Richmond Girls—Miss Spencer, (assisted by two pupil teachers.) In point of numbers and regularity of attendance, this school leaves nothing to be desired. The proportion of good readers and writers is remarkably large, and in arithmetic, as in the Town Girls' School, a notable advance has been made during the past twelve months, 37 scholars having successfully passed an examination in proportion and practice, and 21 in fractions, and in arithmetic the school record only 8 girls as knowing anything of fractions and none as having any acquaintance with fractions. A keen spirit of emulation prevails throughout the school; the gradation of classes is carefully attended to, and the prevailing order and neatness are worthy of special commendation.

Appleby—Mr. Chamberlain.—The attendance here has been on the decrease for some time, and has now dwindled down to 13. Very small schools I have found as a rule, in every respect inferior to large ones, and Appleby is by no means an exception. It seems, indeed, next to impossible for either teacher or scholars to shake off the depressing influence of a school where the attendance is at once thin and irregular. It is, therefore, on the double grounds of economy and of superior educational efficiency that I advocate the closing of this school, in order that the few scholars who continue to attend, may be induced to go to the Waimea West school, which the completion of the bridge will bring practically within little more than a mile of the Appleby school. Those who live too far to the eastward to adopt this course will find, I apprehend, little difficulty in reaching either the Richmond or the Ranzau school.

Hope—Mr. Ladley.—So long could not, therefore, continue to attend school with such extreme irregularity, a high standard of attainment cannot reasonably be looked for at Hope school. The present master, who has greatly improved in teaching power since he had charge of Eighty-eight Valley school, several years ago, has, very properly confined his attention almost exclusively to grounding his scholars in the rudiments of reading, writing and arithmetic, in all of which, but especially the last, they were very deficient. As only 5 out of 53 scholars have remained at school during the past year until they had completed their twelfth year, it would be a waste of time to attempt anything more.

Ranzau—Mr. and Mrs. Riedy.—When I last visited this school, in May, the teachers had been appointed only a few days, and could not, therefore, be considered responsible for the then educational status of the school, which appeared, however, to be well conducted. Tested by the annual returns, the numbers at school during both years being about equal. The great decrease in the number of children over 12 will partly explain this falling off, which I find it difficult otherwise to account for, the late master being both painstaking and experienced. Instances of a similar ebb and flow, as it were, have not been wanting in our best conducted schools, and should teach extreme caution in drawing conclusions as to the capabilities of any teacher based on a short experience, a school being emphatically a plant of slow growth, and sensitive to many influences external to that of the teacher himself.

River Terrace—Mrs. Bryant.—A considerable increase has taken place in the attendance at this little school lately, 26 scholars being now present daily. As the children are very fairly taught, and extremely orderly, the experiment of substituting a mistress for a master may be considered as, on the whole, successful, both on the score of pecuniary saving and of efficiency, though such a change is only practicable in a small school.

Spring Grove—Mr. Edmunds.—This is an exceedingly well-taught, but somewhat clamorous school—the noise, being, however, as far as I could judge, the noise of work only. The schoolroom is insufficient to accommodate properly the 35 boys who now attend daily, and the addition of a small class room, such as the girls' school is provided with, would render the present school at once more healthy and more orderly. At my last examination, I found the boys, who were formerly dull and backward, much improved in point of intelligence, there was an unusually large proportion of good readers and arithmeticians. The boys were also generally well trained in geography.

Spring Grove—Girls—Mrs. Harrington, Miss Wratt, assistant.—The high rate of attendance here, (87 per cent. during the last quarter), may be taken as an indication of the popularity of the school. I have observed, too, with pleasure, that a larger proportion of the girls remain at school after 12 years of age than is usual in the country schools. The beneficial results of this are clearly shown in the returns, which record, in almost every branch, a standard far above the average. The discipline and method of teaching leave nothing to be desired, and it is evident that under the able superintendence of the present teacher this must ere long be classed amongst the first of our schools.

Lower Wakefield—Mr. and Mrs. Chattock.—Under the energetic management of the present teacher, Lower Wakefield, which at one time occupied a very inferior place, is gradually taking a respectable rank among our country schools. The reading, which was not long ago so low and indistinct as to be almost inaudible, is now clear and well emphasised. The discipline is also generally very neat; but some time must elapse before the arithmetic of even the most forward scholars can be brought to the level of our best schools. I have observed a similar improvement in both here and at the Spring Grove girls' school.

Upper Wakefield—Mr. and Mrs. Powell.—The numbers attending here have largely increased during the last twelve months, 46 scholars being now present daily, giving an average of 83 per cent. The general management of the school is at once kindly and firm, the gradation of classes is carefully kept, and all the children are fully employed during school hours. The reading continues generally good, and the arithmetic, which was formerly unusually backward, has perceptibly improved under the present management. I was sorry to observe, however, that so marked a falling off had taken place in the writing that I was unable to record a single specimen of writing as "good" on my last visit.

Fox Hill—Miss Hinde.—I can record little or no progress in this school, which shows a daily attendance of only 10, and an average of 55 per cent. for the past year. The attendance of the elder children in particular, is so extremely irregular as to render anything like system an impossibility. Under these circumstances, the teacher, who is thoroughly competent, cannot be held responsible for the languishing state of the school, especially as a precisely similar state of things prevailed under the management of her predecessor. This is simply one of those cases in which the parents have themselves to thank for the ill-taught condition of their children.

Waimea West Village—Mr. Higgin, Mrs. Hansen assistant.—This school has never taken a high place, and is still somewhat in the background, though the