Durham E-Theses
The organisation of public elementary education in
York 1870 - 1902
Rex, J. H.
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Rex, J. H. (1960) The organisation of public elementary education in York 1870 - 1902, Durham theses,
Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/9602/
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Dissertation f o r the
J . H. Hex. B.A.
M.Ed, degree
THE
O R G A N I S A T I O N
E L E M B N T A f l
Y
E D U C A T I O N
1870
Ootober. 1960.
OF
- 1902
P U B L I C
I N
YORK
ABSTRACT OF
h
THE ORGANISATION OF PUBLIC ELEMENTARY EDUCATION IN YORK 1870 - 1902.
The period under review i s divided into two halves, the dividing l i n e being the
year 1889> when the f i r s t York School Board was elected.
Thus, the f i r s t part (1870 - 1888) i s concerned purely with how Voluntary Schools
provided elementary education i n the c i t y . I t begins by showing how the provision
of schools i n 1870 was such that a School Board was not thought necessary, and how
the Denominations increased the supply up to 1888, Much attention i s given to the way
i n which these schools were financed, and to the d i f f i c u l t i e s which they met i n
raising sufficient funds. Chapter 3 deals with the problem of school attendance,
describing I n d e t a i l the measures taken by the School Attendance Committee, and the
e f f e c t they had.
The second part (1888 - 1902) opens by showing how a deficiency arose i n
ho.
accommodation, necessitating the formation of a School Board; the composition of that
Board and subsequent ones i s then summarised. I n the next Chapter, details are given of
how schools were provided, by both the School Board and Voluntary bodies, with some SSfiZ:
mention of alleged competition. Then follows a comparison of the way i n which both
types of school were financed, again underlining the d i f f i c u l t i e s of the Voluntary
bodies and showing the advantage that l a y with the School Board. Attention i s then
given to the continued a c t i v i t i e s o f the School Attendance Committee, and the
resulting success, to the gradual abolition of fees and t o the raising of the schoolleaving age.
The f i n a l chapters deal more specifically with the a c t i v i t i e s of the School Board
designed to widen the scope of education I n York, Including the introduction of
s c i e n t i f i c and practical subjects, evening schools, education of pupil-teachers and
the beginning of recreational and educational v i s i t s . How some of these were
•- T'
affected by the Cockerton Judgment i s also described.
rr
... -"
' '
:
2
0
The dissertation concluded' with an assessment of the work of the School Board
and the Voluntary, bodies, and notes the transfer of the whole system i n 1903 to the new
Education Committee•
University
of
Durham
From the office of
OLD SHIRE HALL
The Registrar and Secretary
Ref:
DURHAM (TEL. 5261)
P/Rex
3rd October, 1966.
J.F. W i l l a t t , Esq.,
Department of Education,
48 Old E l v e t ,
Durham.
Dear Mr. W i l l a t t ,
I am enclosing herewith, f o r deposit i n the Department
L i b r a r y , the top copy of Mr. J.H. Rex's d i s s e r t a t i o n - "The
Organisation of P u b l i c Elementary Education i n York 1870 - 1902".
Mr. Rex was s u c c e s s f u l i n h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n i n 1960,
but f a i l e d to s a t i s f y the Examiners i n h i s w r i t t e n papers i n
E d u c a t i o n a l Law and A d m i n i s t r a t i o n and H i s t o r y of Education. As
you w i l l see from the attached copy l e t t e r , we have been forced to
assume t h a t the candidate no longer wishes to be r e g i s t e r e d f o r the
degree, and we a r e , t h e r e f o r e , r e t u r n i n g to him the second copy of
his dissertation.
Yours
cerely,
Deputy R e g i s t r a r .
WES/MB
Copy to I.Ir. w i l l a t t
Rof: P/Rex
3rd October, 1966.
J.K. Hex, Ksq.,
408 Spoil Lp.no,
Leeds 16.
Dear S i r ,
I refer t o my l e t t e r of 10th f*ay l a s t i n connection
with your candidature f o r the MoSid. of t h i s Undvoraity.
Since we have not heard from you oinco September 1963
and i n viow of the fact that no reply has been received to ray
l a s t I q t t o r , i t has now been aasumod that you have withdrawn your
candidature and your name has been deleted from our records.
I am returning herewith tho seoond copy of your
successful dissertation - "The Orsanioation of Public Elementary
Education i n York 1870 - 1902", The top oopy of the work has been
deposited i n tho Library of the University Education Department*
Youra f a i t h f u l l y .
Deputy Registrar.
Introduction:
The 1870 E d u o a t i o n Abt
From 1860 onwards, most t h i n k i n g men
had been u r g i n g the
importance o f a n a t i o n a l system o f elementary e d u o a t i o n , and
d u r i n g t h e l a t e r years o f t h e decade evidence o f t h e need f o r
suoh a system accumulated
reigned;
rapidly.
W i t h o u t a doubt d e s t i t u t i o n
by 1870, s c h o o l s under government i n s p e c t i o n p r o v i d e d
places f o r l i t t l e more t h a n 50% o f t h e e s t i m a t e d r e q u i r e m e n t ,
w h i l e s c h o o l s were unevenly d i s t r i b u t e d , a t t e n d a n c e was
and t h e l e a v i n g - a g e was
low.
irregular
4n a d d i t i o n a l f a c t o r was t h e
1867
Reform B i l l , which added a m i l l i o n v o t e r s t o t h e P a r l i a m e n t a r y
R e g i s t e r , and w h i c h made i t i m p e r a t i v e f o r England t o be an
educated c o u n t r y .
