teachers imitate the low tones in which she speaks, and, in consequence, the questions and answers are so imperfectly audible that the teaching wants point, incisiveness, and solidity. The classification is not judicious; girls have been promoted when such promotion was entirely premature, and in manifest violation of the table of minimum attainments. Good order prevails, but the discipline fails to secure silence, distinct tones, and attentive habits. The daily average attendance is 55-8 per cent., and 36-7 pupils have attended four days out of five. The attendance has been much affected by the prevalent epidemics, and one pupil-teacher and several pupils of the school have died. The general proficiency is moderate, and a fair quantity of work has been done.

LEICHHARDT STREET (INFANTS).
Inspected 6th October.

On roll:-Boys, 85; girls, 165; total, 250. Present :-Boys, 66; girls, 124; total, 190. The class-room devoted to infants forms a third wing of the general school buildings. It is preposterously small in relation to the number of pupils, there being only three square feet to each child in average attendance. The area would barely afford standing room for the children when closely packedto teach them in this room is impossible. They overflow into the girls' room, into the girls' hat room, on to the verandah, and into shady corners outside; and so they are handled after a fashion. There is no space for proper drilling, and marching is impossible. There is no hat room for the infants, but arrangements are being made for disposing of the very bad practice now followod of having the hats heaped in disorder in corners. A play shed, simple gymnastic apparatus, and surface drains are needed. Under such physical conditions, the proper routine of an infant school cannot, of course, proceed. Nevertheless, the internal condition of the school is by no means bad; it is well conducted under the circumstances, and the children show habits of discipline and attention which might well be imitated by the children attending the higher departments of the institution. There is an average of 39 pupils to each teacher-the staff consisting of the mistress and four pupil-teachers, all of whom appear to be well fitted for their duties. The daily average attendance has been 54 per cent., and 387 per cent. have attended with regularity. The general character of the administration is satisfactory.

MOGGILL.
Inspected 14th April.

On roll:-Boys, 31; girls, 68; total, 68. Present:-Boys, 28; girls, 25; total, 53.

The buildings are much injured by the ravages of the white ant, but they continue to be waterproof. A new closet and a blackboard are needed. Swings and croquet sets are in habitual use for the amusement of the children. The staff consists of the teacher and a male pupil-teacher, and to each teacher there is an average of only 19 scholars. The head teacher is a competent and painstaking man, but the pupil-teacher, though naturally a clever lad, has been allowed to fall into lazy habits, and he is at present one of the most useless pupil-teachers in the service. A considerable number of children in the highest classes were not provided with copies. Order and discipline are very fair; corporal punishment not in use. The attendance has been very irregular, but it is fairly punctual. The quality of the results is moderate, and the general condition pretty satisfactory.

MOUNT GRAVATT (PROVISIONAL).
Inspected 11th May.

On roll:-Boys, 19; girls, 6; total, 25. Present:-Boys, 12; girls, 6; total, 18.

The premises consist of a half-ruinous slab hut with mud floor. Many of the window panes are broken, and the furniture is rude, ill-proportioned, and badly placed. There is neither clock nor closet. The mud floor of the hut was damp and cold, but clean, and the interior has a most cheerless aspect. The teacher is an old man, who has for many years conducted a provisional school in the Board's service, but his administration is devoid of method, and shows no improvement. He is conscientious, and does best earnestly, but he is too eager to explain his plans of instruction, and to expatiate upon his success, to listen to any advice or suggestions from an Inspector. Though practically blind as far as reading a book is concerned without the aid of glasses, he contents himself with an eye-glass, which requires to be laboriously adjusted every few seconds. This absurd practice places him at a disadvantage. The discipline is very defective; I have never seen little children at school behave with greater impropriety than the youngest draft of the first class. The daily average attendance for last quarter was 624 per cent., and only 20 per cent. have attended with regularity. Eighteen children of school age, and within reach of this school, are reported as receiving no education. The school registers have been very imperfectly kept. The answering was, upon the whole, of a very moderate character, and the progress of the children is not very marked.

NORMAL SCHOOL (BOYS).
Inspected 8th to 14th September.

On roll:-471. Average present, 330.

