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Appendix A.
DETAILED REPORTS ON GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS.
No. 1.-Kowloon British School.
Staff.-B. JAMES, M.A., Mrs. Main, Mrs. Drummond and Miss Holmes.
Discipline and Organization.-Discipline, very satisfactory. There seems some danger that competitions such as those for the Belilios Medal and for the prize for Scottish History may disorganize the routine school work. As the stay at school of the girls is rarely more than 3 years, it is important, that nothing should be allowed to interfere with the regular Course of Study. There is perhaps a tendency to try to teach too many subjects in the junior Classes, with a resultant loss of efficiency. The one hour a week given to French in the Lower School might well be dropped. The Crayon work taught there seems rather a babyish study for these Forms.
INFANT SCHOOL.
More than a third of the pupils are in this Division of the school. They have been under instruction for one year and less.
LOWER SCHOOL..
The Lower School comprises 2 Classes equivalent to Standards I and II of an Elementary School at Home, and numbers more than a quarter of the total enrol- ment. This proportion is constant, and there is all the more necessity to see that the pupils have a thorough grounding. The great majority of them leave the Colony before they have completed four years of education, and when they go to schools at Home, the three Rs. are what they will have to depend on in order that they may take good places.
UPPER SCHOOL.
The Upper School consists of 4 Forms. But the attainments of the girls in the top Form vary considerably, Some of the work done is equivalent to Standard VII 'work.
Sanitation.-Very satisfactory.
Floor Space.-Sufficient for 230 pupils.
Apparatus. Very satisfactory.
English. Reading.-Good throughout the school. Writing. The use of exercise books instead of 'slates has brought about an improvement in the neatness of the writing in the Lower School. I do not admire the model of handwriting adopted, as I said in my last Report. Transcription and dictation are very good.
In the Upper School composition is very good. The correspondence conducted through the agency of the Empire League, combined with judicious teaching, has enabled the girls. to attain to a not very common ability to observe and record the results of their observations.
Geography. The subject is taught in an interesting manner. There is a high standard of general knowledge of everyday facts connected with political and commercial geography..
History. Forms I, II and III are given a grounding of Ancient History by means of biographies of famous men. The lessons are original and interesting. English History is taught intelligently in Form IV. Some very promising papers were shewn up at examin- ation. In an examination on Scottish History, held by the St. Andrew's Society, and open to the schools of the Colony, all 3 prizes were won by Kowloon School.
Arithmetic.—The Lower School is well up to the mark as regards accuracy and neat- ness; but there is a tendency to make the work too mechanical. This can best be remedied by giving more attention to mental work and to simple problems. Mental arithmetic was dis- tinctly poor. In fairness it should be added that a change in the school-year has resulted- in an attempt to crowd a year's instruction into 7 months.