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School records are a [[ | {{CountrySidebar | ||
|Country=England | |||
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|Records=Schools and Education | |||
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| link5=[[England Schools and Education Records|Schools and Education Records]] | |||
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|[[Image:England Schools - Chesire.jpg|thumb|349x261px|<center>England Schools - Chesire<center>]] | |||
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==Online Resources== | |||
*'''1803-1932''' [http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/british-army-schoolchildren-and-schoolmasters-1803-1932 British Army Schoolchildren and Schoolmasters 1803-1932] ($), index | |||
*[https://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/yorkshire-school-logs Yorkshire School Logs, various dates] - ($), index only | |||
*'''1836-1947''' [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62335/ UK and Commonwealth, Law Examination Records, 1836-1947] at Ancestry — index & images ($) | |||
*'''1870-1914''' [https://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/national-school-admission-registers-and-log-books-1870-1914 National School Admission Registers & Log-Books 1870-1914] at Findmypast - index & images ($) | |||
*'''1873-1950''' [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62532/ England And Wales, Girls' Day School Trust Records, 1873-1950] at Ancestry — index & images ($) | |||
*[https://search.findmypast.com/search-world-records/britain-school-and-university-students Britain, School and University Students] at Findmypast — index & images ($) | |||
=== Schools in England === | |||
School records are a [[Primary sources|primary source]] for genealogists. The admission registers of schools administered by local authorities, perhaps from the 1870s but more frequently from 1902, usually show under the date of entry, the child's name and address and his or her date of birth. Some registers, but not all, also show the name and occupation of the parent or guardian, the name of the previous school attended and the reason for leaving. For immigrant children the name of the previous school may uniquely provide the pupil's exact place of origin. These admission registers may enable the brothers and sisters of a pupil to be identified in a way that, with frequent names, would be difficult if not impossible in the records of civil registration. | |||
In England fee-paying schools are often misleadingly called "public" schools. Their registers and other records are discussed separately in the article Public Schools and their Records. | |||
=== Voluntary Schools === | === Voluntary Schools === | ||
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Although these "voluntary" schools were often intended to provide a free education, or one for which only very small fees were charged, many masters were obliged, for financial reasons, to take additional pupils on a fee-paying basis. Some such schools flourished and developed into the fee-paying boarding schools, grammar schools and "public schools" described elsewhere, but others degenerated into little more than elementary schools of a basic nature and were taken over by local education authorities in the 19th century, whilst yet others declined and disappeared altogether in the 18th and 19th centuries. | Although these "voluntary" schools were often intended to provide a free education, or one for which only very small fees were charged, many masters were obliged, for financial reasons, to take additional pupils on a fee-paying basis. Some such schools flourished and developed into the fee-paying boarding schools, grammar schools and "public schools" described elsewhere, but others degenerated into little more than elementary schools of a basic nature and were taken over by local education authorities in the 19th century, whilst yet others declined and disappeared altogether in the 18th and 19th centuries. | ||
In 1698 the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge (SPCK), founded that year, commenced a programme on a national scale to build and develop charity schools for poor children, including girls. In the first thirty years of the 18th century the SPCK had helped to create 1,500 schools, including many in south Wales and the remoter parts of Scotland. The printed reports of the Society give information about the progress made but there are no records of pupils | In 1698 the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge (SPCK), founded that year, commenced a programme on a national scale to build and develop charity schools for poor children, including girls. In the first thirty years of the 18th century the SPCK had helped to create 1,500 schools, including many in south Wales and the remoter parts of Scotland. The printed reports of the Society give information about the progress made but there are no surviving records of pupils from this period. | ||
At the same time dissenting academies sprang up in the 17th and 18th centuries and gave a somewhat broader education than the basic teaching of reading, writing and the casting of accounts, their students sometimes going on to the Scottish universities or even to those overseas. | At the same time dissenting academies sprang up in the 17th and 18th centuries and gave a somewhat broader education than the basic teaching of reading, writing and the casting of accounts, their students sometimes going on to the Scottish universities or even to those overseas. | ||
