Education records are often an overlooked source for family hstory research, yet they can provide invaluable information. Of course not all our ancestors would have received an education until Forsters Education Act 1870 when Education boards were created and compulsory education for children aged 5 to13 years was introduced, with the 1880 Education Act introducing minimum requirements for children to be able to leave school at 10 years of age.
Prior to this children were frequently employed from very young ages in agriculture and industry, including in the later 1700’s and Victorian times, in the new emerging new industrial factories.
Church schools however have existed for many centuries with their roots in the Monestries educating young monks. Grammer schools were introduced in the 15th Century by both charities, university colleges, companies and guilds.
Charity schools were first etablished in the late 17th century in poorer urban areas providing education free of charge for the “deserving poor” and Sunday Schools were introduced in Gloucester in the 18th century by Reverand Thomas Stock and nationally in 1780 by Robert Raikes.
Following the General Workhouse Act 1723, workhouse schools were also established to prepare pupils for apprenticeships with the aim of that they would no longer be a burden on the parish.
Amongst other schools established were The Royal Masonic Institution for Girls established in 1788, followed by a similar institution for boys in 1798; Ragged Schools providing education for poor children, free of charge; dame schools set up locally by women to education young children; private boarding schools; Quaker schools; and Military schools.
What records may exist and where can I find them?
Alumni Oxonienses Edited by Joseph Foster.
The members of the University of Oxford 1500-1886: their parentage, birthplace, and year of birth, with a record of their degrees being the matriculation register of the university. Some have brief biographical details such as ecclesiastical positions held and family relationships among the alumni.
Alphabetically arranged in five volumes, with volume one available at the British History website and the remaining volumes available online at the Internet Archive website (www.archive.org). Also available through http://www.ancestry.co.uk and a selection from various colleges at http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk and www.findmypast.co.uk.
Alumni Cantabrigienses
From the earliest times to 1900 the first part of which comprises four volumes covering the period until 1751 was published between 1922 and 1927. The companion set of six volumes covering 1752 to 1900 and edited by J. A. Venn appeared between 1940 and 1954. Alumni Cantabrigienses contains more biographical details than its Oxford counterpart, often including names of wives, dates of death for example, as well as further reference sources.
School Admission Books
Registers of admissions usually give dates of entry and withdrawal, together with the pupil’s age, residence and father’s name and occupation. Some voluntary schools required a note of whether the pupil was baptised or not. Registers of admissions became mandatory as a provision of the Elementary School Code of 1903, which further required that the records be kept for a minimum of ten years after the last entry made in them.
Secondary school admissions registers usually include educational achievements and may also give details of the pupil’s later career either in secondary education or in employment.
TNA holds a quantity of information on schools, but there is little or no information about named individuals. The Society of Genealogists has extensive holdings of various individual schools. Records at local archives should also be consulted, and online sites including http://www.thegenealogist.com, http://www.findmypast.co.uk and http://www.ancestry.co.uk.
School logbooks
School logbooks were required in government-financed schools from 1863, although they had been in fairly common use from about 1840. They provide details of attendance, accidents and illnesses of both students and staff; they may also contain inspectors’ reports as well as the details of everyday life – weather conditions, state of the harvest, epidemics and celebrations of military campaigns – in fact anything that might impinge on attendance as it could affect their local grant.
TNA holds a quantity of information on schools, but there is little or no information about named individuals. The Society of Genealogists has extensive holdings of various individual schools. Records at local archives should also be consulted, and online sites including http://www.thegenealogist.com, http://www.findmypast.co.uk and http://www.ancestry.co.uk.
Minute books of the school boards
These can provide additional information on the pupils, the teaching staff and even the board members themselves. These books, usually held by the local education authority, may contain correspondence, inventories, building plans and drawings, perhaps even photographs.
TNA holds a quantity of information on schools, but there is little or no information about named individuals. The Society of Genealogists has extensive holdings of various individual schools. Records at local archives should also be consulted, and online sites including http://www.thegenealogist.com, http://www.findmypast.co.uk and http://www.ancestry.co.uk.
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