BIRD NOTES AND NEWS. 



101 



ford. Certificates of Excellence : Stevington ; Clophill 

 Morhanger Girls ; Eggington. Highly Commended 

 Keysoe ; Northill ; Biggleswade (Girls) ; Thurleigh 

 Hockliffe. Commended : Eaton Socon ; Tottern- 

 hoe ; Toddington ; Little Staughton ; Lidlington ; 

 Heath ; Melchbourne ; Kensworth. 



There is this year for the first time a really strong 

 competition in this county, strong not only in 

 numbers but in the excellent quality of the work 

 done. It is therefore no small achievement on the 

 part of the Potton Council School to win the Shield. 

 All the papers of this team are marked by spon- 

 taneity and enthusiasm and by habits of real 

 observation, while the writing is fresh and simple. 

 Woburn, improving wonderfully on previous work, 

 runs Potton very close, sending excellent essays on 

 such interesting subjects as the Little Owl and Great 

 Crested Grebe ; and the drawings of birds seem, 

 like Potton's tree sketches, to be drawn direct from 

 nature. Tempsford takes third place by reason of 

 careful and intimate observation, particularly of 

 trees ; and had there been a fourth prize it would 

 have gone to Stevington's businesslike papers, 

 Clophill, Morhanger, and Eggington all show much 

 brightness and intelligence in their Nature study, 

 which is of a pleasantly real description. Keysoe 

 and Northill are to the fore with excellent writing 

 and composition. The Biggleswade Girls have over- 

 weighted their tree essays with botanical detail, 

 but, like Hockliffe and Thurleigh, they show pains- 

 taking study. Eaton Socon's young team sends two 

 notably good papers ; Kensworth works on the 

 right lines, and promising essays come from a number 

 of new competitors, whose work deserves hearty 

 encouragement. The county is to be congratulated 

 on the conspicuous improvement that has taken 

 place all round during the few years of the com- 

 petition. 



BERKSHIRE. 



Inter-County Shield : Buckland. Certificate of 

 Excellence : Burghfield. 



Though the Berkshire Shield was lost through 

 want of competition, several schools continue the 

 good work. Buckland's essays are spoken of in 

 relation to the Inter-County Competition. Burgh- 

 field C.E. School earns a Certificate of Excellence 

 by the charming freshness and keenness shown in 

 the essays, especially those on birds. Purley makes 

 a start with tree papers only, so that it is ineligible 

 for % competition, but when the team can write 

 equally well on birds, they will take a high place. 



BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 



Challenge Shield : Stony Stratford National 

 School. Certificates of Excellence : Ellesborough 



Council School ; Princes Risborough C.E. School ; 

 Coleshill C.E. School. Highly Commended : Cudding- 

 ton. 



The stress laid upon Nature study in connexion 

 with the Education Exhibition at Aylesbury this 

 autumn, and the inclusion among the exhibits of 

 the Bird and Tree Challenge Shield and some of the 

 work sent in for this competition, should have the 

 effect of stimulating the work and inciting a large 

 number of schools to join in it. The number of 

 competing teams at present cannot be said to 

 represent the county worthily. In point of merit, 

 however, the essays are exceedingly creditable. 

 Dull and formal little compositions repeated from 

 book or lesson are delightfully conspicuous by their 

 absence. Personal observation, more or less, is 

 indicated by all. More particularly is it to the fore 

 in the intelligent and original papers from the 

 winning school ; but though Stony Stratford has 

 now won the Shield tw T o years in succession, and 

 there is no doubt as to its superiority this year, 

 there seems no sufficient reason for cutting it off 

 from the competition. One or two other schools 

 come near enough in merit to stand a very good 

 chance of winning another time. Ellesborough, 

 a much younger team, sends in bright fresh papers, 

 entirely from outdoor study, and the children take 

 first place for knowledge and description of bird- 

 song. Coleshill furnishes exceptionally clever 

 watercolour sketches to supplement careful and 

 accurate note-taking. Princes Risborough, though 

 the place is less favourably situated than many 

 others, has found the best bird subjects, and both 

 this school and Cuddington are doing good work, 

 the former team showing more originality and 

 accuracy of information and the latter perhaps 

 more appreciation of general effects. 



CUMBERLAND. 



Challenge Shield : Kirkoswald School. Certi- 

 ficates of Excellence : Greystoke Council School 

 Fellside Council School (Girls) ; Morland-and-New- 

 by ; St. John's-in-the-Vale. Commended : St. John, 

 Keswick ; Melmerby ; Scaleby (Carlisle) ; Skelton 

 (Penrith) ; Fellside Boys. 



The competition in Cumberland has resulted of 

 late in a see-saw between Greystoke and Kirkoswald, 

 now one and now the other leading by a few marks 

 only. This year, however, there is promise of 

 stronger contests in the future. Although Kirkos- 

 wald once more takes the Shield, the papers of a new 

 competitor, Fellside School, Caldbeck, impress the 

 judges most favourably by their freshness and 

 originality. Morland-and-Newby also deserves a 