The use of monitors to assist in the teaching of large numbers of children developed at the end of the 18th century. At about the same time the teaching of children in Sunday schools commenced and rapidly became extremely widespread. The returns of the [[ | The use of monitors to assist in the teaching of large numbers of children developed at the end of the 18th century. At about the same time the teaching of children in Sunday schools commenced and rapidly became extremely widespread. The returns of the [[1851 Census Places of Worship|1851 Religious Census]] showed that by then some two-thirds of all children were attending Sunday schools to learn the basics of reading and writing as well as of religion. | ||
By the end of the 19th century over six million children received some education in this way, but, again, practically no records survive. There are a few exceptions, as the enormous registers (now at [http://www.stockport.gov.uk/services/leisureculture/libraries/?view=Standard Stockport Central Library]) kept by the former Sunday School at Stockport testify. Stockport Sunday School catered for 3,000 children. The un-indexed registers 1789-1920 show names and ages (Registers for the Stockport Sunday School, Cheshire, 1790-1877). <ref> | By the end of the 19th century over six million children received some education in this way, but, again, practically no records survive. There are a few exceptions, as the enormous registers (now at [http://www.stockport.gov.uk/services/leisureculture/libraries/?view=Standard Stockport Central Library]) kept by the former Sunday School at Stockport testify. Stockport Sunday School catered for 3,000 children. The un-indexed registers 1789-1920 show names and ages (Registers for the Stockport Sunday School, Cheshire, 1790-1877). <ref>{{FSC|534993|title-id|disp="FamilySearch Catalog Film 1655276-77, 1655501, 1655501 it2, 1655457-58}} (Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the GSU, 1990)</ref> Many families sent generation after generation of children to Sunday school, the age range for admission at Stockport being from three years to late teenage. | ||
=== Literacy === | === Literacy === | ||
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In 1808 a group of Quakers founded the British and Foreign School Society to create non-denominational schools and, in 1811, members of the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, concerned at the growth of nonconformity, formed the National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Church of England. The latter society then administered the schools founded by the SPCK and built many more, especially in places where there was manufacturing. | In 1808 a group of Quakers founded the British and Foreign School Society to create non-denominational schools and, in 1811, members of the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, concerned at the growth of nonconformity, formed the National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Church of England. The latter society then administered the schools founded by the SPCK and built many more, especially in places where there was manufacturing. | ||
The papers of individual "British" and "National" schools may remain with the schools themselves or be in the appropriate county record office. The administrative records of the British and Foreign School Society (see http://www.bfss.org.uk) are, however, in its Archives Centre at Brunel University, Osterley Campus, Lancaster House, Borough Road, Isleworth TW7 5DU; telephone (020) 8891 0121. There is a museum in the former Hitchin British School at 41-42 Queen Street, Hitchin SG4 9TS; telephone (01462) 420144 (see http://home.btconnect.com/hitchinbritishschools). | The papers of individual "British" and "National" schools may remain with the schools themselves or be in the appropriate county record office. The administrative records of the British and Foreign School Society (see http://www.bfss.org.uk) are, however, in its Archives Centre at Brunel University, Osterley Campus, Lancaster House, Borough Road, Isleworth TW7 5DU; telephone (020) 8891 0121. There is a museum in the former Hitchin British School at 41-42 Queen Street, Hitchin SG4 9TS; telephone (01462) 420144 (see http://home.btconnect.com/hitchinbritishschools). | ||
The administrative records of the National Society are at the Church of England Record Centre, 15 Galleywall Road, Bermondsey, London SE16 3PB; telephone (020) 7898 1030. The collection there includes the surviving admission records and log books of those Church of England schools in the diocese of London and Southwark, some dating from 1863, but occasionally from earlier years (see | The administrative records of the National Society are at the Church of England Record Centre, 15 Galleywall Road, Bermondsey, London SE16 3PB; telephone (020) 7898 1030. The collection there includes the surviving admission records and log books of those Church of England schools in the diocese of London and Southwark, some dating from 1863, but occasionally from earlier years (see https://britishschoolsmuseum.org.uk/). | ||
=== Ragged Schools === | === Ragged Schools === | ||