The material condition is very good; and as regards appliances for instruction, the supply of fifth books alone appeared to be defective. The floor space available affords 163 square feet to each pupil in average attendance, and 11 square feet for each pupil on the roll, and is therefore ample for present requirements. The internal organization is good; the head master exercises a thorough supervision over

his

his subordinates; all the work in classes below the fifth is prescribed by him; this work is tested by regular weekly examinations of the classes, and the results are recorded. The staff is somewhat weak numerically -the average number of scholars to each teacher, exclusive of the head teacher, being 30-a considerably larger number than can be taught with thorough efficiency, the age and standing of the pupils, and the youth and inexperience of some of the teachers being considered. The staff consists of twelve members, of whom five are pupil-teachers. The tone of the boys is good; order very fair; discipline capable of improvement, especially in the direction of the suppression of noise in school and during recess. The average daily attendance was 546 per cent. for the quarter ending in June; for the present quarter, now near its close, it has been 70 per cent.-the health of the town having improved. During last quarter only 31 per cent. of the boys attended four days out of five. The class answering was generally goodoften very good indeed, and in only one case it fell a little below moderate; at the same time the amount gone over has been satisfactory. The writing done in school and the penmanship and intellectual work of home exercises have obtained a higher estimate of merit at the examination than any other branch of the school work; but no subject has been estimated on an average at less than fair. The improvement in drill is of a very marked character. The general condition of the school, under the circumstances of great irregularity of pupils and teachers through sickness, is quite satisfactory.

NORMAL SCHOOL (GIRLS).

Inspected 17th to 24th September.
On roll, 370. Present, 271.

The premises afford accommodation fair in character and ample in quantity for the attendance, and the supply of material for instruction is sufficient. The playground is being improved by the growth of clumps of bamboo, beneath whose shade the children find a grateful retreat from the sun. There are no appliances for games or amusement. The space available for teaching, including hat-room and playshed, is represented to be 4,597 square feet. The internal organization is good. The staff is strong in numbers, affording one teacher to every twenty scholars in average attendance, and consists of thirteen members, including a work-mistress and a supernumerary, only two of these being pupil-teachers. The staff is also effective in quality, the best teachers under the head mistress being unquestionably those young persons who were once pupils of this or some other Queensland primary school, and have been trained in the colony. The way in which these ex pupil-teachers set about and carry out their work, the large amount of exact knowledge which they have succeeded in imparting, the logical and educative methods which they have followed, and the fine tone and discipline of the pupils under their charge, came fully under observation during inspection. The head mistress does not confine her instruction to any one class, but extends her supervision and direction to the work of all classes, with general advantage to the school, but with loss to the higher culture of the fifth class. During last quarter the daily average attendance was only 49'4 per cent., and not more than 17 per cent. attended four days out of five. Sickness and the dread of infection explain this singularly bad attendance. There were frequent and sometimes prolonged absences of teachers on account of sickness in the first half of the year. Drawing and English history are the only extra subjects. Needlework has been more systematically taught than hitherto. Drill has been made part of the routine instruction; the exercises are useful and pleasing, and they are performed with considerable precision. In spite of the very irregular attendance of teachers and pupils in the earlier part of the year, good results were obtained at examination, and a fair amount of ground has been covered.

NORMAL SCHOOL (INFANTS).

Inspected 27th and 28th September.

On roll:-Boys, 168; girls, 202; total, 370. Present:-Boys, 123; girls, 109; total, 232. The building is dimly lighted and badly ventilated, and is barely large enough for the pupils in attendance. The supply of material was found to be defective in numerous respects. There are no appliances of any kind for the amusement of the children out of the school. The staff is strong, being at the rate of one teacher to twenty-three pupils. The internal organization is fair. The head mistress is not in robust health, a circumstance which militates against the school. The intellectuality of the instruction has improved a little, and the penmanship has also improved; but the culture of the children in the use of numbers continues to be unnecessarily and unwisely retarded. The attendance has partaken of the broken character of the attendance in town schools generally. The results obtained were decidedly fair, and the pupils in general respects have made very fair progress.

NUDGEE.

Inspected 25th August.

