SALFORD, ST. MATTHIAS, May 26.

Girls' School.-Two apprentices, Average attendance 68; present at inspection 70. There were six girls over 13 years of age, and with attainments creditable to the school. Girls neat; in good order and attentive. Instruction in a fair state throughout the school; history of England very fairly known, even in the lower classes; grammar very well known, including syntax, by the elder girls.

The clergyman takes great interest in the school, and assists in the instruction of the apprentices. Their influence upon the school has clearly been great.

Infants' School.-It was in a good state last year, and is now going on well.

Boys' School not examined.

STRETFORD, May 30.

Boys' School.-One apprentice. Average attendance 68; present at inspection 71; only two over 13 years of age. Arranged in four classes. Boys well drilled, in excellent order, very neat, interested in their work, and very attentive. Instruction, as last year, in a most satisfactory state, especially as regards religious knowledge. The knowledge of geography was very good. The pupil teacher was particularly well prepared in his subjects, and imbued with the right spirit. It is a deserved compliment to the excellent and accomplished master to say, that his school is the best that I have visited, and best in the best things. He has obtained a certificate of merit of a high class.

Schools partially inspected in 1848, with reference to the apprenticeship of Pupil Teachers. ASTLEY, April 18, 1848.-(Second Visit.)

Since my visit last year an infants' school had been built, with apartments over it for the schoolmistresses; and also a house adjoining the infants' school for the master.

The Infants' School seemed going on well, under a mistress trained at the Gray's-inn-road Institution, and a young and promising under-mistress. The mistress seemed quiet, kind, with authority, attentive to little points of order and propriety, and giving instruction with knowledge, good sense, and tact. The children and school were remarkably tidy.

Boys' School.-Without including the assistants, only one boy was 12 years old, and three 11. Number present, 59. Well arranged in five classes. Three assistants, severally aged 20, 18, and 13. The discipline fair, though with defects. The state of the instruction was not very different from that in which I found it last year, but improved.

BOLTON, CHRISTCHURCH, June 2.

Fine school buildings, lately erected. The girls' school, on the first floor, is a particularly fine room. Boys' school, on the ground floor, only opened five months ago, since which time there have been three masters, and the present one has only been there two months. Children very young. Number present 93. Arranged in six classes. Order fair for the circumstances. Catechism well repeated, but moderately understood. Religious knowledge moderate. Reading very fair. Writing fair. Writing from memory fair. Arithmetic moderate.

The school may probably be in a good state after reasonable time for producing results.

BOOTLE, near LIVERPOOL, June 10.

No suitable candidates were presented.

Boys' School.-Average attendance about 120; half of the first class were not in the school 12 months previously. Arranged in six classes; in good order; class movements made with singing; register of daily attendance well kept. Reading good; writing from dictation good; arithmetic seemed fairly taught; geography and grammar imperfect; Catechism well repeated; its language, and that of the Church services, fairly understood; scriptural knowledge partial, but showing intelligent instruction.

The room too small. An infants' school needed, and designed. Girls' School had a pleasing appearance.

COCKERMOUTH, June 16.

I was met by several of the managers, who remained during the whole examination. As it was Whitsuntide, not half the usual number of children attended; but these were mostly of the first class. A mixed school, arranged in six classes; children well behaved, though no signs of strict discipline; reading of the lower classes apparently not good; Catechism fairly repeated, but its language, and that of the Church services, only moderately understood; knowledge of the early part of Scripture fair; that of the rest, with the geography, customs, &c., moderate; a few indifferently acquainted with general geography; one knew the parts of speech fairly, and others indifferently; writing from dictation fair; tables very fairly known; a few worked sums in mental arithmetic fairly; notation indifferently done; arithmetic fair.

The master holds a high certificate of merit; had been there five months; said to have taken the school in a wretched state; its numbers have greatly increased under him.

DIDSBURY, May 5.

No candidates for apprenticeship presented.

37 boys and 31 girls, each in three classes, in one room, divided

by a high partition. Taught by a master and his wife. They seemed to be from a well-conditioned population.

The first class of 16 boys, only one of which above 13 years old, did not read well; most of their attainments were moderate; their writing was pretty good, and a few wrote fairly from dictation; arithmetic very incorrectly worked. In the first class of 15 girls, one was 16, one 14, three 13, and four 12 years old. Their religious knowledge was moderate; that of geography and grammar small; spelling bad; knew tables moderately; wrote fairly; seemed little accustomed to questioning.

The children of both sexes sang together very pleasingly, and seemed well taught by the mistress on Mr. Hullah's system.

Infants' School in a separate building; 57 present; not very neat, but in fair order; under a mistress taken from a factory,-a kind, motherly person; she gave a simple lesson in Scripture in a pleasing manner.

LIVERPOOL, CHURCH OF ENGLAND NORTH SCHOOL,

BOND-STREET, May 8.

Boys' School.-Number present, 245; arranged in eight classes; discipline very fair, but the great number of children, and a troublesome echo in the room, make the school noisy, and hinder its work. The children not neat in appearance; but the neighbourhood is a very low one. The instruction seemed to be in a fair condition; but I have no doubt that the school will greatly improve under regular inspection. A systematic superintendence of it seemed needed. The master appeared to be a very active, intelligent man. He gave a collective lesson on Scripture admirably.

