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formed, while the acquaintance with history and geography shown by the most advanced scholars is far beyond what is usually looked for. That the services of the teacher are appreciated in the neighborhood, the increasing numbers and the high average attendance (above 80 per cent during the last two quarters) sufficiently attest.

Stoke School.—Mr. and Mrs. Smith. As the teachers of this school have only recently been appointed, and have had little or no previous experience of school management it would be premature to express a decided opinion as to the present conduct of the school. It is impossible, however, not to observe a general want of system, especially in the arithmetic and writing, which were very indifferent, and the discipline of the school, in such matters as the orderly entering or leaving the room, seems somewhat loose. These defects a longer experience will doubtless remedy, as neither of the teachers seems wanting in zeal.

Richmond Boys' School.—Mr. Sunley, Master. In several special branches of learning this school takes a high rank. The grammar and arithmetic of the boys of the 1st and 2nd classes are unapproached by any other Provincial school, and the formerly very careless penmanship is certainly improving. But in some respects the school is far surpassed by many less pretentious institutions. For instance the spelling of even the more advanced pupils is very faulty, the boys are generally noisy and disorderly, while the state of the school-room, the books, and the maps is not such as would be tolerated in any well ordered school.

Richmond Girls' School.—Miss Spencer, Mistress. I know of no school that affords more satisfaction to the visitor than this. The more advanced girls read both prose and poetry with taste and feeling, the history, grammar, and geography are fair, the hand-writing very good, and the arithmetic quite equal to the average. The arrangement of classes is excellent, while a glance round the school is sufficient to show that the scholars are under perfect control. The neat appearance of the children, and the perfect cleanliness of the room are also worthy of special remark.

Appleby.—Mr. Ironside, Master. If the regular sequence of classes be any test of the standing of a school, Appleby must for some time, take a somewhat low place, the interval between the 1st and 2nd classes and the rest of the school being much wider than I have noticed elsewhere, for while the first two classes read and spell well, and show a fair acquaintance with the outlines of history and geography, the 3rd and succeeding classes are entirely composed of beginners. The present teacher, having been in office only 6 months, can hardly be held accountable for this very serious defect, and it must be remarked to his credit that the hand-writing of the children has greatly improved under his care, and that the order of the school is particularly good.

Ranzau.—Mr. Chamberlain, Master. The teacher has here to contend with drawbacks of no ordinary kind. The majority of his scholars being Germans, the task of communicating instruction in what is to them, at first, a foreign language, is added to the more ordinary difficulty of teaching effectually a large assemblage of children who attend with extreme irregularity. Under these circumstances, a high standard of attainment is hardly to be looked for. Yet, after making due allowance for these drawbacks, the teaching appeared to me not sufficiently systematic, nor was enough done, by a more collective style of teaching to meet the difficulty of instructing large numbers. Few indeed, of our teachers seem to be aware how much may be effected in this way.

Hope.—Mr. Packer, Master. A general expression of dissatisfaction will scarcely convey an adequate idea of the state of this school. To take two instances—in arithmetic, out of 35 scholars present at my last visit, no one so much as attempted a question in proportion or practice, while only 4 could work a simple question in compound division; in geography, the 1st class gave Turkey, Arabia, and Austria as instances of large islands, the 2nd class being unable to state whether New Zealand was an island, a continent, or a peninsula. In addition to this the children seemed to me only one degree less disorderly than the boys in the 1st Division of the Town Boys' School.

River Terrace.—Mr. Bryant, Master. The average daily attendance at this school is very low, having barely reached 50 per cent. during the past year. To whatever cause this may be owing, it is clear that such a rate of attendance must be fatal to the efficiency of any school, and calls for enquiry. The children, on the whole, appeared to me not ill taught, though there was a lack of that spirit and animation so noticeable in our most successful schools. The hand-writing was generally indifferent, but the reading of the first class was quite equal to anything that I have heard in our most advanced schools. The discipline of the school was