On roll:-Boys, 33; girls, 22; total, 55. Present:-Boys, 29; girls, 15; total, 44. The buildings are new and very well constructed. The schoolroom is furnished with eight-foot verandahs and is a very pleasant apartment. The dwelling house consists of two new weather-boarded rooms and a detached slab-built apartment, which formerly did duty as a provisional school. There is no fireplace in any of the rooms, and all cooking must be done in the open air. The ground consists of two acres of rather flat land liable to be wet in rainy seasons and incompletely fenced. It is being cleared by the united labor of the teacher and the pupils, and some flower beds have already been laid out. Tanks and lavatory are required. The old provisional school has been supplanted by a vested school; the new teacher

teacher has been little more than a month in charge, and there has been a large influx of pupils ; under these circumstances rigid criticism would be out of place. The teacher appears to be master of his work, to know clearly what is to be done and how to do it, and at the same time he brings a zealous and conscientious spirit to his duties. There is every prospect of the school doing well. The daily average attendance is 63.9 per cent., and only 35 per cent. of the scholars have attended at the rate of four days out of five.

OAKWOOD (PROVISIONAL).
Inspected 14th May.

On roll:-Boys, 16; girls, 10; total, 26. Present:-Boys, 8; girls, 6; total, 14.

The building is a chapel belonging to the United Free Methodist communion, and is built of slabs and sawn pine. It is falling into decay. The furniture is sufficient in quantity but of such awkward form that orderly movements are made impossible. The appliances and furniture are defective as regards black-board, book-press, clock, and ball-frame. The books are dirty and badly thumbed. The teacher has had no preparation for the duties he undertakes, and shows no fitness for them beyond a willingness to do his work and to learn to do it; these qualities, coupled with good sense, give promise of a certain degree of future efficiency. The majority of the children are between the ages of seven and nine, and the more advanced scholars have attended other schools. The oral spelling was remarkably good. The teacher is unable to teach grammar. The average daily attendance is 504 per cent., and only 23 per cent. of the scholars have attended steadily.

PETRIE TERRACE (BOYS).

Inspected 4th and 5th November.
On roll, 142. Present, 114.

The material organization is good in most respects. The building was erected several years ago, and it differs from the brick buildings recently put up in town in this respect, that it is well ventilated. There are neither verandahs nor play-sheds-serious wants in such a school; and there is no lavatory. Some of the reading-books are defective, and a few repairs are needed to black-boards and gate. The internal organization is very fair. There is one teacher to every 28 pupils in average attendance, and the staff, consisting as it does of the head teacher, two trained assistants, and a good pupil-teacher of the fourth year, is comparatively strong. The inspections of this school from time to time reveal a gradual progression, but still the extent of supervision given by the head master to the work of his subordinates appears to be too limited. The discipline is effective except in the class taught by the senior assistant, and the tone of the school has improved. Latin is taught for an hour a week after school hours. The quality of the general results is fair, and the quantity of work done is satisfactory except in the first class drafts. The third class shows good tone and very fair natural ability, but they are weakly taught in the branches which come under the head of reading. The upper draft of the fourth class acquitted themselves with unusual credit, and showed themselves to be possessed of a large amount of well digested information. The daily average attendance is 72.9 per cent., and 53 per cent. of the number of pupils on the roll have attended four days out of five. This attendance is unusually good, and offers a surprising contrast to that of the female and infant department. The general condition of the school is satisfactory, and the pupils have made good progress.

manner.

PETRIE TERRACE (GIRLS AND INFANTS).

Inspected 8th, 10th, and 11th November.

On roll :-Boys, 72; girls, 233; total, 305. Present:-Boys, 48; girls, 115; total, 163. Material organization very good. Since last inspection the new buildings have been occupied. They are constructed of brick, and comprehend one fair large room for the girls, a fair-sized class-room for the infants, and a roomy porch for the hats. The arrangements for ventilation, as usual, are defective. A lavatory is still required. The staff consists of the head mistress, three adult assistants, and three pupil-teachers, and affords one teacher to twenty-seven pupils in average attendance. The staff is fairly up to the requirements, and the teachers, young and old, set about their work in a vigorous and intelligent More systematic supervision from the head mistress would benefit the school. The classes generally are well disciplined, and the tone is excellent in the higher classes and fair throughout the school. The infant department is managed with a good deal of life, energy, and conscientiousness; the teacher in charge wants experience, but she is gaining it. Needlework is taught without any system, except in the third class, and many of the younger girls had no work to show. The subject of arithmetic is, out of proportion to other attainments, weak in all the classes, although a fair portion of time is given to it. The attendance is indifferent or bad; only 548 per cent. of the pupils are in daily average attendance, and no more than 187 per cent. have been present four days out of five. Sickness has prevailed with unusual severity in this district, and this circumstance affords an explanation of the exceptionally bad attendance. It is remarkable, however, that the boys should have attended with a regularity unusual in the city schools. The general condition of the school is satisfactory, and the pupils may be regarded as having made very fair progress in all subjects except needlework and arithmetic.

