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Value of Education.I

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Value of Education. I St. David's Day at Builth. COUNTY SCHOOL PRIZE DISTRIBUTION. I Builth Wells Intermediate school annual prize-giving took place on Friday (St. David's Day). Among those present were Rev. Lewis Beynon (in the chair). Rev. and Mrs Lewis James, Rev. and Mr- R. A. Howells. Rev. and Atr.,4 W. E. Jones, Mr and Mrs W. W. Lennard (clerk to the Governing Body), Mr.s J. Pearce, Mrs W. Black Jones, )lr5 H. T. Hawkins, Mrs Telfer Smith, MM Amos Williams, Dr. Rhys Davies, Mr J. Duggan, J.P., Mr A. P. -Morgan and Mr .Tames G. Eadei. In tire course of an addros sthe chairman said they ha<J gathered together to celebrate the memory of "Dewi Sant," who lived 1,300 years ago. He was rank- ed amongst the eii-ly sages, and wa" a great preacher. They were told that the ground, under his feet, raised on the occasion of one of his eermons. These were embellishments iet forth by some of the monks of his time, but he would prefer to have the history of "Dewi Sant" quite apart from those statements. There was no question that he was a great man and that his memory was cherished among them to that day. Im- portant to old times was the history of St. David, and it had even attracted three English king3 to visit his grave—Henry I., Henry II., and King Edward came to pay him homage. Headmaster's Reoorf. Mr Reos Thomas, B.A. (headmaster), in the course of It;, most excellenr teport, said: Never before, in the whole course of my experience, have I noticed such in- terest in education as that evinced during the past Year. Four years of war have done more to inculcate upon our minds certain truths than long periods of peace. The need for a higher level of education is becoming more generally recognised. Narrow, iselfish interots are less evident than formerly, and, in sight of the greatest menace that has ever confronted us, we are learning to act in the national interests. It is felt that the subject of education is a vital one to this country. And how could it he Otherwise to intelligent men and women with the object lesson of Rus-ia be- for" their eyes? What a sad sight it was to see that country of boundless resources suffering defeat after defeat, because its. people had been de,nied those facil- ities for acquiring the knowledge and skill which would have enabled them to manage and organise those resources for their own defence! Yet sadder wa,s the spectacle of Russia falling under the heel of the con- quered, when victory was almost within her grasp, for the want of that clear understanding and vision of the issues which education alone could give. The Russian people might have been one of the richest in the world, but. as a result of centuries of oppression and of the .stifling of those higher aspirations which are felt by all peoples from time to time, they were one of the poore-t and quite unable to vie with highly industral- istd nations in carrying on war as it is carried on to- day. Under modern conditions, it is impossible to build up the moral and spiritual superstructure without a sound material basis. The more we pursue knowledge and the greater our intimacy with the laws of Nature, the more will our lives be worth living and the more leisilre we shall enjoy to occupy with those interests which appeal to the mind. We have reached an im- portant crisis in our national history when great de- cisions will have to be taken. Our whole future de- pends upon wisdom, intelligence, and unselfishness at the present moment. On ttie subject of education, our decision is being made, for I cannot think that Air Fisher's Bill, which is now before Parliament, will be abandoned or* much further delayed. Local Education Authorities will have wide powers and extended in- fluence. I anticipate that, a.s far as children are con- cerned. the Poor Law will be abolished and that the care of all juvenile life will come into the hands of the education committees. To the local education authorities will be entrusted the education of children, not only in the intellectual sense, but also in the physical. It will he their duty to see that the child becomes strong in bedy as wdl as in mind for the hard tussle that lies in front of it. War is cruel and robs us of the flower of our manhood, besides destroying our accumulated wealth. Who is to mate this .spoliation and destruction good, if not the rising generation? We shall need the.services of every efficient boy and girl we can train. Life will be very precious for many years to come. Not only shall we neerl the services cf every individual, but we shall require those 'services for the longest possible period. We mu-t not force the chilel into the labour market too soon. A farmer knows that he lessens the value of a horse if he breaks it in before the time which exrerÎellce has taught to be the proper time. To make a child commence work too early is to impair it physically and to (shorten it. period of usefulness. I have referred to the need of physical fitne-A in the future because an unhealthy nation cannot be efficient. But there is a further consideration to be taken into ac- count. Wars in the pa4 have generally h,n follow- ed by disease and pestilence. I do no* know whether medical science has advanced far enough to obviate that usual con,equence. We shall he fortunate if it has. But there is little doubt that there will be quite an inadequate supply of doctors to perform the work