The Fen Child In School
Ramsey Infant School c1908
Abbey Boys School Class 3 c1910
Until the late 1800’s, children of rich parents received some form of schooling, but poor children did not and instead, had to help the family by doing whatever work was required of them.
The Education Act of 1870 was the first of several acts of parliament passed between 1870 and 1893 to create compulsory education in England and Wales for children aged between five and 13. It was known as The Forster Act after its sponsor William Forster.
In 1901, some local authorities allowed children to work half-time, and full-time attendance at school might end at age 10. In some places, a minimum number of school attendances was required before a child could take up a full-time job at the age of 13.
Ramsey Town School c1912
School Logbooks
These were a handwritten record of day-to-day events in the school and were required to be kept by headteachers between about 1860 and 1937. Although many no longer remain, the ones that do, contain important historical information.
The content of the logbooks were dated and included: the school timetable and subjects taught; teaching staff and information about pupil attendance especially factors which affected attendance, such as extreme weather conditions and local epidemics or children helping with the harvest; instances of bad behaviour; celebrations, visitors to the school including visits of inspectors and building issues. The logbooks would be factual writing and opinions, or emotional responses were discouraged.
The amount of information recorded does vary according to head teachers and some logbooks are much fuller in their daily entries than others. Two examples have been included.
Ramsey St Mary's School Logbook 1892 Pages 10-11
Ramsey Town Board School Logbook 1908 Pages 142-143
Sunday School Memories from Ellaline Whitsey 1920
