Public Schools: The Promotion
and Organisation of Sports and
Games.
Mr. P. Leighton
Socio-Cultural Issues
Sport and Culture.
Today’s Session…

Quickly Review last session on ETHNIC
SPORTS- What are some of their
characteristics?
 Understand the changes that came about in
the Nineteenth Century- particularly in Queen
Victoria’s reign.
 Understand the importance of the ‘House
System’ and how sports were involved.
 Begin to look at Amateurism and
Professionalism.
Starter Activity…

Put together the “Jigsaw” pieces that describe the activity:
Cheese rolling…

Answers




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Local: Only really done on Coopers Hill, Gloucestershire.
Traditional: Has survived since the test of time
Occasional: Done every year- every spring bank Holiday
Tourism: Draws massive crowds and spectators along with industry
and revenue for the local towns and pubs.
Relatively Isolated: Done on the same hill in Gloucestershire, has not
become mainstream and overtaken by media.
Rowdy: the nature of the activity draws rowdy behaviour as well as
drinking and celebrations afterwards.
The Nineteenth Century…

Britain shifted from a rural to an urban societygradually became more civilized.
For us as socio-cultural observers however
some of the main changes were…
 Public baths were built to counteract the
devastation of cholera
 A reduction in working hours- meaning more
free time for the working class
 RSPCA Formation- a total ban on blood sports
such as dog fighting.
Continued…
Improved transport and communicationi.e. railways…
Q. How was this important in a sporting
context?
 Improved literacy…
Q. How was this important in a sporting
context?

Public Schools
Large numbers of middle and upper
classes attended the elite public schools
such as Eton, Rugby and Harrow
boarding schools.
 These institutions were used to educated
and also prepare the pupils for
leadership roles in society.
 Question: why were they called public
schools?

So what was so good about
Eaton/Rugby boarding schools?

Specialist facilities
 Academic “Assistant
Masters”
 Professional coaches
 Boarding Schools=
More Free time.
 Vast grounds=
expansion could occur.
All this allowed the young
boys of the 1880’s to
excel in sport.
What games did they play?
Association football
 Rugby (before the split)
 Eton Wall game
 Eton/Rugby Fives
 Cricket

How were these sports organised?
“House” games captains would organise a lot
of the sport.
 Teams were posted and pupils were
encouraged to take part.
 Also these sports allowed teachers time offsociety at the time was unruly and this was
reflected in its youth.
 Fixtures then became more commonplace
between schools- also a reflection of society.

The after effects of the house
system…

Pupils were educated and took their love of
sport to universities- and then into their adult
lives.
 In the 19th Century (1800-1900) Britain
embarked on developing a grand empire- of
which is governed many sovereign states
around the world.
 Christianity and its values were spread- along
with the British ways of life- who do you think
went abroad to manage these states?
So where did the ex-public
schoolboys go?

The rainforests of
Africa.
 The islands of the
Pacific.
 The plains of India.
 The prairies of
Canada.
What are some of the
sports they took with
them?
In addition to this…
Not all ex-public schoolboys went
abroad- they became vicars,
industrialists, teachers and simply
parents.
 The values they held allowed them to
help create loyal, brave and co-operative
Christian gentlemen.
 They also helped set up some of the
NGB’s which are still active today...

They are…
The Football Association (FA)
 The Rugby Football Union (RFU)
 The Amateur Athletics Association (AAA)

In conclusion then…
What were some of the key things that
occurred in the 19th Century?
 Why was the invention of good public
transport so important to spectators?
 What was so good about the public
school system?
 What did the public schoolboys take with
them as well as religion and education?
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