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The Ragged School movement flourished in the 1860s and 1870s and the schools were eventually superseded by those established by the school boards described below. There is a Ragged School Museum at 48 Copperfield Road, Bow, London E3 4RR, where, from 1877 to 1908, the largest of these schools provided free education, free meals in winter, and help in finding employment to thousands of poor local children (see http://www.raggedschoolmuseum.org.uk). Neither the Shaftesbury Society nor the Museum has records of former pupils. | The Ragged School movement flourished in the 1860s and 1870s and the schools were eventually superseded by those established by the school boards described below. There is a Ragged School Museum at 48 Copperfield Road, Bow, London E3 4RR, where, from 1877 to 1908, the largest of these schools provided free education, free meals in winter, and help in finding employment to thousands of poor local children (see http://www.raggedschoolmuseum.org.uk). Neither the Shaftesbury Society nor the Museum has records of former pupils. | ||
Courtesy of The Children's Society: [http://www.hiddenlives.org.uk/cases/index.html Database of Children under the care of the Waifs and Strays Society: 1882-1918] | |||
=== Workhouse and Factory Schools === | === Workhouse and Factory Schools === | ||
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In 1906 some councils provided school meals and, in the following year, a basic medical service. From 1902 many of the older, poorly endowed public and grammar schools that provided secondary education were obliged to accept government assistance and become "grant-aided schools". Some had already accepted financial assistance following inquiries by the Charity Commission earlier in the 19th century. Then as now, many saw any weakening in the private sector as an attack, in the words of Sir John Marriott, on "the wholesome variety in educational methods which has been the strength of the educational system in this country". | In 1906 some councils provided school meals and, in the following year, a basic medical service. From 1902 many of the older, poorly endowed public and grammar schools that provided secondary education were obliged to accept government assistance and become "grant-aided schools". Some had already accepted financial assistance following inquiries by the Charity Commission earlier in the 19th century. Then as now, many saw any weakening in the private sector as an attack, in the words of Sir John Marriott, on "the wholesome variety in educational methods which has been the strength of the educational system in this country". | ||
The minimum school leaving age was progressively increased: to 11 in 1893, 12 in 1899 (though in rural areas many continued to leave at 11), 14 in 1918, 15 in 1947 and to 16 in 1972. These dates alone mean little. Five years after the Education Act of 1917, which in theory had abolished the "half-time" system and all the exemptions for children aged between five and fourteen, it is estimated that only 31 | The minimum school leaving age was progressively increased: to 11 in 1893, 12 in 1899 (though in rural areas many continued to leave at 11), 14 in 1918, 15 in 1947 and to 16 in 1972. These dates alone mean little. Five years after the Education Act of 1917, which in theory had abolished the "half-time" system and all the exemptions for children aged between five and fourteen, it is estimated that only 31 percent of 14-year-olds were attending school as they should have been. | ||
=== State Schools === | === State Schools === | ||
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=== School Records === | === School Records === | ||
The majority of schools for which records survive are those taken over by the local education authorities in 1902 (but see also the note on National Society schools above). Although most schools after 1870 kept an admission register, not all have survived. As mentioned above they usually show, under the date of entry, the child's name and address and his or her date of birth. Some registers, but not all, also show the name and occupation of the parent or guardian, the name of the previous school attended and the reason for leaving. | [[Image:England School house old.jpg|thumb|right|322x242px|England School house old.jpg]]The majority of schools for which records survive are those taken over by the local education authorities in 1902 (but see also the note on National Society schools above). Although most schools after 1870 kept an admission register, not all have survived. As mentioned above they usually show, under the date of entry, the child's name and address and his or her date of birth. Some registers, but not all, also show the name and occupation of the parent or guardian, the name of the previous school attended and the reason for leaving. | ||
A very few school log books are found from the 1840s, but in 1862 the elementary schools, which received government grants, were required to maintain daily (from 1871, weekly) logs in which the head teacher was to record the "ordinary progress" of the school. Schools without a certificated head teacher and thus not qualifying for a grant, and those where the buildings did not meet government standards, were not required to keep logs. Partly for this reason, not many survive prior to about 1870. | A very few school log books are found from the 1840s, but in 1862 the elementary schools, which received government grants, were required to maintain daily (from 1871, weekly) logs in which the head teacher was to record the "ordinary progress" of the school. Schools without a certificated head teacher and thus not qualifying for a grant, and those where the buildings did not meet government standards, were not required to keep logs. Partly for this reason, not many survive prior to about 1870. | ||
