NRS-16942 | School Returns [Mangrove Creek Public School]

The School Returns, submitted quarterly, were primarily but not exclusively reports on the enrolment and attendance at the school. Weekly tallies were recorded of pupils enrolled (broken down by gender and religious denomination), of average attendance over the week, and (from the 1880’s) of school fees received. Quarterly totals for these figures were made up, as also (by the 1880’s) for fees in arrears, children whose fees had been waived, and children who had left the school during the quarter. Details were also entered of the teachers on the establishment on the last day of each quarter, and of the physical state of the school, including inventories of books, maps and diagrammes, and descriptions of the school buildings and grounds. The correctness of the information given was to be certified by both the teacher responsible for its compilation and the Inspector of Schools. In the event of the average enrolment falling below that prescribed for the school’s classification, explanation was to be made by the teacher in the space provided. The forms for School Returns were printed yearly, and each form bears on its last page lists of the authorised school holidays for that year and of the Inspectors then in service in each district.The series from Mangrove Creek Public School is currently represented by returns covering five successive quarters, from March, 1874 to June, 1875.