Page:Handbook of Western Australia.djvu/145

Rh given in the Government schools may be estimated from the highest standard (No. 7)—,viz.:—

1. Beading—To read with fluency, ease, and expression, an ordinary book, or passage from a newspaper, prose, or poetry.

2. Writing—Mercantile writing, to write on paper, from dictation, any ordinary passage, or to make an abstract from memory.

3. Arithmetic—Compound proportion, interest, decimal fractions, and the higher rules of arithmetic.

4. Geography—That of the world generally.

5. Grammar—Syntax, prefixes, and affixes, and the analysis of a simple sentence.

From this it will appear that the instruction given in the Government Schools is, in secular matters, sufficient for the ordinary demands of colonial life. There are now more than 60 schools scattered over the Colony and accessible to most of the population; there are also 21 Assisted Schools, 18 of the Church of Rome and three of the Church of England. Many efforts have been made from time to time to establish schools of a higher class, but never successfully. In 1863 the Bishop of Perth, by the aid of the Society for the promoting of Christian Knowledge, and local contributions, established a Grammar School at Perth, known as the Bishop's School, at which some of the leading men at present in the Colony were educated; it ultimately, however, failed to receive sufficient support, and has been continued as a private school until now; but in 1876 a bill was passed, and a grant made by the Legislative Council, for the establishment of a High School; and, under the provisions of this Act, a Council was appointed to organize and arrange it, and it was opened on 1st March, 1876.