The History Hub.

Education for all children was not seen as an important factor at the beginning of Victoria's reign. Most of the population was illiterate and the types of jobs that were done, such as agricultural labour and industrial work did not necessarily require the ability to read and write. Schooling cost money and so most parents saw it as a needless expense as their childrens help was much more important in bringing in money for the family. However this began to change during the Victorian era as the types of jobs changed and education became free. 

 

Children who did go to school had a very big choice as to the type of education they recieved. It all depended on whether you were rich, poor a boy or a girl. 

 

It was really only Church, Dame and Charity schools that provided poor children with access to education at the beginning of Victoria's reign. Church schools began as Sunday Schools, places children could go on sundays after church to learn to read with a very large emphasis on the bible stories. Charity schools then began to spring up. Poor children attended these schools and were always dressed in fairly ragged clothing; these charity schools became know as 'Ragged Schools'. These Charity schools aimed to teach Children how to read and write. Famously, Doctor Barnardo built his Ragged Schools in the 1870's. Some Charity and Church schools were run using monitors. This was a system where some of the older and brighter children (the monitors) were taught the lesson and they in turn would teach it to smaller groups of children inside a big hall often holding as many as 100 people. Dame schools also taught children to read and write for a fee. They took place in the front room of an older lady who may have fallen on hard times. There were often many children in a small space and learning was difficult. Some Dame schools were very good while others were not. The teaching was not regulated. However, all of these types of school cost money, even if only a donation, and most parents could not afford this.

 

Then society began to change. As you have read on the child labour page, changes were made in law to protect children. In 1833 no children under the age of 9 were allowed to be employed in factories. In 1844 the minimum age went down to 8. What were children to do? As factories became larger and more and more people were needed to be low level clerks or keep accounts and records, the demand for those who could read and write increased. The answer was school and more and more poor children began to attend. In 1870 the government passed an Education Act which meant that all children between the ages of 5-10 had to go to school and Boards were set up to run these schools. Hence these schools became known as Board Schools. The aim was to prepare children for their life as an adult. They were regulated and taught the three Rs' - Reading, Writing and Arithmatic. As these schools evolved they began to tech the basics of Geography, Physical Education (Drill), Scripture and Dictation. The school experience differed between boy and girl. Girls for example would learn needlework and boys would learn woodwork.Initially parents had to pay a few pence a week to send their children to these schools. Some of this was put toward a deposit sothat when the child left the school they had enough money to purchase the tools of their trade. However, even in 1891, when another Education Act was passed, some parents still needed their children to help them earn money at home, rather then send them to school.

 

Middle Class children learned differently. Their parents had the money to send them to school and their later life was greatly enhanced if they could do things like read and recite Latin and Greek, play games such as Rugby and Cricket, and apply reading, writing and arithmatic to a high level. Some famous schools of the time were Eton, Harrow and Rugby. Some Middle and Upper class children were taught at home by a governess or a private tutor. This person would be paid to visit the house and teach all of the subjects required.

 

There are some very interesting videos about some of these things on the button bar to the right!