E—l2.

Gisborne District High School—continued.

Report op Inspector. The syllabus is somewhat different from that of former years. Drawing has replaced French, and physiology is now taken instead of physics. Although the High School classes are free to pupils who have passed Standard VI., the increase in the class attendance is small. I do not know whether there is a regulation requiring pupils who seek for free admittance to the secondary classes to attend at such classes for a definite period—say of twelve months or two years—but if the classes are to be of value such regulation will become necessary. Eighteen pupils were examined, but four of them were absent from one or more papers during the progress of the examination. In those cases the results are low and do not represent the actual efficiency of the pupils. The marks of the pupils, as usual, show wide variations in the efficiencv of the candidates. Taken as a whole the arithmetic presents the worst results, and no pupil gained even two-thirds of the possible marks in the subject. I suggest that provision be made in the time-table for mental arithmetic, as it is evident to me that the time given to practical arithmetic is too short. Much of the algebra was excellently done. The two test papers in English showed some careful preparation, No. 1 paper being particularly well done by a majority of the pupils. Some of the answers were excellent. The play " Julius Caesar " was not equal in merit to the general paper on Goldsmith, Coleridge, and Tennyson. Latin was of uneven merit, some being very good and some very poor. Several of the translations were capitally done. Euclid had been well prepared. The tests varied considerably from those of previous years, and were based in a large measure upon the new proposals dealing with Euclid's elements. Most of the candidates gained satisfactorv marks, and six obtained marks varying between "Very good " and " Excellent." The science papers do not yet please me, as few of the candidates illustrate their answers by means of a diagram. With a text-book like that used by the class every step should be illustrated. Simple memory preparation by pupils is undesirable in this subject. The drawing promises well. The subject has not been taken very long, but good progress has been made by the majority of those examined. Taking the class as a whole it is not a strong one, although a large amount of work has been attempted. 0 The absence of pupils from examination is hardly fair to the teaching staff, as the work done is not fairly represented by three or four subjects. The strong pupils are mostly girls, and I shall watch with interest whether the girls will be able to hold their position in the class during the coming year. The style of the paperwork shows improvement, the best arranged paper being English No. I. H, Hill, 8.A., F.G.S., Inspector of Schools.

7—E. 12,

49

Subject taught. Class. Number of Pupils in Class during Last Quarter of Year. Work done during the Year. English Physiology ... A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C A B 11 20 18 11 20 18 11 20 18 11 20 18 11 20 18 11 20 I I | Nesfield's English Grammar ; Abbott's How to Write Clearly ; Longmans' Composition ; Higher-grade English. Shakespeare's Julius Caesar; Coleridge's Ancient Mariner; Goldsmith's Deserted Village; Selections from Tennyson; English Grammar. English Grammar. Furneaux's Human Physiology. Furneaux's Human Physiology, to page 173. Murche —Animal Physiology, Book I. Arithmetic ... General revision of rules. Euclid Hall and Stevens, Books I. and II. Hall and Stevens, Book I. Hall and Stevens, Book I., to proposition 5. Hall and Knight, to quadratics. Hall and Knight, to simple equations. Hall and Knight, first four simple rules. Algebra Geography ... Meiklejohn's New Geography.