58
5. The following changes on the Staff took place during the year:—
Mr. LAI PUI-YAN appointed Articled Pupil Teacher, 1st April. Mr. TSANG KUN-WA, Clerk, resigned, 30th April.
Mr. WONG WAI-SHÜ, appointed Clerk, 1st May.
Mr. R. E. O. BIRD, Senior Assistant Master, went on leave, 4th May. Mr. B. TANNER returned from leave, 20th September.
6. The drainage of the entire premises has been relaid, and a new Masters' Latrine provided. The roofs of two class-rooms have been repaired, and the cubic content of the rooms considerably increased by the exposure of the rafters. It does not appear possible for the Public Works Department to effect alterations of such magnitude in our short vacations (one month each, in February and August). The consequent dislocation of school work is considerable, as we have no spare room into which to transfer the disturbed class.
We are obliged to use the Grand Entrance Lobby, which is entirely unsuited for educational purposes. In the case of classes of 60 boys, some two dozen have to be distributed among other sections which are thereby overcrowded.
7. On the 13th of September a panic occurred in the East Wing of the college, two or three hundred boys rushing downstairs, on account of a cry in the streets that Queen's College was falling. The origin of the scare was simple enough. A piece of plaster fell from the ceiling in a class-room, whereupon all the boys in that room bolted. The wind. blew the dust into the adjoining room, where the boys mistaking it for smoke shouted “Fire !” and ran.
The people in the street added to the excitement. In five minutes, order was restored and work resumed. It was discovered however that one boy in alarm for his
own safety had jumped over the verandah, a distance of 25 feet. He was conveyed to hospital and returned to school a month later. To prevent the recurrence of such a panic,. all plaster ceilings in class-rooms and verandahs should be removed. This is the more necessary when we remember that these ceilings have been in situ fully twenty years and in many places are covered with patches.
8. The health of the college has been very good. The chief causes of absence from sickness were Beri-beri, from which Chinese appear to recover with astonishing ease, and Scabies, which often necessitates an absence of two or three months from school. Dr. JORDAN and Dr. GRÖNE were appointed by the Government to report on the condition of the eyes of the pupils of the college, they discovered a very large proportion of the boys suffer- ing from Trachoma in various stages.
9. I am pleased to be able to report a very marked improvement in the success of our candidates at the Oxford Local Examinations, which were held last July for the twentieth time at this centre. The occasion was signalised by Mok Kai-fook's taking Third Class Junior Honours. This is the first time that a Queen's College boy has obtained Honours. This year I am happy to say that all our Juniors took Mathematics, passing 100 p.c. in Arithmetic, 90 p.c. in Algebra, 80 p.c. in Geometry and 90 p.c. in Mensuration, also 4 out of 5 or 80 p.c. in Trigonometry. All the Preliminary took Higher Arithmetic and Algebra, passing 100 p.c. in Arithmetic, 78 in Algebra and 56 in Higher Arithmetic. The mark Good, next to Distinction, was awarded 19 instead of 11 times as last year. Senior, 1 in Scripture. Junior, 3 in Arithmetic, 1 in Scripture, 1 in Algebra, 2 in Geometry and 2 in Mensuration. Preli- minary, 4 in Arithmetic, 2 in History, 2 in Geometry and 1 in Freehand Drawing.
10. The results of the Annual Examination for Prizes and Promotions, held by me under Standing Orders from the Governing Body are as follows :-
Upper School,
.295 boys examined, 279
or
Lower School,
Preparatory School,
.622
.127
577
27
13
94 % passed. 93 %
124
19
}}
37
98 %
Total,..............1,044
980
17
94%
17
The two previous annual percentages of passes are 81 in 1906, and S8 in 1905.
Table I shows the percentage of passes in each subject.