Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Contemplated Extension Of The Boys' School.
THE CONTEMPLATED EXTENSION OF THE BOYS' SCHOOL .
OUR readers will have gathered from a paragraph -which recently appeared in these columns , that an idea has been started for the purpose of making- a very considerable addition to the Boys' School . Indeed , at the Quarterly General Court , held on the 15 th instant , an influential supporter of the Institution brought forward a distinct
motion , to the effect that additional accommodation be forthwith erected for fifty boys , and that at the October election that number of Candidates be elected in order to make up the required number . The motion was not discussed at very great length , and it was stated on conpetent authority
that the scheme , so far as any additions to the present building were concerned , was impracticable . The general feeling of the Committee was manifestly , that before any steps were seriously taken to enlarge the Institution , the subject should be thoroughly considered by the House
Committee , that their Report should be submitted to the General Committee , and by them referred to the Quarterly Court . In such case it was obvious that the whole question from every imaginable point of view would be fully and fairly discussed , before it reached its final stage , and came
on for approval or rejection before the Court . An amended amendment , therefore , proposing the reference of the whole subject as stated above was unanimously carried , and there for the present the matter rests . There , likewise , we should be disposed to leave it , but for
two reasons , the large amount of subscriptions made these last two years by the Craft , and the heavy demands made upon the establishment by the slow but steady increase which has been taking place in the numerical strength of the School .
By the labours of the Executive the school has been brought to a highly satisfactory state . The Educational Staff has also done its duty , as is shown by the repeated successes of the pupils at different public examinations . The Usances of the School , thanks to the energy of " Our
Hercules , ' and the valuable support he has received from the Boards of Stewards at the last two Animal Festivals , are flourishing . The debt incurred in erecting and fitting the present building has been cancelled . Kent House has been purchased for use as an infirmary , fitted and paid for . The
modest sum of a few thousands of pounds has been invested , and the respectable balance of a little over £ 2 , 550 remained to be carried forward for the expenses of the year just entered upon . All this , we say , is eminently satisfactory . On the other hand , the- number of applicants for admission
is hugely out of proportion to the number of vacancies which occur from time to time . To take only the case of the election in October last , there were fifty-seven candidates for fifteen vacancies . Thus forty-two of the former were left out in the cold , and of these two lost their only
or remaining chance of election , so that forty have been left over for another ballot in April next . This number has been further increased till it has now reached fifty-nine , and these will compete for the twelve vacancies which have
thus far been announced . As the ratio of candidates to vacancies is about the same at every election , the numbers we have given above will suffice toshow that while the School has been steadily increasing in numbers , the number of applicants has been also on the increase . It is clear then that if we wish to
do good service , and relieve more parents and guardians of a burden they find it most grievous to bear , something substantial must be done in the way of extending the Institu-
The Contemplated Extension Of The Boys' School.
tion , so that its ability to render aid may be more commensurate with the demands made . Any addition , however slight it may be , is an undoubted boon . But , taking on three or four , or half-a-dozen , more pupils , ia far from making an appreciable difference in the list of
candidates . What is certainly needed , is a substantial increase , such as Bro . Snow proposed the other day . There must be room provided to accommodate , at least , an additional fifty or sixty boys , and the question which has now to be considered is how can this provision be made . Will
the existing premises admit of the necessary enlargement ? This seems more than doubtful—at all evrnts , in the manner proposed by Bro . Snow . Shall there be a Preparatory School for the reception of small boys , who , when they have reached a certain stage of progress , are to be
drafted into what will then be the Upper School r There is a great deal to be said in behalf of this scheme , but it haa been objected to by some , that it would interfere with the extension of the main establishment . We are well aware that every scheme is likely to meet with a certain
amount of opposition . It is only indeed by comparing notes and studying carefully the commendable points in each successive plan that is submitted , that we can possibly hope to arrive at a settlement which will give general satisfaction . It is to the interest of the Boys' School that this
question of enlarging its sphere of operations should be canvassed everywhere throughout the Craft . Ifc is agreed on all sides that more must be done to meet the demands of applicants . The School must be enlarged if it is to keep
pace with the requirements of the day . There are now 185 pupils on the establishment , and room must be made by hook or by crook for quite 250 . Even then there will bo a large number of deserving youngsters who will be denied the benefits of a sound education for want of room .
