31

E.—s.

teaching and management would be considerably less per student than at present. It is to be hoped that the convincing evidence lately submitted to the Minister of Education of the economy and efficiency which would result from adopting the scheme which has been suggested of providing a home for the Technical College on the Mount Cook Reserve will enable the Government to approve of the scheme. It is impossible to foretell what the growth of technical institutions in this country will be. It is, however, safe to assume that the natural expansion of the industries of the country will lead to an accelerated rate of expansion in technical-college work, as it invariably happens that increase in size of industrial undertaking leads to a greater relative increase in importance of technical education. Consequently we may confidently anticipate that the work of the College will probably grow at a faster rate than will the increase in population. For this reason it behoves tho authorities to make provision for a probable large extension of technical-college work, and not to allow the permanent home of the College to be placed on a cramped site, where extension can only be secured at large and increasing cost. The numbers attending the various classes of the College show a small increase over those for the previous year. As regards regularity of attendance, the record for the Technical High School is very satisfactory, but in the evening and other classes on the whole the attendance was not so good as in former years, owing to so many students being required to work overtime at their ordinary occupations. Large numbers were lost during the year from many of the senior classes owing to enlistment. Technical High School. —Tho number of students for the year was 254, including 243 free pupils. This number is less than for the previous year, but will probably be surpassed by that for 1916. This fluctuation is caused mainly through lack of proper accommodation, overcrowding taking place more heavily in alternate years. During the year the students, mainly by their own work in the ordinary course and with little begging of the usual kind, provided nearly £300 for various patriotic funds, besides making about 180 baby-garments for the Plunket Baby Fund, and carrying out the writing and illumination on parchment of a book of " Thoughts on the War," by leaders in New Zealand. The work was all well done, and a credit to the students and instructors. Evening and other Classes. —These were attended by 1,163 students, of whom 744 were males and 419 females. Free places were held by 439 of these students, 1.95 holding junior and 244 senior free places. The College also provided instructors for woodwork and drawing (fifty-three pupils) at the Wellington Boys' College, for drawing and design (208 pupils) at the Wellington Girls' College, and for drawing, blackboard illustration, &c. (153 students) at the Training College. The average class entries for the year were as follows: Art and art-crafts, 215; building-construction, 20; carpentry and joinery, 49; plumbing, 68; engineering, 315; science, 268; domestic economy, 17.1; English, Latin, arithmetic, &q., 511; commerce, 415; " Amokura " classes, 120: total, 2,152. The numbers of those who took grouped courses during the year and attended well enough to earn higher capitation were as follows: Lower commercial, 173; higher commercial, 142; science and mathematics, 28; trades, 202; domestic, 37; art and art-crafts, 68 : total, 650. Thus nearly 60 per cent, of the students took grouped courses of some value. Art. —The art classes have done good work during the year in very difficult circumstances. I regret to report that Mr. G. R. Pitkethly, who has conducted the art work with conspicuous ability during the last eight years, has left the service of this Board. The fact that he has obtained a much more responsible position as head of the Melbourne Working-men's College School of Art is fair evidence that our art work has been in good hands while he was with us. Mr. H. L. Richardson has been appointed successor to Mr. Pitkethly, and the Board is confident that the work will, be done in the future with no less skill and success than in the past, and that, the school of art will continue to develop on sound lines. The art staff, besides providing for the art classes proper, have also conducted classes in drawing and design in the Technical High School, in the Wellington Girls' College, in the Teachers' Training College, for the Wellington Boys' College, and for teachers on Saturday mornings, and have thus had opportunities of influencing the art-teaching throughout the schools, primary and secondary, in the town. The success of students in the National Competitions in London was very gratifying, and afforded some evidence that the school is being conducted on right lines, especially as the awards won covered several branches of art work, ranging from outdoor sketching and life-work to design and modelling and mural decoration. Twenty-three students forwarded seventy-four works, and obtained thirteen awards of commendation for exhibits of modelled head and foot from life, shaded drawings of heads, hands, and feet from life; studies of animals from nature; designs for damask serviette, and decoration of end of wall of Memorial Hall; water-colour paintings of sailing-boats and figure from nude; anatomical studies and group in water-colours. Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Building Trades. —These classes were adversely affected by the war owing to numbers enlisting, and others working overtime; but good work was done in most branches, and the attendance was good considering tho circumstances. The engineering classes have greatty benefited by the interest which has been taken in them by the Engineering Board of Control. Especially has the Board been successful in arranging apprentice courses and getting students to take them. A ■ good feature of the arrangements made is that certificates issued yearly to the apprentice record not only the results of the year's work at the College, but also the progress made under the employer, and the certificates bear the signature of the employer as well as those of the College authorities. In this way it is expected that the certificates will have a very high value. It is hoped to extend the same system to other trades provided for in the College. A Building Trades Board of Control has been established to correlate the work of the school with that of the trade in carpentry and joinery and building-construc-tion, &c, and should be able to perform very valuable functions in bringing the apprentice to