E.—s.

attempt to promote the movement in its primary schools, being of the opinion that until the adoption of the long-promised revision of the standard syllabus, which was announced in the Minister's last report as being " shortly to be gazetted," it would be injudicious to press upon its teachers the addition of anything whatever to the work demanded by the existing syllabus. Although no application has been made to the Department for assistance in promoting the objects of the Manual and Technical Instruction Act, yet means have been provided by the Board out of its ordinary revenue to enable such teachers as voluntarily elected to make a beginning in this direction by supplying them with the means of introducing plasticine-modelling into these schools; and the supplies of kindergarten materials have been increased and distributed to such teachers as have included those methods of hand and eye training in their course of instruction. Judging from the Inspector's report for the past year, the results of the year's work in the ordinary subjects of the syllabus do not appear to have suffered by the introduction of this class of work, but rather the contrary; and should the promised revision of the syllabus and the further simplification of the regulations under the Manual and Technical Instruction Act be accomplished, the Board may find it possible to avail itself of the provisions of the same without detriment to the ordinary work of the primary school. EXTEACT FROM EbPOET OP THE INSPECTOR OP SCHOOLS. Handwork. —Without any "flourish of trumpets," a considerable amount of valuable work in this direction has been undertaken at many of our schools. No application has been made to the Department for any assistance under the Manual and Technical Instruction Act. The amounts granted under the regulations are so small, and the formalities to be observed, the returns required, and the conditions generally so exacting and vexatious, that the game is hardly worth the candle. Perhaps when the simplification of the regulations, promised in the Minister's last annual report, is accomplished it may be found desirable to extend this portion of the work by taking advantage of the Government grant. Early in the year a supply of plasticine and modelling-boards was obtained and distributed amongst the teachers who expressed a desire to take up this subject; and in all cases the results have been very satisfactory. Admirable specimens of the work were exhibited at all the schools that have undertaken this branch of handwork. Perhaps the best work was to be found in the Blenheim Infant Department, Blenheim Girls', and Eenwick Schools. At the Blenheim Girls' School some original modelling was executed in my presence from the children's own designs; but in every case I was more than satisfied with the progress made. It is, moreover, worthy of mention that in the schools that have taken up modelling there was no falling-off in the quality of the ordinary school-work, but rather the contrary. No doubt the energy and enthusiasm which prompted the teachers to voluntarily undertake this additional work has been operative throughout the whole school course ; and perhaps, with the scholars, the close attention and observation required for this form of handwork may have reacted upon the other branches of their school-work. The value of this and other forms of handwork by far exceeds, in my humble opinion, that of object lessons without objects and elementary science without apparatus or experiment. Modelling is not the only form of handwork to be found in our schools. Paperfolding, weaving, bead-work, &c, are carried on at some of our country schools, and the earlier •kindergarten " gifts " are also in use amongst the infant-classes.

NELSON. Extract from Eepoht of the Education Board. Technical Instruction. —Cooking classes have been held during portions of the year in Nelson, Westport, and Eeefton, under the able management of Miss M. Tendall (diplomee of the National Training School of Cookery, London), and a considerable number of teachers have attended her Saturday classes ; but, as it will be some considerable time before the teachers will be qualified to take up this subject in their regular school-work, it is hoped that the present capitation will be continued after the end of the present year, so that the Board will be able to retain Miss Tendall's services, and also secure the services of other qualified teachers in the other centres of the education district. Miss Tendall found the work undertaken by her last year too great a strain on her strength, and it will be necessary to employ other teachers for the outside districts. Handwork in various forms is gradually being introduced into many of the Board's schools, modelling in plasticine being the work apparently held in most favour by the teachers. EXTEACT FEOM EePOET OF THE INSPECTORS OF SCHOOLS. The schools that presented some form of handwork for examination were very few in number, but we consider the work satisfactory so far as it has been attempted. The most important of our school technical classes were those for cookery conducted by Miss M. Tendall at Eeefton, Westport, and Nelson. We commend to the notice of our teachers some useful hints by the North Canterbury Inspectors, in their report for 1901, upon the value of handwork, especially in correlation with other subjects of the syllabus, such as science, arithmetic, geography, history, and drawing. By the Manual and Technical Instruction Act of 1902 school classes may now, if desired, be carried on after school hours, so that one of the chief difficulties in introducing a fresh subject—the necessary shortening of the school time for the ordinary curriculum—has thus been removed. During the year instruction classes for teachers in plasticine-modelling, ambulance, woodwork, cookery, physics, and drill have been carried on. Sewing in schools managed by sole male teachers now comes under the technical regulations. We would be pleased to see singing receive similar encouragement. Ambulance-work, a very useful study which we would like to see general, has been very successfully attempted by some of those teachers who recently received a course of training.

24