College – Issue 33

Rev. George Cotterill’s report and marks for Form I (Year 7) Latin, 1881. The boys listed are: William Tyndall De Renzy Harman (932), William Cranstoun Henry Wigley (991), Marston Colbeck Cuff (957), Leonard William Harley (885),Walter Kenneth McAlpine(995), Charles Henry Mellish (969), Francis Warden Hennah (984) John Patrick Peter (996) and Abraham Logan (958)

Examinations in Shakespeare and Geography, sat by William Charles Bean on 21 April 1873

miles away and had to live away from home. It is not known how many boys sat the 1867 examination, but the successful candidate was Westby Brooke Perceval (308), who was later a Liberal politician and sat in the House of Representatives (1887–1895). In 1891, he was created a Knight Commander of St Gregory by the Pope, in recognition of his service to the Roman Catholic Church. He had converted to Roman Catholicism in 1870 while at College. From 1893– 1896, he was New Zealand’s Agent General in London and was created Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1894. From 1896–1897, he was Agent General for Tasmania. The earliest examination papers that can be attributed to an individual belong to William Charles Bean (397) who arrived at College on a Provincial Government Scholarship in 1870 and left four years later in the Upper Fifth Form. At that time, boys were taught in Lower, Middle

and Upper Fifth Form classes (about Year 12) depending on their level of achievement in each subject. Bean sat examinations in Upper Fifth French, Greek and Latin, and Lower Fifth Greek History. Arithmetic was taught in divisions across the whole school, so Bean’s paper was in Division III. The whole of the Fifth Form sat the same Divinity, Shakespeare and Geography papers. Examiners did not necessarily examine in their teaching or degree subject. For example, Rev. George Cotterill, who was on staff from 1857–1868 and a Fellow from 1855–1894, was called upon to examine Latin, Algebra, Arithmetic, Euclid (Geometry) and English over the years. Other clergy (Henry William Harper, William Chambers Harris, Henry Jacobs, Francis Knowles and Henry Bromley Cocks) kept to Latin, Greek and Divinity, although Frederick George Brittan (39) examined Arithmetic, Algebra and Euclid in 1880 and Alfred Hands reported on all the Upper Forms

in English History and Grammar in 1884. The first of the external examination papers in the Archives date from 1926 and 1927, and were donated by Theodore Robert Foster Raw (3613). In the external examinations set by the University of New Zealand in 1927, Raw sat Chemistry, English History 1484–1717, English papers A and B (see over), French, Latin and three Mathematics papers. The University of New Zealand at this time consisted of Canterbury, Auckland, Victoria (Wellington), Lincoln and Massey Agricultural Colleges and the University of Otago. The results, published in The Press and Christ’s College Register , record he passed Matriculation (University Entrance = NCEA Level 3), Solicitor’s General Knowledge and Medical Preliminary. Raw qualified in medicine at Guy’s Hospital (MRCS [England] and LRCP [London]) and was awarded a Guy’s Hospital half blue for rowing.

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College Issue 33 2017

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