The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1882-08-08 00:00:00

MELCOMBE REOIB BCHOOL PRIZE DAY.

The Royal Hotel Auembly Kwons were the focok
at which assembled the meet-re, friends. and scholars
of the Melcombe Regis School on htonday after won
last. Among those who auppirt 41 the Rev. J. Nlil:er
were the Rev. M. Kennedy, Rev. M. Hind, awl .1.
Rob.rtiam Esq., and the entrance of the M 'tor ill.
N. H 'mad, Esq.), was rec.ived with loud splau.e
Mr,. Robertson, Dr. and Mrs. Tizaid, .N.lr H.
Nangle, Mr. A. Dennis. and • goo dy number of
other friends, filled the room. At the platform were
ißeplayed many of the pupil.' drawings' which
showed they had attained considerable profici• my,
some pen-and-ink sketches beng especially praise-
worthy.
The Rev. J. Miller, headmaster, said the old Ilsm
of examination was to have the boys catecti is I in the
presence of parents and visitor.; but that get mei to
have gone out, and he was not anxii.tri to have the
" good old lay,' return. The bye would still be
very pleased to give some specimens if what they
could do. Specimens wore then given f French,
German, Latin, and English recitation, the programme
being :
"Scene from Moliers'a Lee Knitnee Savant's."

Philaminte Wilkinimn, ma.
Chrysalis
Belies Young.
Martine Bryant.
The weight of the recitation was borne by Wilkn.
son, who appeared to be thoroughly %erred in his set,
he recited with a fluency that would argue I lot to
have natural talent for what he so sueoessfully ammo
pli.bed: the r,there were also good.
''Scene from Übland's Ernst Von Schwaben."
Hug o Dennis, toe.
Gi-ola Williams, ma.
Kunrad Tient d, ma.
Heinrich Humphrey, ma.
All the lads seemed well preea•ed ; but beanie as
Hugo certainly led with remaricab'e p•wer ' • on the
whole, a thorough acquaint,nce with spoken German
appeared to have been gained by these young stu•
dente.
Sinon'a Story, Virgil's
Sinn W. 11. Ayling.
Though small, the reciter was flu ot and mere
powerful than we cop cted ; he was, like the rest, re-
ceived with deserved spplanse.
Scene from Shalca•peare'e Richard If.
l)uk.sf York Wa't.
John of Gann, Iliopkios, tea.
Crielitably rendered, and much applauded, especially
the eloquent praise of England.
The HIADMASTLIt said they had mot in the Royd
Hotel instead ,d the school, as it was found so norh 1
troubd• to move the desks, which partly file lit. lie
apologised for giving so short a notice of the P, ire
Day. The swimming races should have come i-fl that
morning • but they were obliged to have them n 1
Friday, the only day available on account of the ti,'e.
The put year had been the mos' successful, with The
exoept.on of a little s'ckness last autumn, and it woo the
happiest of the 13 ye ,re he had nient in Wevmoor h.
(Applause.) He would not moro li-e, hut tell a fee
tacos connec'ed with the history of the rcs. 01. A, to
the Cambridge university examination., the old plan
was to get s -me fri-nds to be to their virtueo very
kind, and to their faults a little blind, o it was
difficult, except you had boys in the echo 4 and
examined them yourself, to find out what the work
wart like; and when • good Harry or Willy got the
prize parents were sotisfied,till afterwards it was tend
the work was not what it meant to be—all very wdl. in its
, way; but not thorough. But now examiner, use at
down, unconnected with the school, auel they ru ole
their report, not to the school, but to the Uoiveroty.
This year they had Mr. Attwater ; examinati ,noi so ..e
held all over the country in Deeember, and those e ho
saw the papers knew bow difficult they were. An
examiner It is all very well to see the questi
we should like to see the answers ;" but the result
showed thorough hard work, for all of those who g
In, 40 or 50 per cent. are plucked, while the matl
eleven for examination, and of those six same out e
honours. There was enough to make them boast, f r
10 per cent, of the echo 4 thus passed. an I five per
cent, with honours. The hon,ours obtainol were no
meth once— I thee there was ove 14, the fl--t joist r
being Ayliog, who mited that latin piece. (Appl so- I
Toey had a moon,' senior and four thirds, loan its
one distioction in mathematic,, en I he belie,, si th t
no other school had obtained more in six or • roes
counties. In the London University examUation they
had one in the first and two In the second close, std
those who knew the extent of the ground cover,d
knew the examinalon woos no light one: it was the
entrance to most of the professions. Also in the
South Kensington examination—adenoe, trathemsti
&c.—they obtained one first class in the adva•ord
clam besides sec sods and c-rtificates in the elementary
portion. He winkled to tell or ask the M ,yor
thing epochal—the time Is now c one when they irony
ask the Mayor and Corporatioo not to assist a strug-
gling school (for they had attained succees). but to
take it into their keeping; let it be connecter I with
the Corporation, who should have a voice in its
management and patronage by offering a • chnlarnhip,
or it might be competed for by the elementary s• ho
of the town. At lemd, o one of the most eui,ee.fiol
scholars, Barker, went from one of the church .chools
to the City of foondon rehool, and thence to Trinity
College, Cambridge. He believed in giving boys fr- in
the elementary schools a chance of going on to success,
tie would also be very glad if as many friends of the
school as possible would let their names be connected
with it by offering prizes. A prize for Divinity was
given by the Rev. T. Greaves, whom they hoped to
have seen here to-day; but Mr.. Greaves, he was
sorry to say, is very ill indeed, and Mr. Greaves is
sone away for his holidays; on another occasion he
hoped they would meet both Mr. Scott and Mr.
Greaves. He did not think the burden of prizes ouzht
to fall upon their friends the members of Parham-lot.
(Applause.) In the school and at play, though they
met on the Royal Hotel to-day, they ehowed that in
the corner a very good work is carried on. Thou,orod
. .

