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classes in cookery and one dressmaking from the Hukarere Maori Girls' School; two classes in cookery, one in dressmaking, and one in woodwork from the Catholic schools of Napier and Meanee ; (d) an evening school of twenty-seven classes, which were combined into courses suitable for the various trades and commercial and domestic occupations. An average of nearly 800 pupils attended the - College weekly during the year, a considerable increase over the year 1910. Day Technical School. —83 pupils were admitted during the year, 81 being holders of free places ; the number being made up as follows : Senior Free Places, 15 (5 boys, 10 girls) ; Junior Free Places, 66 (31 boys, 35 girls). The work was arranged in courses for first-, second-, third-, and fourth-year pupils, and was divided as follows : (a) A trade or technical course suitable for boys who might become members of any of the skilled trades ; (6) commercial course for boys who intended to enter offices, warehouses, shops, &c. ;_ and a combined domestic science and commercial course for girls, half the available time being given up to each of these branches of the girl's course. It is satisfactory to note that nearly every eligible girl and boy was enabled to obtain an appointment during the year, the boys going to workshops being spoken especially well of by the employer or shop-foreman. Half-yearly and annual examinations wore held, 61 pupils sitting for the latter, the results being that 33 passed first class, 27 second class, and 1 failed to obtain 40 per cent, of possible marks. Speaking generally, the work has been exceptionally well done during the year, and the attendance and conduct of the pupils beyond reproach, a fine spirit of esprit de corps being noticeable. The chief event of the year was the equipping and opening of the Engineering School, a fine welllighted building of hollow concrete blocks built on the small piece of ground available. The building is equipped with a gas-engine of 11| 8.h.p., two screw-cutting lathes (one for metric pitches), two drilling-machines, shaping-machine, grinding-apparatus, shearing and punching machine, power hacksaw, marking-out table, forge, anvil, &c, besides the usual vices, small tools, &c, for 24 pupils ; and it is a creditable fact that the fitting-up of the shop, including the placing of machines, all overhead shafting and gear, making and fixing benches and vices, was done entirely by the boys themselves, under the direction of the ins'ructor, Mr. A. J. Newman. It need hardly be said that the educational value of this opportunity was fully realized by the lads. A fine assortment of modern electrical apparatus and engineering models was also obtained during the year, by means of grants from the Department. Two new typewriters have also been added to the equipment of the College. Visits of inspection were made by the boys to the railway workshops, where they were given every facility by the manager and other members of the staff, so that valuable information was gained. The girls visited the woollenmills, being conducted over the works by Mr. Chisholm, who explained fully the details attending the manufacture of blankets from the sheep's back to the finished article. All boys and girls attended the swimming-baths each week during the summer months, 15 boys obtaining certificates of proficiency for distances varying from 440 to 1,760 yards. Cricket and football clubs have been carried on by the boys, and tennis and hockey clubs by the girls, the Junior Hockey Cup being annexed for the first time by the latter. Two exhibitions of school-work were held during the year, one in October at the Agricultural and Pastoral Society's show at Hastings, where 50 ft. of space proved all too small for the exhibits of cookery, dressmaking, needlework, millinery, woodwork, ticket-writing, model-drawing, engineering, machinedrawing, &c. ; and the annual exhibition held in the College in December, when all the practical work done during the year was exhibited in dressmaking, needlework, millinery, woodwork, art, engineering, machine-drawing, geometry, &c, in addition to a large display of cookery, both plain and fancy. About 1,800 persons attended this exhibition, the four large rooms of the College, in addition to the engineering room, being used. The comments spoke well for the work of the pupils. Two free demonstrations in paper-bag cookery were given by Miss Kibblewhite, the domesticscience mistress, the attendance being about 150 on each occasion. Evening Glasses. —The work of this department is very encouraging indeed, showing an advance on that of 1910. There were about 50 per cent, more pupils, and an increased number of pupils taking related courses of work. The actual number of pupils admitted, excluding any day technical classes, was 230. The highest average attendance for any one month was 291, lowest 268, as against 215 and 138 in 1910. The annual examinations were held at the end of November, the results being as under : Students entered for examination, 97. Number of subjects in which examinations were held, 22. Number of students who passed first class, 135 ; second class, 62 ; failed, 67. Total number of papers worked, 264. At the close of 1910 session 66 pupils entered for the various examinations, and 137 papers were worked. This averages two papers per student for 1910, whilst for 1911 the average is three papers, pointing to the fact that students are taking a more complete course of study than in 1910 ; moreover, the standard of examination was raised considerably for the present session. Classes were carried on in the following subjects : Art, woodwork, English, arithmetic, mathematics, geometry, buildingconstruction, machine-construction, engineering, electricity, plumbing, ticket-writing, dressmaking, cookery, millinery, needlework, wool-sorting, sheep-shearing, book-keeping, shorthand, typewriting, mechanics, the subjects being grouped into courses as follows : Building trade, cabinetmaking, engineering, plumbing, domestic and commercial; and it is a matter for congratulation that none of the classes ceased working before the end of the year. A new feature of the work was the establishment, at Twyford, of a class in sheep-shearing by machinery, where, by the kindness of Mr. A. H. Russell, a shed with six machines was available. Ten pupils entered, and the class was carried on continuously each day for nearly six weeks, 5,000 sheep being shorn during the period, the students shearing, at the end of the course, an average of 90 sheep per day, the work being done in a highly satisfactory manner. Eight students were examined at the close of the course, seven being awarded first-class certificates. A Senior Cadet company with 102 members has been formed in connection with the College.
B—E. 5.
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