SAMFORD

SAMFORD (PROVISIONAL).

Inspected 27th August.

On roll:-Boys, 8; girls, 18; total, 26. Present :-Boys, 8; girls, 5; total, 13.

School is held in a good slab building, floored with slabs and shingled with pine, built for school purposes and unusually well adapted for its purpose. The furniture is efficient and of a tolerably good pattern, but not of the proper heights; the requirements are first and second books, a ball-frame, clock, and book press. The teacher is a man of weak judgment, and, though he has taught a provisional school in the Board's service for many years, the mental attitude of dignified protest in which he receives the visits of an Inspector prevents him from reaping the benefit which might otherwise accrue from these visits. The time-table was incomprehensible. The classification was unintelligible, second class reading third books, and part of the first class reading second books. The records of attendance are inconsistent and contradictory. They are also kept in such a manner as to be unreliable: the attendance for two days preceding my visit was not entered in the class roll, and for the two days before it was entered only in pencil. The average daily attendance is returned as 48.3 per cent. of the aggregate, but not a single child has attended so much as four days out of five. A good deal of pains has been taken to teach writing, and very fair progress has been made in that subject, but the proficiency in other subjects is very moderate.

SANDGATE.
Inspected 24th August.

total, 47. Present:-Boys, 17; girls, 15; total, 32.

On roll:-Boys, 23; girls, 24; The buildings are in good order. The ground has been enclosed with a three-rail fence, and an underground tank has been built. The teacher and pupils have cleared the playground to a large extent, and a small flower garden has been enclosed. Swings are provided for the amusement of the scholars. The school is well furnished in all respects; and as a whole this is one of the pleasantest school houses in the colony. The internal organization is pretty fair, but the conditions are not very favorable to a good school. The teacher, who is not in good health, hardly approaches his work with desirable cheerfulness. The discipline wants gentleness, and references to flogging as a motive for the correction of faults of an ordinary type militates against a healthy tone. Intellectuality is wanting in the attainments of the pupils. The daily average attendance has been 54 per cent. of the aggregate, and 35.5 per cent. have attended steadily. Visitors to the sea-side, when accompanied by their families, often send their children for a few weeks to this school. The general condition of the school is moderate.

SEVENTEEN-MILE ROCKS (PROVISIONAL).
Inspected 4th August.

On roll:-Boys, 14; girls, 21; total 35. Present:-Boys, 8; girls, 12; total, 20.

The building is again falling into disrepair through the ravages of the white ant; it is tolerably furnished with all requirements except a globe. The closet is unfit for use. The internal organization is pretty fair for a provisional school, in spite of characteristic faults: for example, the seven children present in the first class were presented for examination in five drafts, and in this way they have been taught. The discipline is mild and effective, and teacher and pupils have improved in punctuality. The daily average attendance has been 564, and only 20 per cent. of the pupils have attended regularly. The quality of the results is only very moderate, but a fair amount of work has been gone over. As a provisional school the condition is stationary, not steadily progressive as it should be; the administration does not visibly improve as it ought to do under long-continued inspection.

SOUTH BRISBANE (BOYS).
Inspected 15th and 16th November.
On roll, 160. Present, 126.

The premises are in good order, and, including the play-shed, which is in constant use as a class room, there is plenty of accommodation. Gymnastic apparatus is entirely wanting. The staff consists of the head, an assistant, and a pupil-teacher, the last being almost useless. This gives 39 pupils in average attendance to each teacher, and consequently the staff must be considered weak. Still, the management is vigorous and professional; the head is a competent, energetic, and painstaking man, and the assistant is industrious, careful, and successful, as a teacher. The tone of the children is steadily improving it is now agreeable. The discipline is commanding without harshness, and thoroughly effective. The daily average attendance has been 62 per cent., and 42 per cent. of the pupils have been regular attendants. Boys and girls are taught singing together by the master. The instruction in this subject partakes of the character of all the instruction in this school-thoroughness. The boys have always excelled in drill, and they have advanced considerably since last inspection.

