E.—lb

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class taking a course practically identical with that prescribed for a lower. With the proposal to combine more closely the teaching of science and physiography in city and suburban schools where the senior pupils take up some form of manual training we quite concur, the two subjects having a mutual reaction and a natural affinity. In certain district high schools we regret to find that lack of apparatus and other suitable provision bars the way to any efficient work, but we learn with pleasure that the largest of these departments, that at Christchurch West, has practically secured an equipment worthy of the institution and the reputation it enjoys. Health and Physical Training.—These are matters closely related, and both receive a commendable share of attention. Indeed, it is not unusual to find that in the former subject the scope of the work presented for one year would have furnished a very complete programme for two. Gbneeal. —Of the cadet movement, of its direct influence upon the members of the various corps and its indirect influence upon the discipline and tone of the larger schools, we can speak only in terms of admiration. The interest the boys display in every detail of duty and the spirit of self-sacrifice which leads the masters concerned to forfeit many an hour of well-earned leisure are worthy of all praise. At the November gathering of the North Canterbury Public Schools' Amateur Athletic Association the large attendance of spectators showed how strongly its objects appeal to public sympathies, while the organizing capacity displayed in the compilation of the programme and its smooth working was specially noteworthy. To the lady teachers whose efforts again contributed largely to the attractions and the success of the day's proceedings special thanks are justly due. As observers whose interests are not wholly submerged in the mustier details of everyday routine we are led to hope that, with the passing of the years, our schools may still send forth to meet life's battles young people whose bodies are hardened by the games they have played, who are imbued with some sense of their responsibility as future citizens, who have learned to use their talents to the best of their ability, whose self-control and experience of discipline have taught them that obedience is the way to command, and that duty is better than pleasure. The district is fortunate in possessing a large body of teachers who fully realise the grave importance and the far-reaching influences of their work. Their calling is a true Crusade—the eternal Crusade against ignorance, and among them are found not a few who resolutely tread the thorny path of duty for duty's sake, who in modest self-effacement and in eloquent silence approve themselves worthy of the cause they have espoused. We have, &c, Thos. Ritchie, 8.A., \ T. S. Foster, M.A., [ Inspectors. E. K. Mclgan, M.A., J The Chairman, Education Board, North Canterbury.

SOUTH CANTERBURY. Sir,— Education Office, Timaru, 24th March, 1908. We have the honour to present our annual report for the year 1907. At the close of the year there were seventy-six schools in operation. In addition to the public schools we examined the five Roman Catholic schools of the district. Reports on the secondary departments of the district high schools are printed in a separate paper. The following table shows the number of pupils on the roll, the number present at the annual visit, and the average age of each class : —

* Mean of average age. The figures in this table show for the year an increase of forty-six in the roll-number. A decrease of fifty in the number present at the annual visit is accounted for by an outbreak of influenza which for several months affected the attendance of almost every school in the district. Early in the year, after receiving the Board's sanction for the change, we gave intimation to the teachers that we proposed to examine candidates for certificates of proficiency and for Standard VI certificates of competency, not at their own schools at the time of our annual visit as formerly, but at convenient centres, at each of which the pupils from a group of adjacent schools could be

Classes. Number on Roll. Present | Average Age of at Inspector's : Pupils in each Annual Visit. Class. Standard VII VI ... V ... IV ... Ill ... II ... I ... Preparatory ...» 154 418 527 621 637 618 616 1,604 126 403 494 574 607 587 581 1,408 Yrs. mos, 15 1 13 8 12 11 12 0 11 0 9 11 8 10 7 0 Totals 5,195 4,780 11 4*