I t was
becoming obvious t h a t t h e V o l u n t a r y bodies c o u l d n o t
r e o t i f y t h e p o s i t i o n unaided, but t h e r e were s t r o n g o b j e c t i o n s t o
f i n a n c i a l s u p p o r t b e i n g g i v e n t o them f r o m t h e l o c a l r a t e s .
e d u c a t i o n became a p o l i t i c a l
Thus,.,
i s s u e , a s t r u g g l e between advocates
o f an u n s e c t a r i a n , f r e e and compulsory system and those o f a
d e n o m i n a t i o n a l system, f r e e o n l y i n cases o f n e c e s s i t y and
compulsory
by t h e b e t t e r a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e r a o t o r y A c t s .
The E d u c a t i o n Act produced
i n 1870 was, a c c o r d i n g t o i o r s t e r ,
framed so as t o b r i n g about t h e ' l e a s t p o s s i b l e e x p e n d i t u r e o f
p u b l i c money, and t h e avoidance of i n j u r y t o e x i s t i n g and
schools';
efficient
I t was r e a l l y a compromise, as t h e v o l u n t a r y s c h o o l s
were t o be l e f t untouched, w h i l e any d e f i c i e n c i e s i n t h e p r o v i s i o n
o f accommodation which t h e y c o u l d n o t make good were t o be
s u p p l i e d by School Boards formed f o r t h e purpose and a b l e t o draw
on t h e r a t e s .
Education was t o be f r e e o n l y t o c h i l d r e n o f
n e c e s s i t o u s p a r e n t s , t o be compulsory o n l y where School Boards
used t h e i r power t o make Bye-Laws, and n o t t o be p u r e l y s e c u l a r .
Compromise was a l s o reached on t h e q u e s t i o n o f R e l i g i o u s I n s t r u c t i o n ,
the d e n o m i n a t i o n a l schools o p e r a t i n g s i d e - b y - s i d e w i t h
u n d e n o m i n a t i o n a l Board S c h o o l s .
I n both types a 'conscience
c l a u s e * was t o be o p e r a t e d .
The system e s t a b l i s h e d by t h i s A c t was t o c o n t i n u e
until
1902, and i t i s t h e o b j e c t o f t h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n t o work o u t i n
d e t a i l t h e consequences o f t h e A c t , and f u r t h e r A c t s w h i c h
amended o r added t o i t ,
i n t h e u i t y o f York.
PART
THE
ONE
Y O L U H T A H Y
P E R I O D
1 8 7 0
-
1 8 8 8
S C H O O L
Chapter 1
: The S i t u a t i o n i n York, 1870
i h e procedure t o be f o l l o w e d f o r d e t e r m i n i n g t h e need f o r a
S c h o o l Board o r o t h e r w i s e was l a i d down m a i n l y i n SS 8 and 9 o f t h e
1870 A c t .
Under these p r o v i s i o n s , a r e t u r n o f e x i s t i n g aooommodation
had t o be made t o t h e E d u c a t i o n Dept., which would then c o n s i d e r
what p u b l i c elementary accommodation was n e c e s s a r y , and whether
such accommodation was a l r e a d y s u f f i c i e n t l y p r o v i d e d ,
Their
d e o i s i o n s were t o be p u b l i s h e d i n a n o t i c e which was t o c o n t a i n
d e t a i l s o f t h e accommodation which appeared
required.
t o them t o be
I f t h e e x i s t i n g accommodation was c o n s i d e r e d t o be
i n s u f f i c i e n t , a p e r i o d o f s i x months grace was t o be a l l o w e d f o r
t h e d e f i c i e n c y t o be made up, o r t o be i n t h e course o f b e i n g
supplied.
F a i l u r e t o do t h i s
i n t h e r e q u i r e d p e r i o d would l e a d
t o t h e Dept. c a u s i n g a School Board t o be formed.
(A) Under a
f u r t h e r s e c t i o n o f t h e n e t ( B ) , i t was p o s s i b l e f o r a School Board
t o be formed w i t h o u t e n q u i r y o r n o t i c e s , upon a p p l i c a t i o n by
e l e o t o r s o f t h e Sohool Board or by t h e u o u n c i l o f a Borough.
The
o n l y exoeption t o these p r o v i s i o n s concerning t h e formation of
Sohool Boards was London. ( B 2 ) .
(A) 1870 Elem. E d u c a t i o n A c t , S.10
(B) 1870 Elem. E d u c a t i o n A c t , S.12
(B2) 1870 Elem. E d u c a t i o n A c t , S.37
By the 5 t h September, 1870, t h e Town C l e r k o f York
had
a l r e a d y r e c e i v e d a l e t t e r r e q u i r i n g a Return t o be made t o t h e
Dept., and had r e q u e s t e d i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m t h e p a r i s h c l e r g y and
o t h e r i n t e r e s t e d M i n i s t e r s and persons. (C)
Some two months
l a t e r , he was a b l e t o p r e s e n t a Return t o t h e E d u c a t i o n Committee
o f the C o u n c i l showing
t h a t i n t h e C i t y t h e r e were 56 elementary
sohools c l a s s e d as p u b l i o and 9 as p r i v a t e . (D)
To t h e Managers
o f these s c h o o l s , the Committee proposed t o a p p l y f o r d e t a i l s
about t h e number o f p u p i l s , a r e a o f b u i l d i n g s , e t c . , so t h a t t h e y
c o u l d judge the s u f f i c i e n c y o f elementary e d u c a t i o n i n t h e C i t y ,
and be enabled t o d e c i d e whether o r n o t t o a p p l y f o r t h e f o r m a t i o n
o f a School
Board.
