SChool Records Taranaki

[DeniseBS]

Hi Beg

Too be honest I can't remember exactly what they were as it was in 2006 and because I wasn't interested in the foster brother I only made a mental note that I had found something on him. I am leaning towards them being the examination records.

Yes I know I should make clear notes of everything I have searched    but I am usually rushing to make the most out of the opportunity when it arises which is not often. I am leaning towards them being examination records.

What has sparked my interest in following this up again is that I made a quick visit to the Auckland Archives Thursday week ago just before attending a family funeral. I found the thing I went there for and found a couple of other interesting tidbits. Then it got me thinking about the school records again.

I think I have clearer understanding of what records schools created now than I did in 2006 so perhaps I need to revisit the whole Ellerslie thing again to make absolutely sure I haven't missed anything. Because I don't have any exact dates I am guessing about when he would have been there.

He was born in 1892 (his foster brother in 1888), his mother married in 1904 in Stratford and we believe her future husband did not want to raise another man's child so she took him back to Auckland and had him fostered. His Statement of Service for the Railways says his Education Qualification was Std 5, so if I remember correctly that would make him about twelve when he finished his schooling. So maybe you are right and he never went to that school, although family lore says he did. Unfortunately the funeral I attended in Auckland the other week was the last of my parents' generation, a daughter in law of my grandfather's.

Cheers

Denise

[minniehaha]

Hello Denise,

"His Statement of Service for the Railways says his Education Qualification was Std 5, so if I remember correctly that would make him about twelve when he finished his schooling."

Don't know whether it makes any difference or not, but Standard 6 was generally the year for twelve year olds.

Minniehaha.

[Kweecopl]

Hi
There was various reasons that children could remain in primary school until they finished their education. This could be 16 year-olds in Standard 6. Pupils tended to be held back if they failed an end-of-year exam or were absent for a good part of that year. I was in Std 5 with a fellow pupil who was 16. I myself was 12 having lost a year by attending a city school for 12 months for speech therapy.
After the 1950's the Education Department's policy on year-by-year advancement was made virtually mandatory. So, just about all pupils had at least some secondary schooling from this time.

[DeniseBS]

Hi

Just an update on my initial post about Taranaki Schools. I went to the NZ Archives office in Wgtn last week and waded through the School Examination Lists for 1898 to 1903 for N (Ngaire School) to W (Wortley Road School). I chose this section of the alphabet as it included Stratford and Whangamomona, two places associated with my gt grandmother. No luck. I will go back to do the A-Ms as well, a my gt grandmother had a sister at Eltham. It may have been he was only in Taranaki for months and missed the annual school examination.

As for the records themselves they were easy to look through. They have been bound into two books for each year, as I said above I have only looked at the last book of each year so far. Each school has two summary sheets at the beginning, one blue and one white. Both pre-printed and then filled in by the examiner. The next sheets are pre-printed too. One has columns for the three primmer classes and then the other sheet is for the standards. Usually several standards classes on the same sheet, sometimes girls and boys listed separately. The last page or pages are a handwritten summary on some kind on funny now brittle paper.

Looking at ages of children in various classes was interesting. I found a 12 year old in the primmers and Std 5 ages were anywhere from 12 to 15.

Cheers

Denise