&—9.

8

difficult and confusing. The class itself is, we understand, in a very anomalous position, and its existence is an obstacle to the progress of work in that part of the school. As we understand that the master of this class is about to undertake science teaching, which will be conducted in rooms more suited to the purpose than the assembling room, there is no necessity to say any more, except to express the hope that the class may be broken up and never reconstructed. In the Upper Second, in history, with the exception of a few random guesses, the answers were good and intelligent. In writing and spelling about one-third were good, another third moderately good, and the remainder poor. In the Lower Second, in writing and spelling about one-half did well or fairly, and about onehalf poorly or badly. In history, in most cases, the answers were good. We noticed that in this class many of the boys were in the habit of guessing without knowledge. In Form I. the writing and spelling were very much the same as in Lower 11., one-half being good, and the other half bad or indifferent. The answers to questions in history were given well and intelligently. On the whole we were very well satisfied with the condition of this class. It will be noticed that in writing and spelling a very considerable improvement is perceptible as you go higher up the school, especially in writing. On the whole we do not think this school compares unfavourably with other schools in this respect. But the spelling is undoubtedly, as it generally is, a weak point in the work. French. In the Upper Fifth Form the examination yielded perfectly satisfactory results. In the Lower Fifth the translation both of seen and unseen passages was poor, and the answers to the other questions incomplete and inaccurate. Making due allowance for its position in the school, this Form, as far as French is concerned, is very inferior to the Upper Fifth. Many of the papers returned showed fair average work ; but a large proportion were marked by extreme carelessness. Lower Fourth. —The translation from French into English was good, although " unseen." The other questions were not as carefully answered as they should have been, considering the restricted amount of the work. Bemove B. —Although the boys in this Form have been learning French for one term only, their knowledge of the grammar is much more accurate than that of the Lower Fourth, and is very satisfactory. Their scanty vocabulary necessarily prevented their doing so well with the translation. The examination of Eemove A calls for no special remark. In the Lower School most of the boys are only beginning to learn French. There is no reason to believe that they are not making good progress. Science. Chemistry .—ln. the Upper Fifth the work done in this subject was very good, a clearer under^ standing of the reasoning employed being shown than is often the case in schools. In the Lower Fifth, the results, with two marked exceptions, were extremely disappointing. It would appear that the boys are not made acquainted with the fundamental principles of chemistry until the end of their school course. The papers sent in by the Upper Fourth Form were very unequal, the marks ranging from 87 to 11 per cent. The knowledge of a considerable portion of the boys was very good, but there appear to be several who have not been induced to avail themselves of the instruction offered. In Kemove A, also, the work was uneven, many accurate and definite answers having been received, while, on the other hand, many of the boys were quite unable to answer any questions in chemistry. The teaching of practical chemistry appears to be very satisfactory. Physics. —The questions in physios set to Eemove B were of a very elementary character, as none of the boys had studied the subject for more than one term. The answers were in nearly every case accurately and clearly expressed, and showed that the work had been well done. The marks obtained varied from 87 to 50. Taking into account the evident intelligence of many of the members of this class, we think that some work on physics not specially written for children might with advantage have been used as a text-book. Physiology. —The papers received in this subject from the Lower Fourth were fairly good, but, considering the small amount of work offered, the answers might have been more exact. Geography. In Forms Lower IV. and Eemove A the chief defect was in map-drawing, in which the boys produced results of a very inferior character. The rest of the work in these Forms was fairly satisfactory. In the Lower School the examination in this subject showed that average work had been done throughout. The best results were those obtained from the Upper Second. It is to be regretted that physical geography or physiography does not receive more attention in the school. Arithmetic. A paper was set to classes Alpha and Beta, and the same paper, with the omission of one question, was also set to Class Gamma. These are the three highest classes of the Upper School. The following are the percentage results : — Highest. Lowest. Average. Class Alpha, Division 1 ... ... ... 62 24 5(% Class Alpha, Division a ... ... ... 81 29 52 Class Beta ... ... ... ... 78 15 52 Class Gamma ... ... ... ... 56 17 33 In the case of Class Gamma these results are far from satisfactory, but the averages obtained by the two highest classes are good. In all these classes, with the exception of the second division of