Before t h e end o f January, 1871, the Town C l e r k had
prepared
a statement f o r t h e E d u c a t i o n Committee and t h e Dept., g i v i n g t h e
following overall picture:P u b l i o Elementary School Accommodation i n York. 1870
.
No. on r o l l i n sohools w i t h i n M u n i c i p a l Boundary
and i n o p e r a t i o n
Boys 3,046
G i r l s 2,425
No. on r o l l i n sohools as above i n course o f
being supplied
No.
(C)
(D)
Boys
735 G i r l s
I n f a n t s 610
285
i n o r i n t e n d e d t o be i n schools o u t s i d e t h e
M u n i o i p a l Boundary
Boys
537 G i r l s
443
U n s p e c i f i e d 210
Report o f Town C l e r k on Elem. Educ. Act o f 1870 dated 5.9.1870
Report o f E d u c a t i o n Committee dated 9.11.1870
These f i g u r e s i n c l u d e d 248 places
i n schools classed as p r i v a t e ,
but d i d n o t i n c l u d e the accommodation i n one B.C.
f i g u r e s were n o t s u p p l i e d .
i n the Report was
sohool f o r w h i c h
J-'he g r a n t t o t a l o f places
Included
8,291, w h i l e the assumed p o p u l a t i o n o f the C i t y
w i t h i n the M u n i c i p a l L i m i t s was
45,000.
As a r u l e , the Dept.
r e q u i r e d t h a t a number e q u a l t o o n e - s i x t h of the p o p u l a t i o n
should
be taken as t h e number o f c h i l d r e n r e s i d e n t i n the
district;
on t h i s b a s i s , t h e r e should have been accommodation
f o r 7,500 p u p i l s i n York.
I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o note t h a t , t h r e e
years e a r l i e r , Mr. F i t c h , H.M.I., r e p o r t e d t h a t , i n t h e C i t y , the
p r o p o r t i o n o f s c h o l a r s under i n s t r u c t i o n i n a l l types o f s c h o o l
t h e p o p u l a t i o n was
1 : 5.5
o r 18$.
to
(E)
While t h e d e c i s i o n of the Dept. was
awaited,
the E d u c a t i o n
Committee o f the C i t y were t r y i n g t o get i n f o r m a t i o n as t o t h e
e f f i c i e n c y o f t h e eduoation
inspected
g i v e n i n t h e v a r i o u s Government-
s c h o o l s , w i t h a view t o r e a o h i n g a d e c i s i o n as t o
whether a p p l i c a t i o n should
o f a Sohool Board ( F ) .
be made t o the Dept. f o r the f o r m a t i o n
Many bore i n mind t h a t o n l y by a School
Board being formed could compulsory e d u c a t i o n
t h e r e was
be i n t r o d u c e d , w h i l e
s t r o n g f e e l i n g i n the C i t y b o t h f o r and a g a i n s t a Board.
IG).
(E)
(F)
(G)
Report o f Mr. F i t c h , H.M.I, t o Schools I n q u i r y Commission,
York H e r a l d R e p o r t s : 28.1.1871
4.2.1871
11.2.1871
York H e r a l d Reports
do.
1868
The e n q u i r i e s made showed t h a t t h e schools were f o r t h e g r e a t e r
part e f f i c i e n t .
(H).
When a t l a s t , l a t e i n 1872, t h e o f f i c i a l
n o t i f i c a t i o n w i t h t h e schedule was r e c e i v e d f r o m the Dept., i t
showed t h a t schools c o n s i d e r e d a v a i l a b l e as P u b l i c Elementary
Schools were capable o f accommodating 8824 c h i l d r e n , and i t
s t a t e d t h a t no a d d i t i o n a l accommodation appeared t o be r e q u i r e d .
As a r e s u l t o f t h i s , and i n view o f probable f o r t h c o m i n g
l e g i s l a t i o n w i t h r e g a r d t o compulsion, t h e U i t y C c u n c i l decided
n o t t o t a k e steps f o r t h e f o r m a t i o n o f a School Board.
(H)
(I)
York H e r a l d tteports :
York Herald r e p o r t s :
11.11.1871
16.11.1872
chapter
2
:
V o l u n t a r y Sohool Aooommodation and Finance
p r o v i s i o n o f Accommodation
As shown i n t h e p r e v i o u s c h a p t e r , York, w i t h i t s s t r o n g
A n g l i c a n t r a d i t i o n , was q u i t e w e l l p r o v i d e d w i t h V o l u n t a r y Schools.
