Sessional_Paper_1904 — Page 780

HONGKONG.

REPORT BY THE EXAMINERS OF QUEEN'S COLLEGE.

Laid before the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Governor.

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT,

HONGKONG, 10th September, 1904.

No. 43

SIR, As requested in C.S.O. 4833/04 we inspected Queen's College during the last three weeks of the summer term, and have now the honour to submit the following report.

METHOD OF CONDUCTING THE EXAMINATION.

2. The examination was conducted in the way described in last year's report.

3. In forming our opinions we paid particular attention to the following "General Recommendations" which were made by the examiners last year :-

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Colloquial English. This should be (what it certainly is not at present › the most important instrument for teaching English. From the outset boys should be taught to talk to the master and to each other. That this can be done is beyond dispute. If it were done, we should not find that boys after 3 or 4 years' education in English were unwilling to reply to the most simple questions.

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History and Geography.-It is highly desirable that a syllabus should be carefully thought out and laid down, so as to extend throughout the school without variation from year to year.

"Mathematics.--This is much the strongest subject, and we recommend that less time be devoted to it and more to the teaching of English, until the deficiencies of that subject are improved.

"Reading. Reading is studied in the Lower Classes as it were under two heads, reading without and reading with, a comprehension of the meaning of what is read. This system is quite indefensible and should be amended.

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Ch nese. The teaching of Chinese should be altogether reorganized.

Organization. The less competent Chinese masters should be placed under the supervision of English masters.

"General.-In order to secure continuity these general recommendations should be made the basis of next year's report.'

4. At the end of our report we have made further general recommendations as to History and Geography, Mathematics and Organization. Our criticisms on olloquial English, Reading and Chin se are concerned with minor points only, and are given below under those headings. No more general recommendations upon the teaching of these subjects were made, because those made last year have been adopted in a most complete and satisfactory manner.

THE ARRANGEMENT OF CLASSES.

The average

5. The organization of the School remains as described last year. attendance is nearly 1,000, rather more than one-fourth of the boys being in the Upper School (Classes I, II and III), one-half are in the Lower School (Classes IV, V and VI), and the remaining quarter in the Preparatory School (Classes VII and VIII). The Classes are sub-divided into Divisions distinguished by letters—e.g., Ia, IIIc. Divisions of a Class do the same work. With some exceptions, the Divisions of the Upper School are under English Masters, those of the Lower School under Chinese Masters, while the 'reparatory School is by a most happy innovation staffed by Chinese Masters and Pupil-Teachers under an English Normal Master.

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6. Since last year a Chinese Side has been added to the Lower School and Preparatory School; A "pass" Entrance Examination in Chinese has to be gone through; and a system is being gradually introduced under which it will, in a few years, be no longer possible for Chinese boys to reach the Upper School without a working knowledge of the Chinese Written Language.

1904

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