GOVERNMENT CENTRAL SCHOOL.-CHINESE EXAMINATIONS. PERCENTAGE of PASSES in EACH SUBJECT, in 1887,
Anglo-Chinese Division.
I........
II.,
III.,
I.,
II.,
III.,
IV.,
Anglo-Chinese Division.
No. of Boys Examined.
Copy Writing.
Reading. Dictation.
Chinese Characters.
Transla- !
tion.
Total Percentage Passed.
V.............
VI.,
12
12
12
10
12
12
11
9
12
12
22
8
100
9
100
11
6
9
9
10
73
Chinese Class.
Chinese Class.
No. of Boys Examined.
Essay
Letter.
Prosody.
Total Percentage Passed.
41
37
35
11
90
67
59
54
50
83
71
66
39
58
87
38
34
27
24
79
40
36
28
33
8
82
19
16
16
79
12. Comparing the results of the year 1887, as tabulated above, with the results exhibited by the previous year's examinations, it is evident that the Government Central School not only maintains its high standard successfully, but continues making solid progress year by year. As to the comparative results achieved in the several sections of the School, Classes II, III, VII, X and XI distinguished them- selves particularly by a high average uniformly secured in almost every subject, excepting only Reading in Classes II and X and Arithmetic in Classes III and VII. Compared with last year, Člass I did better in every subject with the exception of Euclid, History and Map-drawing, and the progress made. in Dictation was specially to be appreciated. Classes IV and V appeared to be rather weak in Dictation and Arithmetic, but exhibited in all the other subjects sensible improvement, which was specially noticeable in the case of Class IV in Composition and Euclid and in the case of Class V in Grammar. Classes VI and VIII shewed good progress in the subjects of Dictation and Arithmetic but slightly poorer results in Translation. Class VII did very well in Reading, Dictation and Translation, but there was some falling off in Arithmetic and Map-drawing. Class IX did in most subjects better than in the previous year, with the exception of Dictation and Translation. The Chinese Classes of the School shewed on the whole satisfactory results, but especially so the Anglo-Chinese division where very marked progress has been made. The addition of Latin to the list of higher subjects taught in the Government Central School is a noticeable innovation, characteristic of the year 1887, which has added new subjects to the program of a number of other Schools in the Colony. In the early years of the Government Central School, anything beyond a partial mastery of the English language was viewed by the Chinese boys of the School as an irksome burden and as a waste of time, but after a while, little by little, they came to appreciate Mathematics also and Chemistry, and at one time (1870) even the Theory of Music and Drawing were included among the subjects taught in the School. Chemistry, which for some years dropped out of the program, and Book-keeping, which has been taken up in several of the Grant-in-Aid Schools, are at the present day making their claims felt. But there is a danger of over- burdening youthful brains and teaching multa instead of the better multum. School-hours have already reached the limit of what is safe to health. Home-lessons, indispensable as they are, are already dangerously encroaching upon the time needed for exercise. The remedy appears to me to lie in forming a higher division over and above that which now includes the first class of the Government Central School. If scholars can be induced to stay in. School a year or two longer, all the higher subjects like Chemistry, Book-keeping, Latin and Mathematical Drawing, and so forth, might be relegated to this senior division which eventually might be affiliated with some English University.