I n 1870, as shown by t h e f o l l o w i n g f i g u r e s , t h e preponderance o f
t h e Churoh o f England and the N a t i o n a l S o c i e t y was undoubted:P u b l i o .Elementary School Accommodation i n York. 1870
Schools open
Boys
Church/England
15
1316
Wesleyan
3
482
Independent
1
29
Roman U a t h o l l o
3
Undenominational
3
(2
Accommodation
Girls Infants
988
(A)
Total
812
3116
299
446
1227
100
-
129
235
278
69
582
(ho f i g s , i n c l u d e d f o r one s c h o o l )
490
106
181
777
British)
Throughout t h e c o u n t r y , t h e 1870 A c t , because o f t h e s i x months
p e r i o d o f grace a l l o w e d , l e d t o a g r e a t e f f o r t by t h e d e n o m i n a t i o n s ,
i n t h e hope o f a v o i d i n g t h e n e c e s s i t y . o f Sohool Boards,
i'his t r e n d
was i l l u s t r a t e d i n t h e C i t y o f York, where, by t h e end o f 1870, a
f u r t h e r 1770 plaoes were i n t h e oourse o f b e i n g p r o v i d e d i n 4 new
C/E S c h o o l s , and 1 new R.C.
Sohool, w h i c h were a l l opened between
1871 and 1873. (B)
A f t e r t h i s i n i t i a l s p u r t , t h e r e c o n t i n u e d t o be a steady
(A)
(B)
Statement o f Sohool S t a t i s t i c s
do.
by Town C l e r k , 23.1.1871
i n c r e a s e i n V o l u n t a r y Sohool p r o v i s i o n i n t h e c o u n t r y by the
Church o f England and
the homan C a t h o l i c s , a l t h o u g h Wesleyan and
Undenominational Schools decreased i n number (CJ.
York proved
be no e x c e p t i o n t o t h e r u l e , as a g r e a t d e a l o f expansion
to
was
o a l l e d f o r because o f the i n c r e a s e i n p o p u l a t i o n d u r i n g the p e r i o d .
I n 1871, t h i s was
42796 I D ) , w h i l e i n 1887
( a c c o r d i n g t o the
C o u n c i l Year Book) i t had r i s e n t o 67654.
1874
and 1888,
6 new
C/E
A c c o r d i n g l y , between
a f u r t h e r 2833 places were added by the s u p p l y o f
Sohools and
1 new
R.G. School.
(E).
I n addition,
e x t e n s i o n s t o e x i s t i n g sohools c r e a t e d a f u r t h e r 2643 p l a c e s ,
b e i n g p r o v i d e d by t h e v a r i o u s denominations as
C/E
-
1587;
Wesleyan
-
889;
these
follows
British
-
167
(E)
A g a i n s t these i n c r e a s e s , however, must be reckoned the l o s s o f
about 2700 p l a c e s , due m a i n l y t o t h e c l o s i n g o f 14 s o h o o l s ;
t h e s e i 9 were C/E
and
of
(1850 p l a c e s ) , 1 Independent ( 1 3 0 ) , 2 R.C. (70)
2 Undenominational (670).
I t i s n o t i c e a b l e t h a t these i n c l u d e d
a l l t h e s m a l l s c h o o l s , w i t h under 250 places each, w i t h i n t h e C i t y
boundary.
Thus, by t h e end o f 1888,
V o l u n t a r y S c h o o l s , as f o l l o w s : -
(C)
(D)
(E)
10794 places were provided
by
(E)
J". S m i t h - H i s t o r y o f E n g l i s h Elementary E d u c a t i o n , 1760-1902
1871 Census
1 s t T r i e n n i a l rteport o f York School Board, 31.12.1891
No. o f Sohools
Aocommodation
16
7 274
C/E
2117
Wesleyan
Roman C a t h o l i c
3
British
1
On comparing
1130
273
these f i g u r e s w i t h those g i v e n f o r 1870, i t can be
seen t h a t t h e denominations had i n c r e a s e d t h e i r s c h o o l accommodation
by some 77% i n an a t t e m p t t o escape t h e f o r m a t i o n o f a York s c h o o l
Board.
D u r i n g t h e same p e r i o d , t h e p o p u l a t i o n had i n c r e a s e d by
a p p r o x i m a t e l y 55%. ( E 2 ) .
I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e P u b l i c Elementary Schools, t h e r e were i n
1889
62 p r i v a t e schools i n York, 29 o f which were regarded as
g i v i n g elementary e d u c a t i o n , w h i l e a number o f endowed and c h a r i t y
elementary schools p e r s i s t e d , a l t h o u g h these d i m i n i s h e d i n
importance.
(F)
D u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d , on a t l e a s t two occasions (1883 and 1884),
t h e E d u c a t i o n Department p o i n t e d o u t d e f i c i e n c i e s o f accommodation
whioh had a r i s e n i n p a r t i c u l a r areas o f t h e C i t y , because o f t h e
g r o w t h o f p o p u l a t i o n r e s u l t i n g i n an o u t g r o w i n g o f t h e b u i l d i n g s
available
( G ) . I n b o t h cases t h e d e f i c i e n c y was made good, b u t
these cases o f a l o c a l , r a t h e r than a g e n e r a l , d e f i c i e n c y proved t o
be p o i n t e r s t o one o f t h e reasons why a School Board had e v e n t u a l l y
.to be formed.
( F ) 1912 L o c a l Handbook - Royal S a n i t a r y I n s t i t u t e
(G) York N a t i o n a l s c h o o l s S o c i e t y M i n u t e s , 11.1.1883 - 28.1<1885
(E2) 1871 Census F i g u r e s and 1888 C o u n c i l Year Book.