The idea of a Preparatory School is an excellent one ; but there may be a better . It will be a great relief , for instance , to those whom it so materially concerns , if their little boys art taken into the School at the age of six , instead of at the minimum age as at present fixed . All matters of this kind ,
however , are merely matters of detail , which a brief sitting of the Executive would speedily arrange . Admirable a plan as this undoubtedly is , there may , we repeat , be one still more admirable . The one point , which admits of no question whatever is , that the Boys' School is not large
enough for present purposes by one-third . We want an establishment that will accommodate quite 250 . It will have to be done sooner or later , and it had better be done sooner than later . Nor do we apprehend there will be the slightest difficulty in the matter . Taking the strength of the
School at , in round figures , 174 boys , and the cost per boy at £ 42 per annum—which we know is in excess of the sum expended on each—the annual expenditure is only £ 7 , 700 . If we add between 70 and 80 boys at the same rate of expenditure , the annual outlay for a school of
250 pupils will be , speaking roundly , £ 10 , 500 ; , that is , less by over £ 2 , 500 than was subscribed at the Festival of 1876 , and less by nearly £ 5 , 000 than the total amount of receipts from all sources in the course of the year just ended . Our readers will thus perceive most clearly that what we are
now saying must be done is practicable . We can clothe , feed , and educate 250 pupils , and yet have a good sum over and to spare . But even were there a slight risk in venturing further , we have it , on the authority of our Pro
Grand Master , that our Charities will never appeal in vain to the Craft for the pecuniary support they may be in need of . And , again , the Craft are not roused into sufficient activity about our Institutions , The close on £ 40 , 000 that
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Contemplated Extension Of The Boys' School.
THE CONTEMPLATED EXTENSION OF THE BOYS' SCHOOL .
OUR readers will have gathered from a paragraph -which recently appeared in these columns , that an idea has been started for the purpose of making- a very considerable addition to the Boys' School . Indeed , at the Quarterly General Court , held on the 15 th instant , an influential supporter of the Institution brought forward a distinct
motion , to the effect that additional accommodation be forthwith erected for fifty boys , and that at the October election that number of Candidates be elected in order to make up the required number . The motion was not discussed at very great length , and it was stated on conpetent authority
that the scheme , so far as any additions to the present building were concerned , was impracticable . The general feeling of the Committee was manifestly , that before any steps were seriously taken to enlarge the Institution , the subject should be thoroughly considered by the House
Committee , that their Report should be submitted to the General Committee , and by them referred to the Quarterly Court . In such case it was obvious that the whole question from every imaginable point of view would be fully and fairly discussed , before it reached its final stage , and came
on for approval or rejection before the Court . An amended amendment , therefore , proposing the reference of the whole subject as stated above was unanimously carried , and there for the present the matter rests . There , likewise , we should be disposed to leave it , but for
two reasons , the large amount of subscriptions made these last two years by the Craft , and the heavy demands made upon the establishment by the slow but steady increase which has been taking place in the numerical strength of the School .
