maintenance of schools, consisting mainly of grants to School Committees, to £6,566 2s. 3d., making a total of £54,109 18s. 9d. The average attendance for the year was 14,397 The expenditure on salaries was therefore at the rate of £3 6s. O-Jd. per head of the attendance, and the total expenditure on the maintenance of schools, including all incidental expenses, at the rate of £3 15s. 2d. The following table shows the expenditure on salaries and incidentals in each year from 1878, inclusive :— Year. Salaries. Incidentals. Total. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. 1878 ... 31,919 0 0 6,276 6 9 . 38,195 6 9 1879 .. 34,417 14 6 3,856 9 8 40,274 4 2 1880 38,136 17 8 3,856 2 1 43,992 19 9 1881 ... 36,683 411 5,591 15 6 42,275 0 5 1882 39,418 13 11 5,901 18 1 . 45,320 12 0 1883 . 42,240 19 10 6,090 15 9 48,331 15 7 1884 44,727 17 4 6,431 14 1 51,159 11 5 1885 47,543 16 4 6,566 2 3 54,109 18 9 Table No. 7 (appended) gives the amount expended on the maintenance of each school, with the names of the teachers and the amounts of their respective salaries. The number of teachers at the close of the year was 491, of whom 134 were masters, 95 mistresses, 59 (20 males and 39 females) assistants, and 203 (58 males and 145 females) pupil-teachers. Attendance. —The number of school districts at the close of the year was 130, and the number of separate schools 146. Three of these were aided schools, a fourth aided school, at Manuka Town, was closed after the June quarter. The usual return of the numbers and ages of children, and of the numbers receiving instruction in each subject, is given in Table No. 2. The schools are classified as follows Under 15 pupils, 3 , 15 and under 20 pupils, 13 , 20 and under 25 pupils, 11, 25 and under 50 pupils, 49, 50 and under 75 pupils, 19, 75 and under 100 pupils, 17, 100 and under 150 pupils, 13; 150 and under 300 pupils, 11, 300 and under 500 pupils, 5; 500 and upwards, 5. The following table shows the total number of schools, of children on the rolls and in average attendance, and the percentage of attendance, for each year from the Ist January, 1878, the date of the present Education Act: —

Quarter ended. District Schools. Aided Schools. Total of Schools. On Eoll. Average Attendance. Percentage. 'eeember 31, 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 106 116 121 128 133 139 143 143 4 4 2 1 2 4 8 8 110 120 123 129 135 143 146 146 13,647 15,230 16,437 16,051 16,907 17,797 18,332 19,223 10,076 11,381 12,233 11,760 12,747 13,462 14,210 14,863 73-83 74-72 74-42 73-26 75-39 75-64 77-51 77-27