The Ji'inanolal Aspect
i)
New
Buildings
As a r e s u l t o f t h e 1870 A c t , t h e system o f paying p a r l i a m e n t a r y
g r a n t s i n a i d o f t h e c o s t o f p r o v i d i n g new
b u i l d i n g s , and e n l a r g i n g
or i m p r o v i n g e x i s t i n g b u i l d i n g s , was d i s c o n t i n u e d , except i n t h e
r
case o f a p p l i c a t i o n s r e o e i v e d b e f o r e the end o f 1870 .
was
(H).
There
a g r e a t r u s h o f such a p p l i c a t i o n s , but even where they were
g r a n t e d , l a r g e amounts o f money were r e q u i r e d i n a d d i t i o n , amounts
w h i c h m a i n l y had
t o be s u b s c r i b e d by v o l u n t a r y s u b s c r i p t i o n .
Thus
the e r e c t i o n of the l a r g e number of v o l u n t a r y Schools i n t h e 70's
was
l a r g e l y made p o s s i b l e by t h e g r e a t sums v o l u n t a r i l y s u b s c r i b e d .
(Di
I n York, o n l y 3 o f t h e schools e r e c t e d i n these t e n years
r e o e i v e d a i d i n t h e form o f b u i l d i n g g r a n t s , {J) but t h e r e was
an
immense e f f o r t t o p r o v i d e v o l u n t a r i l y a l l t h e money r e q u i r e d t o
s u p p l y new
C/E
and R;c.
Schools.
The C/E
Schools a l s o r e c e i v e d a i d
f r o m t h e York N a t i o n a l School c e n t r a l Board, w h i c h i n 1871 s o l d
£1200 N.E.R. stock and used t h e proceeds o f £800 to g i v e g r a n t s
towards the b u i l d i n g o f 3 s c h o o l s . ( K j . A t y p i c a l example was
the
S t . Lawrence s o h o o l , opened i n 1872 and c o s t i n g £226u, the money
b e i n g p r o v i d e d as
follows:-
National Society
(H)
(I)
(J)
IK)
£120
1870 Eduoation Aot, S.96
Adamson: ' E n g l i s h E d u o a t i o n , 1789 - 1902'
Annual Reports of Committee o f C o u n c i l on -Education
York N a t i o n a l School S o c i e t y Minutes, 3.11^1871
York N a t i o n a l s o h o o l C e n t r a l Board
York S p e o i a l E d u c a t i o n Fund
E c c l e s i a s t i c a l Commissioners
S.P.C.K.
Government Grant
Private Subscription
£200
£102.9.8.
£ 50;
£ 36.
£428.
£1110.
The deficiency» a t i t s o p e n i n g , of £203 was soon t o be paid o f f by
s u b s c r i p t i o n and o o l l e o t i o n .
(L).
By t h e end o f t h e 1870»s, however, t h i s g r e a t e f f o r t had
burned i t s e l f o u t , and t h e n c e f o r t h expansion became a r e a l
d i f f i c u l t y , and t h e p r o v i s i o n o f new schools an overwhelming
problem. (M).
Any funds whioh had been h e l d i n r e s e r v e had been
used up, and by 1880 t h e York N a t i o n a l Sohools c e n t r a l Board found
i t s e l f £550 i n d e b t ; ( N ) . T h i s was paid o f f , but i n t h e n e x t e i g h t
years a t o t a l o f o n l y £80 was p a i d o u t as g r a n t s t o a i d b u i l d i n g s
and enlargements.
new b u i l d i n g s ;
I t was becoming d i f f i c u l t t o f i n d s u b s c r i b e r s f o r
when such were u r g e n t l y r e q u i r e d i n 1884, o n l y £750
out o f t h e r e q u i r e d £2000 could be r a i s e d , so t h a t a s p e o i a l
appeal o u l m i n a t i n g i n a P u b l i c M e e t i n g p r e s i d e d over by t h e
A r c h b i s h o p o f York was r e q u i r e d . ( 0 ) .
I t was becoming c l e a r t h a t
the p o o r e r l o c a l i t i e s i n p a r t i c u l a r could no l o n g e r p r o v i d e f o r
t h e i r own r e q u i r e m e n t s , n o r was t h i s problem c o n f i n e d t o ^huroh o f
England Sohools.
(L)
(M)
(N)
(0)
The Groves Wesleyan Sohool needed more accommodation
B i s h o p h i l l & Clementhorpe Sohool - c o s t £1612; Govt. Grant £392
York N a t . S c h o o l s • C e n t r a l Bd. £300 V o l u n t a r y subs. £800
D e f i c i t on opening £120
S t . Pauls s o h o o l (opened 1875); c o s t £950, v o l . subs, t o t a l l e d
£758.
York N a t i o n a l Sohool S o c i e t y M i n u t e s , 4.2.1884
York N a t i o n a l Sohool S o c i e t y M i n u t e s , 5.2.1881
do.
28.1.1885
i n 1883, c o u l d n o t a f f o r d i t , and so had t o use t h e Preachers'
V e s t r y and the Chapel I t s e l f f o r s o h o o l purposes. ( P ) .
Eventually,
two y e a r s l a t e r , t h e money f o r two classrooms was l o a n e d . (Q,).
There i s no doubt t h a t t h e s c h o o l b u i l d i n g s f e l l f a r behind
the
best standards o f t h e t i m e because o f laok o f a t t e n t i o n due t o
lack of funds.
