B. 8. SOUTH MAKARA.—School lamentably low, the copy-books wretched, and the schoolroom scribbled over with rude chalk figures left undefaced. The desks want altering so as to have much less slope. There is a teacher’s residence uninhabitable.

The school should be lined.

B. 9. NORTH MAKARA.—The children have made very fair progress since my last visit. A respectable class of children attend in a room rented for the purpose of a school, but much too small. The copy-books were ill written.

B. 10. GRANITE.—School is held in a lean-to by Mrs. Hughes and her daughter, who devote themselves to their work with satisfactory results.

B. 11. LOWRY BAY.—This school has been sadly neglected under the management of the late Master, Mr. Gush, now superseded. There ought to be a large and good school here. The present building, an old blockhouse, is but ill suited for a schoolroom, being cold, draughty, and inconvenient. The closets were in bad order. Mr. Macdonald, the Master in charge at the time of my visit, set himself to work in good earnest, but of late the school has again drifted.

B. 12. UPPER HUTT.—About twenty children have lately removed to the Wairarapa, and consequently the present building is nearly large enough for the numbers attending. I found little improvement since my last visit; for this the late Master, Mr. Macdonald, is to blame. The offices were dirty, and the children far from tidy.

B. 13. TARA.—A large and commodious building, wanting paint, like all the country schools. The arithmetic is weak; in the lower part of the school the multiplication tables were not known. The discipline is lax, but the general tone is very fair, and many respectable children attend and make good progress. I reorganized the school, the desks being fairly suitable.

B. 14. WAINUIOMATA.—Little or no progress has been made since my last visit. Miss Grace is responsible. Miss Faithful is working hard to raise the school. A good, fireplace, and new desks are badly wanted. There is a fair residence detached.

B. 15. BELMONT.—A handful of children attend; no offices; discipline weak, but kindly. School low in results. Building not Board property.

B. 16. KOROKORO.—A half-time school with Belmont, and similar in all respects. No fireplace. Building not Board property.

C. 1. FOXTON.—Foxton is badly provided with a school. The building is worn out, there is no fireplace, and the desks are old and clumsy. There should be a good school under a competent master and mistress. The settlers are willing to supplement Government aid. All the girls attend a private school. A clock is wanted. There is a splendid paddock (fenced), containing two or three acres, on which the school stands.

C. 2. PLIMMERTON.—The numbers attending have doubled in the past half-year, and the new comers are mostly young and ignorant. This must be the master’s present excuse for the exceedingly low results. More parallel desks are wanted. There is a good schoolroom.

C. 3. SANDRON.—The roads in this district have been almost impassable during the past winter. The teachers, Mr. and Mrs. Williams, are well qualified and trained. This promises to become a really good school. The building is large and suitable, but without a fireplace. Five more parallel desks are wanted. The playground is now fenced. A residence attached.

C. 4. CARNARVON.—During the winter the few children who attend, toil miles over wretched roads. The schoolroom is new and suitable. There is a division among the few settlers as to the best position for the school. There are very many places with a better claim for a school than Carnarvon. More children are expected to attend in the summer, if the local differences can be settled.

D. 1. TURAKINA.—An effort on the part of the settlers and the new master and mistress will be wanted to raise the Turakina School from its sunken condition. There is the present drawback of the want of a suitable building. The master’s residence and eligible site recently purchased by the Education Board form a capital property. As soon as the new school is built, and Mr. Williamson and Mrs. Boddy are in charge, a better state of things may be looked for. Mr. Gouger, the late master, evidently felt no interest in his work.

D. 2. TURAKINA VALLEY.—Several of the children have attended for the past five or six years. The building is sufficient but wants lining; new desks, and new offices. The results of examination were satisfactory, except in the third standard. Six good candidates all failed to pass.

D. 3. MARTON.—There is not space to seat the children attending. The township is growing, and the school increasing under the efficient teaching of Mr. Gillet and Mrs. Jordan. An extension, 18 feet wide and 35 feet long is needed. This would give space for three blocks of desks 9 feet long with spaces between. The children, in their personal appearance, did not reflect the neat and prosperous condition of the township. There is a master’s residence detached in a fenced playground. The roof requires repairs.

D. 5. WESTERN HUTT.—Formerly the children of school-going age resided near, but as they have grown up the next comers have had further to travel to school. The fifteen children now on the books are of a very respectable class, and five of them might have been expected to pass Standard III, but failed. The present master is not able to teach more than the work of the two first Standards.