SOUTH

teacher has been little more than a month in charge, and there has been a large influx of pupils; under these circumstances rigid criticism would be out of place. The teacher appears to be master of his work, to know clearly what is to be done and how to do it, and at the same time he brings a zealous and conscientious spirit to his duties. There is every prospect of the school doing well. The daily average attendance is 63.9 per cent., and only 35 per cent. of the scholars have attended at the rate of four days out of five.

OAKWOOD (PROVISIONAL).
Inspected 14th May.

On roll:-Boys, 16; girls, 10; total, 26. Present:-Boys, 8; girls, 6; total, 14.

The building is a chapel belonging to the United Free Methodist communion, and is built of slabs and sawn pine. It is falling into decay. The furniture is sufficient in quantity but of such awkward form that orderly movements are made impossible. The appliances and furniture are defective as regards black-board, book-press, clock, and ball-frame. The books are dirty and badly thumbed. The teacher has had no preparation for the duties he undertakes, and shows no fitness for them beyond a willingness to do his work and to learn to do it; these qualities, coupled with good sense, give promise of a certain degree of future efficiency. The majority of the children are between the ages of seven and nine, and the more advanced scholars have attended other schools. The oral spelling was remarkably good. The teacher is unable to teach grammar. The average daily attendance is 504 per cent., and only 23 per cent. of the scholars have attended steadily.

PETRIE TERRACE (BOYS).

Inspected 4th and 5th November.

On roll, 142. Present, 114.

The material organization is good in most respects. The building was erected several years ago, and it differs from the brick buildings recently put up in town in this respect, that it is well ventilated. There are neither verandahs nor play-sheds-serious wants in such a school; and there is no lavatory. Some of the reading-books are defective, and a few repairs are needed to black-boards and gate. The internal organization is very fair. There is one teacher to every 28 pupils in average attendance, and the staff, consisting as it does of the head teacher, two trained assistants, and a good pupil-teacher of the fourth year, is comparatively strong. The inspections of this school from time to time reveal a gradual progression, but still the extent of supervision given by the head master to the work of his subordinates appears to be too limited. The discipline is effective except in the class taught by the senior assistant, and the tone of the school has improved. Latin is taught for an hour a week after school hours. The quality of the general results is fair, and the quantity of work done is satisfactory except in the first class drafts. The third class shows good tone and very fair natural ability, but they are weakly taught in the branches which come under the head of reading. The upper draft of the fourth class acquitted themselves with unusual credit, and showed themselves to be possessed of a large amount of well digested information. The daily average attendance is 72.9 per cent., and 53 per cent. of the number of pupils on the roll have attended four days out of five. This attendance is unusually good, and offers a surprising contrast to that of the female and infant department. The general condition of the school is satisfactory, and the pupils have made good progress.

PETRIE TERRACE (GIRLS AND INFANTS).

Inspected 8th, 10th, and 11th November.

On roll:-Boys, 72; girls, 233; total, 305. Present:-Boys, 48; girls, 115; total, 163. Material organization very good. Since last inspection the new buildings have been occupied. They are constructed of brick, and comprehend one fair large room for the girls, a fair-sized class-room for the infants, and a roomy porch for the hats. The arrangements for ventilation, as usual, are defective. A lavatory is still required. The staff consists of the head mistress, three adult assistants, and three pupil-teachers, and affords one teacher to twenty-seven pupils in average attendance. The staff is fairly up to the requirements, and the teachers, young and old, set about their work in a vigorous and intelligent manner. More systematic supervision from the head mistress would benefit the school. The classes generally are well disciplined, and the tone is excellent in the higher classes and fair throughout the school. The infant department is managed with a good deal of life, energy, and conscientiousness; the teacher in charge wants experience, but she is gaining it. Needlework is taught without any system, except in the third class, and many of the younger girls had no work to show. The subject of arithmetic is, out of proportion to other attainments, weak in all the classes, although a fair portion of time is given to it. The attendance is indifferent or bad; only 548 per cent. of the pupils are in daily average attendance, and no more than 187 per cent. have been present four days out of five. Sickness has prevailed with unusual severity in this district, and this circumstance affords an explanation of the exceptionally bad attendance. It is remarkable, however, that the boys should have attended with a regularity unusual in the city schools. The general condition of the school is satisfactory, and the pupils may be regarded as having made very fair progress in all subjects except needlework and arithmetic.

SAMFORD