appears to be doing. The school at St. James's, under the superintendence of a very devoted parish priest, promised to be efficient, but he has been obliged to resign his cure, and the success of the school depends upon the choice of his suc cessor. This, as well as Bristol, is a cathedral city, and as such possesses, or ought to possess, advantages for education which other places do not. In Cheltenham a considerable improvement has been ef fected. St. John's still maintains a very high place among the National Schools in my district. The rooms are indeed small, but galleries with parallel desks have been raised, and as much made of them as the circumstances admit. At St. Paul's, under the superintendence of the Incumbent, the Rev. C. Bromby, a great advance has been made. A trained master from Mr. Stow's institution at Glasgow has been introduced, a gallery has been erected for simultaneous instruction, and parallel desks on a graduated stage:-a good supply of books and apparatus has been provided. The teaching and training at this school are excellent. I take this opportunity of expressing my obligation to Mr. Bromby, the manager of this school, for the use of the rooms during the Easter Examination of Masters, and for the aid afforded me by the classes assembled on each day for trial of the candidate's skill in teaching. To the Rev. Mr. Watson, and the Trustees of St. John's, I was also indebted for the use of their school-room during the second week of the examination. In the other schools in Cheltenham, I am happy to think that a considerable improvement is going on. To most of them pupil teachers have been apprenticed. Of the schools in small market-towns, the mining and agricultural districts, I have little to observe; with few exceptions they are carried on with circulating monitors on the old National School system. At the same time, the standard of education is higher in this county than in other parts of my district. The clergy are in many places very zealous in the superintendence of their schools, and anxious to avail themselves of the aid offered under their Lordships' late Minutes. Fifty-eight pupil teachers have been apprenticed in this county. For the following account of the Ragged Schools in Bristol I am indebted to the Right Honorable the Lord Teignmouth, who has been mainly instrumental in their establishment, and takes great interest in their success. A society for establishing Ragged Schools in Bristol and its vicinity was commenced last year, 1847, under the patronage of the Lord Bishop of the diocese. Its proceedings are con ducted by a Committee of lay members of the Church of England, whilst each of its schools is placed under the immediate direction of a local Committee, of which Committee the Incumbent of the parish in which the school is situate is Chairman. The Incumbent is consulted as to the choice of books to be used in the school, and is invited to superintend the religious instruction of the scholars. The Committee have procured three commodious schoolrooms in the parishes of St. George's, Brandon Hill, St. Philip's, and Temple. The utmost attention has been paid to the proper ventilation and heating of the rooms. The schools are opened thrice daily, excepting Saturdays. The instruction is conducted by salaried masters and mistresses. The schools are also open on Sundays, on such hours as do not interfere with the church services of those parishes in which they are situate. The first school was open at St. George's, Brandon Hill, in April, 1847. It was at first limited to boys, who were tumultuous and disorderly, and in a short time, when those whom curiosity had attracted withdrew, the attendance was scanty. Since that period a slow increase has taken place, and the conduct of the boys is described as orderly and regular. The average attendance during the present year has been-for January, 27; February, 30; March, 35; April, 40. The morning school for girls and boys exhibits a list of 90 children on the books, with an average attendance of 70. In the afternoon school the average attendance is 35. At St. Philip's morning school the average attendance has been-in January, 37; February, 80; March, 72; April, 90; and during the present month, more than 100. In the afternoon school the number on the books now is 45; with an average attendance of 37. In the evening school the average attendance is 47. In Temple, the average attendance at the morning school is 45; at the evening school, 72. The education comprises the usual subjects taught at our National Schools. The girls are exercised in needlework. The promoters of the schools inform me that they consider the results of the efforts encouraging; that the benefits of these schools have not been confined to the children, but have extended to their parents, and produced a general improvement in the several neighbourhoods in which they are situated. The following places appear to be well adapted for the establishment of Model Schools, viz., Gloucester, the Cathedral City and County Town, with a population under 20,000; Bristol, another Cathedral City, with nearly 100,000; Cheltenham, with a population of nearly 40,000; Lechlade, with a population under 2000; Wootton-under-Edge, with a population nearly 5000 ; Dursley, with a population of 3000; Stroud, with a population upwards of 8000; Painswick, with a population of 4000; Newland and Coleford, with a population exceeding 6000 ; Tewkesbury, with a population of 6000; WORCESTERSHIRE. There are 60 schools under inspection in Worcestershire. Of these 6 are in or contiguous to the cathedral town of Worcester, 8 in manufacturing districts, 2 in small markettowns, and the remainder in agricultural parishes. Of those in the cathedral city, that of St. John's is the best; indeed, I regard this school as one of the most efficient in my district. Pupil teachers have been apprenticed. The school is well supplied with books and apparatus. The master, who was trained at Battersea, is zealous and skilful, and the children well instructed. The discipline is admirable. The religious instruction which is given by the clergy is very good; to whose exertions, I ought to add, may be attributed the excellent condition of this school. Of the other schools in Worcester and in the smaller towns of the county I have nothing special to report. In all of them there is great room for improvement. The same remark may be applied to those in agricultural parishes, of which I am unable to mention any as meriting a high commendation. My impression of the state of education in Worcestershire generally is unsatisfactory. Some good model schools in different parts of the county are wanted here, as in other parts of this district. The places which appear to me as most fitting for this arcWorcester, with 12 parishes, and a population of from 20,000 to 30,000; Bromsgrove, with a population of 10,000; Dudley, with five parishes, and a population of more than 30,000; Kidderminster, with six parishes, and a population of more than 20,000; Evesham, with a population of more than 3000; Upton-on-Severn, with a population of nearly 3000; In all these places, I believe that, with their Lordships' aid as offered in the late Minutes, efficient model schools might be raised. Ten pupil teachers have been apprenticed in this county. I have the honor to be, &c. To the Secretary of the Committee of Council on Education. H. W. BELLAIRS. NOTE. With reference to the following Tables, I have to remark that I have been unable to obtain correct returns of the number of children admitted, and of the number who have left, during the last year, in their several schools. The information on this point I hope will be more satisfactory hercafter. As regards the returns in arithmetic, I commenced my tabularization with the hope of ascertaining the precise amount of skill possessed by each child in the rule he was working. A little experience convinced me of the impossibility of accomplishing this. Subsequently, my returns are founded upon the information given to me by the Schoolmaster, corrected or corroborated by my own convictions on the examination of the children. With regard to the returns of " reading," I have classed under the head of "Reading Easy Narrative," all such as can read the four Gospels, and other "easy" books, but are unable to read with case difficult passages in the "Acts of the Apostles." Under the head of Remarks the figures represent 1. Organization. 2. Discipline. 3. Method. 4. Instruction. 5. Master and Mistress. 6. General Remarks. H. W. B. Girls.-4. Arithmetic very defective, writing from dictation defective. Tewkesbury.-Boys.-1. National system, under master, assistant, and circulating monitors, six classes. 2. Good 4. Reading and spelling fair, religious instruction, arithmetic, church catechism, geography, and English history to Edward III.'s reign, good. 5. A fair teacher. 6. The ceiling out of repair. Writing-desks along wall. No secular reading-books. Girls.-1. National system, under mistress, assistant, and circulating monitors, five classes. 2. Good. 4. No secular reading-books, reading and religious instruction tolerable, Old Testament history good. Spelling bad. Writing from dictation and arithmetic bad. 5. Not skilful. 6. Writing-desks along wall. • Beginning. + The children are instructed simultaneously in the first four rules. I Simultaneously once a week. Commencing. |