[?] Racial Problems At

This School

OUNTRIES in which the colour bar is a problem could learn nething from the boys of Wesley illege, near Pukekohe, NZ, says : New Zealand Herald in a recent icle.

There 128 boys learn and live ;ether happily, apparently un iscious of the fact that more than Mhird of their number are oured —Maoris, Chinese and mders from Tonga, Samoa, Raro ga and Tahiti. n classrooms and dormitories boys spaced so as to give the greatest sible racial mix-up. fhe college’s headmaster, the Rev.

M. Marshall, admits some trial 1 error experiments were neces- Y to produce the present happy ilts.

We now have about one-third of school non-European, and while keep that proportion everything ks out all right,” he said, o have more than one-third non opean, meant European boys felt stigma of a “native school.” o have less than one-third en raged the minority to come to ier too much. here are still some problems un ed, however. Mr. Marshall said: was glad when the Island boys ie to the school at first! I felt it Id help them to learn European s. But now I’m beginning to der. Many of them want to stay he city. They don’t want to go : to the islands where they feel jrtunities are limited.” e made these other points: landers have a sense of humour; be “kidded along a bit”; but be bullied. They enjoy lering” younger boys, ie communal life of the Maoris re their arrival at Wesley is con ed responsible for their habit of ing the first thing they find as s. This is not so pronounced ag the Islanders. aoris and Islanders understand other better than European boys either race. aoris are better footballers than ;ans, but the Tongans learn dy. Last year’s Wesley Rugby n had only three Europeans, ie Islanders take most of the key ions in the cricket teams. They a keen eye for bowling and Jg. Islanders also star in tennis swimming. ropeans, as a rule, take the mtuc honours, though the others

do well. Of three Islanders who sat for their school certificates last year, all three passed. In the case of Maoris, three out of four passed.

“We don’t consider race when

choosing prefects,” he said. The head prefect is a Tongan. The team of prefects is made up of three Maoris, one other Tongan and five Europeans.