R.—l.

Age and Sex of Pufils. (E.-2, Table 01.) Table C shows the age and sex of the pupils on the rolls of the public schools of the Dominion at the end of 1914, and the percentage of the roll for each age.

Table C.—Age and Sex of Pupils, December, 1914.

Age. —It will be seen that during the last five years there has been very little difference in the proportion of the various ages : 54 per cent, of the children are under ten and 46 per cent, are over that age. The following shows a comparison between the conditions of public elementary schools in England and the schools of the Dominion : — •England. New Zealand. 5 and under 7 years of age .. .. .. .. 22-7 18-6 7 „ 12 „ .. .. .. 58-2 56-7 12 15 „ .. .. •• .. 18-9 22-9 15 years of age and over .. .. .. .. ..0-2 1-8 * Excluding children from three to five years of age. Sex —Deductions from Table C show that for every 100 boys on the roll there are 92 girls. According to the census of 1911 there were 97 girls between the ages of five and fifteen for every 100 boys. Thus, although 49-2 per cent, of the child population were girls, only 47-9 per cent, of the children in attendance at the . public schools were of that sex. The fact that more girls than boys ieceive their education at private schools accounts to some extent for this difference. Girls apparently leave the primary school at an earlier age than boys also, for of children over thirteen years of age, for every 100 boys there were only 88 girls. In spite of this it may be remarked that for every 100 boys in Standard VI there were 91 girls, showing that girls pass through their standards in a shoiter average time than do boys. Classification and Examination. (E.-l, Tables 1) I andD3.) Taole Dl in E.-2 shows the number of children in each education district arranged according to class. The following table is a summary for the Dominion : —

Table D.—Classification of Pupils at Public Schools, December, 1914.

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Ages. 1914. Percentages for Five Years. Boys. Girls. Total. 1910. 1911. 1912. 1913. 1914. 5 and under 6 years .. 6 . 7 „ .. 7 . 8 ,. .. '8 .. 9 „ 9 „ 10 „ 10 „ 11 „ 11 , 12 „ 12 „ 13 „ 13 ,. It . 14 ., 15 „ 7,356 6,858 14,214 .. 10,099 9,254 19,353 .. 10,544 9,906 20,450 .. 10,908 i 9,894 20,802 .. 10,528 | 9,906 j 20,434 .. 10,559 9,696 I 20,255 .. 9,745 9,041 18,786 .. 9,213 8,500 17,713 .. i 7,983 7,315 15,298 .. 4,342 3,562 7,904 ! , I . 84 8-4 7-9 80 8-0 11-2 111 10-9 10-6 10-9 115 120 11-9 11-8 ' 11-5 11-4 11-5 11-9 118 11-7 11-3 111 11-2 11-7 i 11-4 10-9 10 9 10 8 10-9 11-3 10-2 10-5 10-7 10-5 10-5 100 9-6 10-2 10-2 , 9-9 8-5 8-4 8-2 8-4 -8'6 45 4-5 4-3 4-3 4;4 _____ 15 and over 91,277 83,932 175,209 1,808 1,492 3,300 83,932 1,492 83,932 175,209 97-9 98-0 98-0 1,492 3,300 2-1. 2-0 2-0 85,424 178,509 100-00 100-00 10000 175,209 3,300 97-9 2-1 97-9 98-0 98-0 98-2 98-2 2-1. 2-0 2-0 1-8 1-8 98-0 2-0 98-0 2-0 98-2 98-2 1-8 1-8 1.0000 100-00 Total- .. .. 93,085 85,424 178,509 100-00 10000 10000 10000 100-01

a< b: Classes. Boys. Girls. Total. Percentages for Five Years. ilass P .. „ SI .. . S2.. . S3 . . . 84.. , SB.. . SO .. ,, S7.. Totals.. - .. 34,195 30,660 11,203 i 10,418 .. : 11,411 10,477 .. , 11,164 10,258 .. | 9,906 9,380 .. ' 8,390 7,817 5,643 5,160 .. | 1,173 1,254 93,085 S5,424 I I I ' 1910. < 1911. ! 1912. 1913. ' 64,855 I 37-15 ! 37-30 , 36-70 86-22 ; 21,621 12-17 12-34 12-40 12-39 21,888 11-94 11-90 12-25 12-32 21,422 11-44 11-59 11-70 11-90 i 19,286 10-39 10-48 10-73 10-84 16,207 9-10 8-72 8-85 8'97 i 10,803 6-16 6-21 5-97 6-02 2,427 ; 1-65 | 1-46 1-40 1-34 178,509 100-00 100-00 100-00 100-00 J I 'I 19H. 36-33 12-11 12-26 12-01 10-80 9'08 6-05 1-36 100-00