Along with many of the following curriculum changes; country schools also had year 9 and 10, in secondary school, learning compulsory agricultural and dairy science. .
According to McKenzie (1992), schools in town had their own set of problems, as they often had massively overcrowded classrooms, with 100 students for one teacher. Education was done in the traditional form of rote learning, with children chanting the information until the memorised it (Swarbrick, 2012). As stated by McKenzie (1992), this form of education was by no means creative or interesting, but it served a purpose and was made for the environment it was used in. Moreover, it was based on the Australian and British curriculums, as there was not one previously, it had to be based on something (McKenzie, 1992). Furthermore, there was little room for different teaching styles, it was a very inflexible curriculum (Ewing, 1970, as cited in McGee and Cowie, 2008). Students were drilled in their education of reading, writing, arithmetic, history, geography, English grammar and composition, object lessons, vocal music, elementary science and drawing (The Education Act, 1877). The curriculum was very gender segregated at this time, and remained so for decades; with girls taking sewing and needlework, and boys taking military drill, in the event of them needing it in the future (The Education Act, 1877). The educators main aim was to create a baseline in education for employers, as the goal at the time was to make children employable (McKenzie, 1992). Additionally, in 1904, students were schooled in civics, and undertook ANZAC and moral training (McGee and Cowie, 2008). As the education sector saw it was their role to fulfil this need. .
Furthermore, at the end of each academic year each student had an exam, where they had to recount their years learning, they were only allowed to move up the next year level, if they got sufficient marks (Swarbrick, 2012).