| Schools have had to keep extensive records since 1863 and may have
even earlier ones. Not all the old records have survived but, if they
have, may still be at the school. If not they may have been deposited
in the local record office or archive. If you do not know where your
local archives are kept then click here
for advice on finding them.
The most useful sources will be school log books and admission registers.
 School
Log Books were written up by the headteacher and recorded important
events in school life such as the visit of an inspector or governor,
closure of the school or new member of staff. They put in attendance
numbers and recorded epidemics and visits of the school nurse. Inspectors'
reports were written out in full.
If the school held a celebration for a National event such as Queen
Victoria's Jubilee it may be recorded. If you are lucky there might
even be a programme or photograph tucked into the book.
Pupils were not generally recorded unless they did something out of
the ordinary such as suffering an accident or passing an examination.
Pupil information will be found in the admission registers that
record the arrival and leaving of every pupil and include details such
as their date of birth, address, parents' names and date of and reason
for leaving. The information is regarded as confidential for a period
of time but entries made in the Victorian era are now all likely to
be freely accessible.
Schools also had to keep punishment books that recorded misdemeanors
and the punishments meted out. A few of these have survived and can
be seen. These are also conf idential
documents and may have restricted access.
Many old school photographs have survived of both buildings
and pupils. Again you may find them at the school or deposited at the
archives but many will be in the homes of former pupils or their families.
An appeal in a letter home or in the local press may produce a good
response. People may also have certificates, presentation books, medals
or old school magazines and these, again, can also be found in archive
collections or in local museums.
If you want to find out about the history of the school and there are
no log books, other, more general, sources may be of help.
The Victoria County History is compiling and publishing histories
of all parishes county by county. Your local reference library will
have the volumes that have been completed for your county. The parish
surveys are very detailed and will include a section on education and
information on all its schools. If you visit their website
you can find out if the history of your parish has been published.
If your school building is of architectural interest it may be included
in the relevant volume of the Pevsner Architectural Guides by
Nikolaus Pevsner. Their website
also includes a useful timeline and glossary of architectural styles.
Trade directories were produced throughout the nineteenth century
either based on the county or town. Even small villages were described
and schools were always mentioned, frequently with a small amount of
information including the date it was built.
Click here
to view a page from a trade directory
It is worth looking in old local newspapers, which you will
find either in the archives or in the local reference library. There
was often an article on the opening of the school. You will need the
date of opening which will be in the first log book if it exists. Otherwise
there may be a foundation stone or plaque recording the opening.
Many schools opened to the pupils on one date and then had an official
opening, sometimes several months later. In my experience the official
opening is more likely to have been reported.
Local newspapers also generally included the minutes of the school board
meetings and you can find information there regarding the building and
opening of schools.
Click here to view an extract from
an old newspaper.
The original school board minutes may be in the archives and
building plans for the school or later extensions may also be
there. Wiltshire
Community History website is aiming to put the history of every
Wiltshire school, past and present, on the web and includes images of
the sources they have used including plans.
Another useful source, which should be available in the local archives
or reference library, is a printed copy of the report of the children's
employment commissions for your area. Several commissions were set
up during the early Victorian period. They typically investigated children
working in a particular industry such as coal mining or the metal trades
and included interviews with the children. They were questioned about
their working life but also about their education. The questions asked
to test the children's literacy, numeracy and religious knowledge are
very illuminating.
Click here to view a page from
an employment commission.
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