_
friends who belj>e to get the gymnasium out of debt
--d
would be glad to learn that it is not out of use, the
by. are mottinually practising there; the library is a
most Vurishing Institution • the carpenters' ehop his
its workers, ad boxes useful and useless were outdo
there, and the knowledge thus gsined will be ueeful in
after life. He only wanted the Nlelc,mhe Rezis
Sliool to be one where a thorough e I ticatln is loti. re I,
in the old m aning of educstion—the drawing out "!
all the boys' p were of mind and body, and he bq
some of the work had given them the satisfsction to
felt it deserves. They hoped to see Mr. Scott here
next year, and meantime that his bazaar will be mro
successful than theirs was legit year. (Applause.) Mr.
Miller then read the letter of the ex ,miner. which
showed the subjects of instruction included English,
French, German, Latin, history, geography, divinity,
InE.a a. —ll timtitsbematice. l paper on English grammar wag well
done throughout both chases. but more attenti n miss,
with advantage have been given to the analysis ef
sentences. Symonds and Ayling did good papers in the
6th and Bremer in the sth. Both claws also offered
• piay of Shakespeare, Richard 11., and with goof results.
nencts.—This subject was extremely well done by the
6th, and very fairly done by the sth. The trsnalation of
unprepared passages left little to be desired and the
knowledge of grammar was sound. In this subj,ct
Dennis ma. comes to the front in the 6th, and HumPlurra
mar in the sth.
6th offered port of" Der Stoat Friedr;che
des Grope," and had most carefully prepared it. Ft.ta dal
and 511 did creditably in German grammar. liars too
Dennis ma. is first.
LATIN.—The Latin grammar paper was very well dooc
1 by most of the boys. The 6th was also examined in the
Mold and a portion of Livy, and the sth in the same
book of Virgil. The construing of the 6th was rater.) I/
careful and accurate, but the sth seems hardly up to torl
work, and the results were only poor. Dennis ma. and
Allier were bast in this subject.
Hirmit'f•—The Period studied was the Tudor Period of
English History. The work in this subject wee mod
udeetlefeckwe. Little interest appears to have been
taken in it, and the mat random and absorb outran
were seat up. Symonds did an exceedingly goof PP°,
but no one else estate at all near him.
T.; hardly be Hhuerewe hors
ut
saniroi.r.ctoroveryment, though
c. .
DlVlNnT.—ltany good papers were seat in. Seamen
we. xc:ilent. In form 5,.h there was some falling-06.
especially in the knowledge of the text of the bouts
talon. elk. 11. Kings, St. Mark's Gospel. and 11. Cori.,
thistle. Possibly a narrower had might Wive better results.
11A2111111ATICAL —Some very good work was done in the
Mathwastioal sableots.