The New Plymouth High School has been in existence since about the year 1883, and occupies a commanding site overlooking the town. The building is ornate, and affords excellent accommodation for the pupils in at tendance; and the grounds, which cover several acres, are well kept. The building contains four large class rooms, in addition to a room for the Principal, and there is an excellent gymnasium attached to the institution.

The Board Of School Commissioners for the provincial district of Taranaki, was constituted in 1887. It acts as custodian for the education reserves in the whole of the provincial district. Generally the reserves consist of one-twentieth of all Crown lands in Taranaki, and as these are surveyed and laid off, they become vested in the Commissioners, as, according to law, 5 per cent. of the land thus surveyed is apportioned to the support of educational institutions. The reserves vested in the Commissioners amount in the aggregate to many thousands of acres, which return a revenue of about £3,500 per annum. The bulk of the land is let very cheaply on long leases, but as these expire, considerably increased revenues will be obtained for the Education Boards in the district. Proportional payments are made out of the funds at the disposal of the Commissioners to the Taranaki and Wanganui Education Boards, and to the Board of Governors of the New Plymouth High School. The Commissioners number five, three of whom are appointed by the Government, and two are representatives of the Taranaki Education Board. Members for 1906: Messrs J. Wade (chairman), H. Faull (representing the Taranaki Education Board), F. Simpson (Commissioner of Crown Lands), W. T. Jennings, M.H.R., and C. E. Major, M.H.R (Government appointees). Mr. F. P. Corkill acts as secretary to the Commissioners.

The Taranaki Education Board dates from the 1st of June, 1874, when it was known as the New Plymouth Education Board. At that time the late Mr. Benjamin Wells was chairman, and among the members were Major Atkinson, Archdeacon Govett and Messrs Hursthouse, Richmond, and Standish. Some years later the name of the Board was changed to the Taranaki Education Board. The district under its jurisdiction includes the counties of Taranaki, Egmont, Clifton, and Stratford. It extends from the Mokau river, on this north, to Ngaire, on the south, and the furthest inland school is situated fifty-two miles to the east of the borough of Stratford. At the beginning of 1905 there were seventy-seven schools under the control of the Board, and the children on the rolls numbered 4968, with an average attendance of 4190, under the care of 136 teachers. Members of the Board in 1906: Mr. J. Wade, chairman, Messrs G. Adlam, H. Faull, J. Mackay, M.A., D. H. McDonald, G. H. Maunder, A. Morton, W. Monkhouse, and Mrs J. R. Dougherty. Officers: Mr. W. E. Spencer, M.A., B.Sc., Chief Inspector; Mr. W. A. Ballantyne, B.A., Assistant Inspector; Mr. A. Hooker, Truant Officer; Mr. J. Sanderson, Architect; and Mr. P. S. Whitcombe, Secretary and Treasurer. The Board's offices are in Devon page 70 Street. There is a Technical School in New Plymouth, and another at Stratford; the latter of which has been in operation since 1904.

Mr. Archie Hooker, Truant Inspector of the Taranaki Education Board, was born in the year 1868, in New Plymouth, where he was educated. He afterwards learned the printing trade, which he followed for fourteen years. Mr. Hooker subsequently joined the Police Force, and served for several years in the Auckland district. He then went to Australia, and for two years he was employed in Mort's Dock, in Sydney. He returned to New Zealand, and in 1900 was appointed to his present position. Mr. Hooker is a member of Lodge Egmont, Independent Order of Oddfellows, Manchester Unity. For some years he was secretary of the New Plymouth Horticultural Society, by the managers of which he was presented with a watch in 1904; and he was sergeant of the Taranaki Rifles, and won the district medal for the Taranaki-Wanganui district. Mr. Hooker has a fine collection of coins. He is married, and has three children.

The Central Public School in New Plymouth is conducted in a handsome wooden building, which stands on a prominent site in the town. There are seven class rooms, a headmaster's room, a teachers' room, and a fine gymnasium, and the building is surrounded by spacious playgrounds. Two cadet corps, over 100 strong, are carried on in connection with the school. The headmaster is supported by a staff of two male and five female teachers, and five pupil teachers, and there are 580 names on the roll.

The West End School is situated on the South Road, and is a fine large wooden building with five class rooms, and two halls. The grounds are about half an acre in extent, and there are also shelter sheds. There are three hundred names on the school roll. The staff consists of a head teacher, a first assistant, two female assistants, and three pupil teachers. There is a cadet corps, with a membership of forty-eight, and with Mr. E. Barry, first assistant master, in command.

The Chetwode Private School, Devon Street West, New Plymouth. This school was acquired by Miss E. O. Stanford in the year 1897. It is a girls' school, situated near the seaside, with facilities for both boarding and day scholars. Teaching is given up to the requirements of the matriculation examinations, in which the school has been very successful. A special feature is the teaching of the theory and the practice of music.

Miss E. O. Stanford, Principal and Proprietress of the Chetwode Private School for Girls, took it over in the year 1897. She is assisted by three teachers.

The Monastery Of The Presentation at New Plymouth was founded in the year 1884. It is a fine three-storied building of wood and iron, erected on a site of one acre and a-quarter, bounded by Devon Street, Dawson Street and Powderham page 71 Street, and contains a large school room, several class rooms, three dormitories, a refectory, a chapel, and kitchen, lavatories, and bathrooms. The upper floors are reached by two flights of stairs, one at each end of the building; and on each of the upper floors are balconies, from which magnificent views of New Plymouth, Mount Egmont, and the sea can be obtained. Modern fire escapes are provided. The grounds are beautifully laid out in lawns, walks and flower borders. Instruction is given by the Sisters, in languages, music, and the higher branches of education, and special attention is given to pupils desiring to enter for matriculation and music examinations. About forty boarders are in residence at the Monastery, and there are about fifty day pupils. The parochial school, adjoining the Monastery, is a new building erected in the year 1903, and has an attendance of about 100 scholars. The school and Monastery are under the charge of fifteen Sisters, of the order of our Lady of the Missions.

Monastery of the Presentation. Collis, photo.