W h i l s t t h e hew s c h o o l s were b u i l t up t o r e c o g n i s e d
s t a n d a r d s , and b u i l d i n g s as a whole were r e p o r t e d
'exoellent' i n
1878, (R) by 1890 t h e HMI s t a t e d t h a t t h e r e were v e r y few, i f any,
w e l l - a r r a n g e d and -equipped s c h o o l s . He mentioned t h e i n s u f f i c i e n c y
of
classrooms i n some* u n s a t i s f a c t o r y v e n t i l a t i o n i n o t h e r s , and
want o f s u i t a b l e playgrounds and cloakrooms i n many. ( S ) . 8 sq. f t .
per
c h i l d was used as t h e b a s i s o f c a l c u l a t i n g accommodation,
oompared w i t h 10 sq. f t . i n Board Schools, w h i l e many o f t h e s c h o o l rooms were s t r u c t u r a l l y u n s u i t a b l e .
ii)
IT),
Maintenance
The main d i f f i c u l t y o f the V o l u n t a r y bodies was oaused by t h e
c o n s t a n t r i s e i n t h e oost per c h i l d , due t o r i s i n g standards
demanded by t h e E d u c a t i o n Dept. and s t i m u l a t e d by t h e achievements
of
t h e School Boards; ( U ) .
T h i s cost per head o f maintenance had
r i s e n , i n V o l u n t a r y Schools f r o m £1.6.0. i n 1870 t o £1.15.9$- i n
1885; ( V ) . How
(P)
(Qj
(R)
(T)
(U)
(V)
t h e York Schools compared w i t h t h e r e s t o f t h e
Groves School - Chapel M i n u t e s , 20.3.1883
do;
25;11;1887
1878 HMI's General Report
(S) 1890 HMI's General Report
N a t i o n a l Eduo. Assn. pamphlet 'The Sohool Case a t York' 1890
C u r t i s ; H i s t o r y o f ^duo. i n Great B r i t a i n ; Adamson: E n g l i s h
E d u c a t i o n 1789 - 1902
S m i t h : H i s t o r y o f E n g l i s h alem. jsduo. 1760 - 1902
do.
c o u n t r y I s shown by the f o l l o w i n g
figures
f o r 1884-85:-
Average A t t d o e . under 300
V o l . Schools n a t i o n a l l y
York 3 4 / l | per head
34/3f
Average A t t d o e * over 300
York 32/10t per head
V o l * Schools n a t i o n a l l y
34/0^
(W)
G e n e r a l l y , t h e n * the c o s t of maintenance i n York was lower
average, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e l a r g e r
than
s c h o o l s , a f a c t w h i c h seems t o
be a s i g n i f i c a n t one i n e x p l a i n i n g how t h e V o l u n t a r y
schools
c o n t i n u e d t o h o l d t h e f i e l d , t o t h e e x c l u s i o n o f a School Board,
f o r so l o n g .
These V o l u n t a r y Schools had t h r e e main sources o f inoome:Sohool Fees, Government Grants and V o l u n t a r y S u b s c r i p t i o n s ,
r e g a r d s t h e f i r s t o f t h e s e , t h e r e was a steady i n c r e a s e
the country:
throughout
i n 1872 t h e average was 8/9^ per head, but t h i s had
inoreased t o 11/2
was
As
per head by 1884-85. ( X ) .
We s h a l l see t h a t
t h e case i n York, t h e f e e per head o f average attendance
14/Oi f o r 1884-85. ( Y ) .
this
being
This produced a t o t a l amounting t o some 43$
o f t h e income o f the schools i n t h a t y e a r . ( 2 ) .
Grants earned by schools had a l s o i n c r e a s e d , a l t h o u g h i n t h e
e a r l y years t h e y had
individual
sources.
(W)
(X)
(Y)
(AJ
been r e s t r i c t e d
by the r u l e t h a t , f o r any
s c h o o l , they should n o t exceed t h e income f r o m o t h e r
(A).
Some r e l i e f was g r a n t e d by t h e 1876 E d u c a t i o n
Act,
Cross Uomm. Report* D i g e s t o f S t a t i s t i c s , 1884-85
Adamson: E n g l i s h E d u o a t i o n 1789 - 1902; uross ^onrau Report.
D i g e s t o f S t a t i s t i c s 1884-85
See Chapter 3.
(Z) Cross Uomm. Report, D i g e s t o f S t a t i s t i c s
1884-85
1870 Elem. E d u c a t i o n A c t . s.97
w h i c h abandoned t h e pound-for-pound p r i n o i p l e and l a i d down a
l i m i t o f 17/6 per head w i t h i n w h i c h t h e g r a n t would n o t be so
reduced as t o e q u a l income per head f r o m o t h e r sources.
IB).
But
i f t h e g r a n t earned was g r e a t e r t h a n 17/6 w h i l s t o t h e r income d i d
not
exceed t h a t f i g u r e , such excess o f earned g r a n t would n o t be
payable*
I n York; f r o m 1870 t o 1876, t h e r e had been a g e n e r a l
i n c r e a s e i n t h e g r a n t s earned per head, but t h i s t r e n d showed s i g n s
of
being r e v e r s e d by t h e l a t e r y e a r .
1876 A c t d i d ,
( C ) . The p r o v i s i o n s o f t h e
howeverj have a very b e n e f i c i a l e f f e c t ;
i n 1876 t h e
g r a n t earned had t o t a l l e d £2800, or 13/7^d. per head, but by 1878 i t
had Jumped t o £4002 o r 18/5 per head, i n t h e 17 s c h o o l s i n o l u d e d i n
the
earlier figures.