Girls' School.-Number present, 194; arranged in eight classes; girls particularly neat; discipline very good; but, for the complete maintenance of order, a more active state of instruction was needed. Reading fair, though monotonous; writing and arithmetic moderate; religious knowledge very fair, especially in the accuracy of repeating the Catechism, texts from Scripture, &c. The mistress seemed a sensible, active woman, and with the power of managing large numbers.

There is an Infants' School, held in a spacious gloomy room on the ground, or rather under-ground, floor.

LIVERPOOL, CHURCH OF ENGLAND SOUTH SCHOOL,

CORNWALLIS-STREET, May 9.

Boys' School.-A large school of rather young children, arranged in eight classes; in a fair state of discipline. The instruction in reading was good throughout; in Scripture fair; in spelling and arithmetic moderate. The first class had been well instructed in a portion of the history of England.

Girls' School.-A large school, arranged in eight classes. The mistress seemed kind and active; she gave a collective lesson with

some energy and skill. She is assisted by a young person, of about 18 years of age; and several of the girls were older than usual. Girls very neat and well-behaved, and the appearance of the school pleasing. The discipline very fair. A register of daily attendance well kept.

Infants' School, under an apparently able and active master, who is at the head of a considerable number of associated infant schools, the teachers of many of which have been brought up under him.

LIVERFOOL, ST. LUKE'S.

Boys' School.-No candidates for apprenticeship were presented. On a partial examination, I found the most advanced boys very well instructed in most subjects; their attainments did great credit to the master, who had been there only a year. He holds a certificate of merit.

Girls' School.-Present 47; arranged in four classes; the girls very neat, in good order, well behaved, and happy; though a stricter discipline would be better for their instruction. Class movements made with singing. Reading very fair throughout; writing of fair character, and much of it; writing from dictation fair; arithmetic rather defective; the Catechism repeated, and its language, and that of the Church services, understood very fairly. Scriptural knowledge good in most respects. Scriptural and general geography defective. There are not sufficient maps in the school. The mistress was educated for 3 years at the Borough-road Institution, and has been here 2 years. She seemed, and was reported to be, an excellent, anxious, laborious person.

MANCHESTER, HULME, HOLY TRINITY, April 17.—

(Second Visit).

The examination of several candidates left me little time for ascertaining the state of the school; but it seemed in at least as efficient a condition as at the lengthened inspection of it last year. The order, discipline, and general appearance of the school seemed to have improved. It had been transferred to the more convenient and airy first floor of the building.

MANCHESTER, ST. ANDREW's, April 14.—(Second Visit). These schools were still labouring under great difficulties, from want of funds. The infants' school is still held in the same room with the girls' school. The apparatus and books are common to all three schools. The books are in bad condition.

The children are from a very poor population.

Boys' School.-Number present 79, of which there were three over 13 years of age, and three over 12. Arranged in five classes, apparently not well classified. Boys tolerably neat and clean, considering circumstances; discipline moderate, Reading pretty

good; but instruction of lower classes in this and other subjects seemed languid. Writing good in every respect; writing from dictation fairly done by elder boys. In arithmetic, attainments pretty fair, but methods not the best; four boys worked Simple Proportion, and two of them pretty well. In geography and English history two showed fair attainments, and a few distinguished fairly the parts of speech. Spelling pretty good. With Scripture, two were fairly, and a few others moderately, acquainted. Many of the first class were young.

The master came last Michaelmas from the school of All Souls' district, in Manchester. The school is in a very far better state than when I visited it last year.

Girls' School.-Children young; two candidates for apprenticeship, not included in the following remarks:

Well arranged in four classes; children neat; order fair. The Catechism was fairly repeated, but moderately understood. Scriptural knowledge, reading, and writing, all moderate; very little arithmetic. The children seemed unable to answer any questions, except some got-up ones.

The mistress has only been here since Christmas.

LITTLE MARSDEN, June 7.

The floor of school-room inconveniently covered with sets of fixed benches, for the use of the Sunday-school. A mixed school. Average attendance 76; boys 48, girls 28; whole-day scholars 64, half-day 12. Only one, a boy, was over 13 years

of age.

Arranged in six classes of boys, and three of girls. The division of the boys into only four classes recommended. Children fairly neat, quiet, and well-behaved; the order good, considering that the school has been only six months under an efficient master.

Catechism moderately repeated; a few understood its language fairly. Scriptural knowledge indifferent (a school cannot become instructed in this in a short time). Geography very indifferent. A few could distinguish the parts of speech moderately well; tables known, and simple sums in mental arithmetic worked, very fairly. History of England has been read, but the children could not answer well in it (children did not seem habituated to questioning). Writing from dictation and arithmetic (including notation) very fairly done. The reading was fair throughout the school, and the attainments of the lower classes in proportion to those of the rest. The master presented himself at the Easter examination for certificates of merit, but was taken ill, and obliged to leave. A sewing mistress is engaged for the girls.

SALFORD, CHRISTCHURCH, HOPE-STREET, May 31.

These fine school-buildings have been, and probably will be again, used as reading and lecturing rooms for the working classes.