The log may contain comments on attendance, behaviour, discipline, the curriculum, and much other incidental matter, such as the effect of bad weather, epidemics and seasonal work on attendance, but the names of individual pupils only occasionally appear. The names and status of the teachers were recorded at the annual inspection, with a summary of the inspector's report. One of the few published examples is that for Whitchurch, Oxfordshire, 1869-93, edited for the Oxfordshire Record Society, volume 51 (1979) by Pamela Horn [ | The log may contain comments on attendance, behaviour, discipline, the curriculum, and much other incidental matter, such as the effect of bad weather, epidemics and seasonal work on attendance, but the names of individual pupils only occasionally appear. The names and status of the teachers were recorded at the annual inspection, with a summary of the inspector's report. One of the few published examples is that for Whitchurch, Oxfordshire, 1869-93, edited for the Oxfordshire Record Society, volume 51 (1979) by Pamela Horn [FS Library book {{FSC|216932|title-id|disp=942.57 B4o v.51}}]. | ||
Punishments may be recorded in early logs, but after 1901 they are usually noted in a separate punishment book, showing the name, | Punishments may be recorded in early logs, but after 1901 they are usually noted in a separate punishment book, showing the name, offense and punishment, and, occasionally, other comment. These books survive less frequently than log books. | ||
School magazines and promotional material, such as | School magazines and promotional material, such as yearbooks, survive irregularly but, as today, may reveal examinations results and the names of those in school teams and sometimes the destination of pupils who leave. The printed material may be found at the school, in local studies libraries, and only occasionally in the British Library. | ||
There is no general right of access to school records, and for those school records held in record offices there will be restrictions on access to the most recent records, perhaps of 50 or 60 years for personal records and 30 years for others. | There is no general right of access to school records, and for those school records held in record offices there will be restrictions on access to the most recent records, perhaps of 50 or 60 years for personal records and 30 years for others.<br> | ||
There is a FamilySearch Wiki page explaining the history, purpose, and available records for [[Christ's Hospital, London: A School for Children]] | |||
The school records held by the [ | === School Records in FamilySearch Library === | ||
The school records held by the [https://library.familysearch.org/centers/saltlakecity-library FamilySearch Library] are found in the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog Place Search] of the Library Catalog under one of the following: | |||
ENGLAND - SCHOOLS<br>ENGLAND, [COUNTY] - SCHOOLS<br>ENGLAND, [COUNTY], [PARISH] - SCHOOLS | ENGLAND - SCHOOLS<br>ENGLAND, [COUNTY] - SCHOOLS<br>ENGLAND, [COUNTY], [PARISH] - SCHOOLS | ||
See also Lance Jacob, ''Register of English school, college, and university registers housed in the collection of the Genealogical Society of Utah as of April 1981'' [Family History LIbrary typescript | See also Lance Jacob, ''Register of English school, college, and university registers housed in the collection of the Genealogical Society of Utah as of April 1981'' [Family History LIbrary typescript {{FSC|272641|title-id|disp=942 J24c}}]. | ||
=== Bibliography === | === Bibliography === | ||
Pamela Horn, ''The Victorian and Edwardian Schoolchild ''(Alan Sutton, 1989). <ref>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/22273014/editions WorldCat]</ref><br>Colin R. Chapman, ''The growth of British education and its records ''(Dursley: Lochin Publishing, 2nd edn. 1996) <ref>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/28747778/editions WorldCat]</ref> <ref> | Pamela Horn, ''The Victorian and Edwardian Schoolchild ''(Alan Sutton, 1989). <ref>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/22273014/editions WorldCat]</ref><br>Colin R. Chapman, ''The growth of British education and its records ''(Dursley: Lochin Publishing, 2nd edn. 1996) <ref>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/28747778/editions WorldCat]</ref> <ref>{{FSC|509497|title-id|disp="FamilySearch Catalog Book 942 J2cr"}} (Dursley, Gloucestershire : Lochin Publishing, c1991)</ref>[Family History LIbrary book {{FSC|833962|title-id|disp=942 J2cr}}].<br>Colin R. Chapman, ''Using Education Records ''(Federation of Family History Societies, 1999) <ref>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/42622830 WorldCat]</ref> <ref>{{FSC|833170|title-id|disp="FamilySearch Catalog Book 942 J27c'}} (Ramsbottom, Lancashire : Federation of Family History Societies Publications, c1999)</ref><br>[Adapted from Anthony Camp's article 'Schools and their records: Part 2' in ''Practical Family History'' (UK), no. 68 (August 2003) pages 8-10.<br> | ||
'''A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:''' | |||
*[[England Cheshire School Records - FamilySearch Historical Records]] | |||
*[[Middlesex Schools]] | |||
*[[England, Types of School Records - International Institute]] | |||
*[[London Schools]] | |||
== References == | == References == | ||
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<references /> | <references /> | ||
{{Place|England}} | {{Place|England}} | ||
[[Category:England_School_Records]] | |||