T h e r e a f t e r , t h i n g s d e t e r i o r a t e d once a g a i n , so
t h a t by 1884-85 t h e average o f a l l t h e York schools was 16/6 per
head as compared w i t h a n a t i o n a l average f o r v o l u n t a r y schools o f
16/9.
(D).
T h i s amounted t o a sum t o t a l w h i c h was j u s t below 50$
of t h e t o t a l income f o r t h e y e a r .
Thus, by t h e t i m e o f t h e Cross Commission, o n l y j u s t over 7%
o f t h e income o f t h e York V o l u n t a r y schools d e r i v e d f r o m v o l u n t a r y
s u b s c r i p t i o n s , and what evidence t h e r e i s p o i n t s t o t h e f a c t t h a t
the
(B)
(C)
(D)
t r e n d s i n t h e C i t y f r o m 1870 t o t h i s d a t e , were t h e same as
1876 A c t , S.19
Report o f Committee o f C o u n c i l on -education
Cross Commission R e p o r t : D i g e s t o f S t a t i s t i c s ,
1884-85.
those found t h r o u g h o u t t h e c o u n t r y .
T h i s was a s t o r y o f f a l l i n g
s u b s c r i p t i o n s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e 80 *s, being experienced
the
d e n o m i n a t i o n s except t h e Roman C a t h o l i c s .
by a l l
( E ) . Because o f t h i s
and t h e 17/6 l i m i t , many schools s u s t a i n e d d e d u c t i o n s i n t h e i r
g r a n t , t h e f i n a l r e s u l t being one o f schools and o r g a n i s a t i o n s
f i n d i n g themselves i n g r e a t f i n a n c i a l
straits.
I n York, t h i s t r e n d i s r e f l e c t e d i n t h e s t o r y o f t h e N a t i o n a l
S c h o o l s ' S o c i e t y , w i t h which a l l o f t h e C/E Schools e v e n t u a l l y
became a s s o c i a t e d .
As a r e s u l t o f two r e - o r g a n Is a t i o n s i n 1871
and.1880, t h e C e n t r a l Board r e l i e v e d i t s e l f o f t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f
d i r e c t l y m a i n t a i n i n g i n d i v i d u a l s c h o o l s , and became a body f o r
c o l l e c t i n g s u b s c r i p t i o n s and a p p o r t i o n i n g them amongst s c h o o l s i n
need o f a s s i s t a n c e .
( F ) . By 1875, t h e Dean o f York was h a v i n g t o
appeal f o r f u r t h e r s u b s c r i p t i o n s t o t h e S o c i e t y o f up t o £150 per
y e a r , and t h e r e s t o f t h e p e r i o d i s punctuated
by u r g e n t
appeals
f o r new s u b s c r i p t i o n s , more Church c o l l e c t i o n s , e t c * ( G ) .
N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e income o f t h e S o c i e t y f r o m these sources decreased
f r o m £177.15.7 i n 1881 t o under £130 i n 1886, w h i l e c o l l e c t i o n s f o r
i n d i v i d u a l schools d i m i n i s h e d f r o m £47*0.6 t o £12.8.4 i n t h e same
periodi
( H ) . The Non-Conformists had t h e same problem,
t h e annual
income o f t h e Hope S t r e e t B r i t i s h School f a l l i n g f r o m £106 i n
1874
t o £62 i n 1888, so t h a t i t had f i n a l l y t o be c l o s e d due t o l a c k
(£)
(F)
(G)
(H)
Adamson: ' E n g l i s h E d u o a t i o n 1789 - 1902'
York N a t i o n a l Schools S o c i e t y M i n u t e s , 19.7.1871; 15.12.1880
Y o r k s h i r e G a z e t t e , 18.12.1875
York N a t i o n a l Schools S o c i e t y Annual Reports
o f f u n d s i ( J ) . I n f a c t , . s u b s c r i p t i o n s as a whole had f a l l e n so
low,
t h a t by 1884-85 o n l y 7 out o f 24 schools averaged more than 5/-
per
p u p i l w h i l e 2 r e c e i v e d no c o n t r i b u t i o n s a t a l l .
average f o r a l l V o l u n t a r y Schools was
f o r York o n l y 2/5-fd.
(K).
The n a t i o n a l
6/8^d. per head, the average
I t must be added t h a t t h e t h r e a t o f a s c h o o l
Board produced a g r e a t Improvement i n C/E
Schools d u r i n g 1887-88,
the amount of s u b s c r i p t i o n s being doubled*
Side by s i d e w i t h t h i s , t h e r e was
(L).
a p r o g r e s s i v e w o r s e n i n g of
t h e f i n a n c i a l p o s i t i o n o f many s c h o o l s , w h i c h became p a r t i c u l a r l y
acute a f t e r 1880.
As a l r e a d y i n d i c a t e d , t h e C e n t r a l Board o f t h e
N a t i o n a l S o c i e t y paid g r a n t s t o C/'E
Schools i n need o f them;
i n the
1870's, 3 schools appear t o have needed such s u p p o r t , but by 1884 i t
was
s t a t e d t h a t the poorer 11 schools were being k e p t g o i n g o n l y by
such g r a n t s , and t h a t t h e y were l e a d i n g an u n c e r t a i n l i f e .