By the labours of the Executive the school has been brought to a highly satisfactory state . The Educational Staff has also done its duty , as is shown by the repeated successes of the pupils at different public examinations . The Usances of the School , thanks to the energy of " Our
Hercules , ' and the valuable support he has received from the Boards of Stewards at the last two Animal Festivals , are flourishing . The debt incurred in erecting and fitting the present building has been cancelled . Kent House has been purchased for use as an infirmary , fitted and paid for . The
modest sum of a few thousands of pounds has been invested , and the respectable balance of a little over £ 2 , 550 remained to be carried forward for the expenses of the year just entered upon . All this , we say , is eminently satisfactory . On the other hand , the- number of applicants for admission
is hugely out of proportion to the number of vacancies which occur from time to time . To take only the case of the election in October last , there were fifty-seven candidates for fifteen vacancies . Thus forty-two of the former were left out in the cold , and of these two lost their only
or remaining chance of election , so that forty have been left over for another ballot in April next . This number has been further increased till it has now reached fifty-nine , and these will compete for the twelve vacancies which have
thus far been announced . As the ratio of candidates to vacancies is about the same at every election , the numbers we have given above will suffice toshow that while the School has been steadily increasing in numbers , the number of applicants has been also on the increase . It is clear then that if we wish to
do good service , and relieve more parents and guardians of a burden they find it most grievous to bear , something substantial must be done in the way of extending the Institu-
The Contemplated Extension Of The Boys' School.
tion , so that its ability to render aid may be more commensurate with the demands made . Any addition , however slight it may be , is an undoubted boon . But , taking on three or four , or half-a-dozen , more pupils , ia far from making an appreciable difference in the list of
candidates . What is certainly needed , is a substantial increase , such as Bro . Snow proposed the other day . There must be room provided to accommodate , at least , an additional fifty or sixty boys , and the question which has now to be considered is how can this provision be made . Will
the existing premises admit of the necessary enlargement ? This seems more than doubtful—at all evrnts , in the manner proposed by Bro . Snow . Shall there be a Preparatory School for the reception of small boys , who , when they have reached a certain stage of progress , are to be
drafted into what will then be the Upper School r There is a great deal to be said in behalf of this scheme , but it haa been objected to by some , that it would interfere with the extension of the main establishment . We are well aware that every scheme is likely to meet with a certain
amount of opposition . It is only indeed by comparing notes and studying carefully the commendable points in each successive plan that is submitted , that we can possibly hope to arrive at a settlement which will give general satisfaction . It is to the interest of the Boys' School that this
question of enlarging its sphere of operations should be canvassed everywhere throughout the Craft . Ifc is agreed on all sides that more must be done to meet the demands of applicants . The School must be enlarged if it is to keep
pace with the requirements of the day . There are now 185 pupils on the establishment , and room must be made by hook or by crook for quite 250 . Even then there will bo a large number of deserving youngsters who will be denied the benefits of a sound education for want of room .
The idea of a Preparatory School is an excellent one ; but there may be a better . It will be a great relief , for instance , to those whom it so materially concerns , if their little boys art taken into the School at the age of six , instead of at the minimum age as at present fixed . All matters of this kind ,
however , are merely matters of detail , which a brief sitting of the Executive would speedily arrange . Admirable a plan as this undoubtedly is , there may , we repeat , be one still more admirable . The one point , which admits of no question whatever is , that the Boys' School is not large
enough for present purposes by one-third . We want an establishment that will accommodate quite 250 . It will have to be done sooner or later , and it had better be done sooner than later . Nor do we apprehend there will be the slightest difficulty in the matter . Taking the strength of the
School at , in round figures , 174 boys , and the cost per boy at £ 42 per annum—which we know is in excess of the sum expended on each—the annual expenditure is only £ 7 , 700 . If we add between 70 and 80 boys at the same rate of expenditure , the annual outlay for a school of
250 pupils will be , speaking roundly , £ 10 , 500 ; , that is , less by over £ 2 , 500 than was subscribed at the Festival of 1876 , and less by nearly £ 5 , 000 than the total amount of receipts from all sources in the course of the year just ended . Our readers will thus perceive most clearly that what we are
now saying must be done is practicable . We can clothe , feed , and educate 250 pupils , and yet have a good sum over and to spare . But even were there a slight risk in venturing further , we have it , on the authority of our Pro
Grand Master , that our Charities will never appeal in vain to the Craft for the pecuniary support they may be in need of . And , again , the Craft are not roused into sufficient activity about our Institutions , The close on £ 40 , 000 that