that will be required. A-s the Army claims all the young men. a shortage, must ensue. The Brecon- shire Education Committee is an admirable public body and I have, with pleasure, noted that it was one of ttiv first to move on the question of village lihraries. hut I respectfully suggest that it could do a great deal more for the encouragement of medical .science. I have two girl pupils who will proceed next September to Car- dirf for a course in medical .study. They are the daughters of comparatively poor men, and I find that there are only about two open scholarships available for them and those are awarded by the University Authorities. If they lived in Glamorgan, they would be eligible for a large number of scholarships, but they are eligible for nothing in their own county. I believe there is one medical scholarship for inhabitants of Bre- conshire, but that is reserved for men candidates. The I authority might take the view that the two pul,iii in question might sit for the .solitary scholarship offered on the result of the Higher Certificate Examination of the Central Welsh Board. I should like to state, how- ever, that the Higher Certificate is not possible or de- sirable for those who are about to enter a medical school. I think that it is highly important, in the national interests, that the Education Authority should look into this matter. It is easy to ,ee that the Board of Education is deeply concerned with the physical side of education, for we have been urged by that body to give all possible attention to physical exercises of all kinds, Swedish drill, dancing, swimming and games. This subject received the most careful consideration of the governors at their last meeting.. As a result of their deliberations, one of the halls of the town is to be engaged for that purpose. And here I express my appreciation of the readiness which the governors al- ways show in meeting any new demand made upon them in the most enterprising and public-spirited man- ner. The annual examination results were highly gratifying. Generally, it is an invidious proceeding to single out certain pupils for special mention, espec- ially when all have done so well, but there are three of such outstanding merit that I feel their comrades will not begrudge this honour to them. These three pupils are Hilda Pugh, Iaisic Duggan, and Evelyn Rice. Hilda Pugh obtained distinction in the Higher Certi- ficate Stage, and Maisie Duggan passed the Senior Cer- tificate Examination in nine subjects, one more sub- ject than the number required for matriculation, and won distinctions in arithmetic and chemistry. Evelyn Rice chtained seven distinctions at the Junior Certifi- cate stage. Only once previously has this number of distinctions been won hy a pupil of this school. The past year has been marked by a further increase in num- hers. One form reached such proportions that it fell foul of the Secondary School Regulations and its exist- ence in its present size is due to the special dispensa- tion (-, fthe Board of Education. However. I have the authority of the governors for adding to the staff, and that irregularity will shortly be removed. I am sorry to observe that the competition amongst farmers' sons for Evans Exhibitions is far from satisfactory. As I stated last year, the farmers have now a glorious op- portunity of lifting the agriculture of the cotintv to an important and thriving industry, but it can only be done through knowledge, science, and up-to-date busi- ness-methods. I know the htbour question is a very trying and anxious one for them at the present time, but I triii.-t they will not lose sight of the importance of adandoning the old bucolic tillage and of adopting the ideas which modern science supplies. There is no doubt that agriculture can he made one of the most highly scientific pursuits in existence, and, unless the rising generation is trained on scientific lines. we shall be left behind by more enterprising rivals. Surely there ca.i be no more fitting ooca.sion than St. David's Day for appealing to one' countrymen for their .support- of education. St. David, himself, was a learned man and symbolic of the power and influence of knowledge, for his fame and example have been handed down through the centuries as a beacon light to guide our footsteps to higher things. I trust Cambria's sons will not he content with paying lip service to St. David, but will espouse with pas-icnate earnestness the noble ideas for which he stands. In that way, our National Saint, although his story is wrapped in myth and legend. will he a real force in our lives driving IB onward to some grand destiny. Scholars' Programme. The appended interesting programme followed — Chorus, "Ymdaith C'apten Llwyd (Captain Lloyd's March)," .school-children; duet, "Robin Gcwh," EnÍtI Lewis and Gwyileth Edwards; solo, "Daffodil days," Eileen Eadie; dance. "Swedish masquerade," school- children; duet, "Doli," Nellie Davies and Ernest Dav- ies; chorus, folk songs—"(i) V Perot Purlon an<] (ii) Citnu'ri Ja(-k i Arfoii," ,;chool-cliildren. %Io, "Yr Hell Wr Mwyn." Emrys Jones; dance, "Butterflies," school- children; duet. "0 wert- thou in the cauld blast," Morfa Harrier ami Kitty Griffiths; solo, "Nelson's gone a sail- ing," Hilda Pugh; chorus," Alawon y Bryniau" (moun- tain melodies), school-childrcn: dancc "Napoleon": solo. "The pearl cross," Gwennie Edwards; solo, "Hyd y Frwynen," Morfa Hamer; duet, "May bells and the

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Value of Education.I