C e r t a i n l y t h e c a l l s f o r h e l p were i n c r e a s i n g , and
(M).
i t is little
wonder t h a t r e f e r e n c e was made t o 'the s l e n d e r means i n t h e way
subs, and church c o l l e c t i o n s .....
o u t ' (N)*
on which t h e work i s c a r r i e d
There i s a l s o evidence o f an o v e r a l l i n c r e a s e i n t h e
Overdrawn Balances o f the Ghuroh s c h o o l s , w h i c h rose
£1492.0.5 i n 1882
(J)
(K)
(L)
(M)
(N)
(0)
of
t o £2089.1.3. i n 1888.
(0).
from
Priory Street
Benson: H i s t o r y of E d u c a t i o n i n Y o r k .
Cross Comm. Report; D i g e s t o f S t a t i s t i c s , 1884-85
York N a t i o n a l Schools S o c i e t y a n n u a l Reports, 1888-89
do.
M i n u t e s , 15.12.1880; 4.2.1884
do.
28.1.1885
York N a t i o n a l Schools S o c i e t y : Annual Reports
Wesleyan S c h o o l , by 1877, a l s o seems t o have been i n a bad
financial
s t a t e , as funds could not be found t o o a r r y out much-needed r e p a i r s
t o t h e playground.'
(P).
Such a gloomy p i c t u r e o f worsening
how
i t was
f i n a n c e s leads one t o ask
t h a t t h e V o l u n t a r y schools were a b l e t o c o n t i n u e f o r so
l o n g t o p r o v i d e e d u c a t i o n f o r t h e C i t y w i t h o u t t h e h e l p o f a School
Board.
I f e e l t h a t t h e r e l a t i v e l y low c o s t o f maintenance per head
p r o v i d e s the most s i g n i f i c a n t c l u e ;
as I s h a l l b r i e f l y i n d i c a t e i n
the n e x t s e c t i o n , t h e standards o f equipment i n the schools were i n
g e n e r a l low;
On the o t h e r hand, the low r a t e o f s u b s c r i p t i o n was
a g r e a t e x t e n t compensated f o r by t h e h i g h income f r o m f e e s ;
to
high
f e e s , a p p a r e n t l y , had always been a f e a t u r e o f t h e York s c h o o l s , and
d u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d t h e y were r e l i e d upon a g r e a t d e a l t o keep t h e
schools going. (Q).
iii)
C o n d i t i o n s I n s i d e the
Schools.
The two main ways i n which t h e r e s t r i c t e d incomes were r e f l e c t e d
were i n t h e q u a l i t y and
p r o v i s i o n o f equipment.
the q u a n t i t y o f the t e a c h i n g s t a f f , and
I t was
remarked i n 1887
that the
the
pay,
e d u c a t i o n a l and p r o f e s s i o n a l a t t a i n m e n t s of t h e t e a c h e r s were poor;
(R).
(P)
U)
(R)
A p a r t o f t h i s statement i s borne out by t h e f a c t t h a t i n
Benson;
H i s t o r y of E d u c a t i o n i n York
do;
Minutes o f J o i n t Meeting o f Managers and S.A.C. 23.5.1887
1884-85, f o r SO s c h o o l s w i t h an average attendance
o f 5362, t h e r e
were o n l y 61 Heads and C e r t i f i c a t e d Teachers ( i . e . 1 t o 8 8 ) , o f
whom o n l y 4 1 were t r a i n e d ( i . e . 1 t o 130>, 4 1 U n c e r t i f i c a t e d
t e a c h e r s , 75 P u p i l - T e a c h e r s and 26 Paid M o n i t o r s .
(S).
AS r e g a r d s
a p p a r a t u s , t h e HMI i n 1880 was t o s t a t e t h a t i t was "not what i t
should be e i t h e r as regards q u a n t i t y o r q u a l i t y . " ( T ) . The
consequence o f these c o n d i t i o n s was t h a t t h e r e s u l t s o b t a i n e d were
n o t a t a l l good;
i n 1874, t h e HMI was o f t h e o p i n i o n t h a t
i n s t r u c t i o n i n the 3H's was v e r y poor, and t h i n g s had n o t improved
a g r e a t d e a l by 1884.
I n t h a t y e a r , 80.5% passes were o b t a i n e d ,
compared w i t h a n a t i o n a l average o f 84.5% i n V o l u n t a r y Schools and
88% i n Board Schools.
When considered t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e f a c t t h a t
the c u r r i c u l u m was narrow, (U) these f i g u r e s cannot be regarded as
satisfactory.
I t does seem, as was a l l e g e d i n some q u a r t e r s , t h a t
e d u c a t i o n i n t h e York v o l u n t a r y Schools was "education on t h e cheap"
(S) Cross Commission Report: D i g e s t o f . S t a t i s t i c s , 1884-85
( T ) HMI's g e n e r a l Report, 1880
(U) See P a r t I I .
Chapter 6.
Chapter 5;
School Attendance. 1870 - 1888
The 1870 A c t d i d n o t make elementary e d u c a t i o n compulsory, but
o n l y gave School Boards t h e power t o make bye-laws
compulsory
requiring
attendance between t h e ages o f 5 and I S ( A ) . As we have
seen, no School Board was s e t up i n York.
Thus t h e r e was no
p o s s i b i l i t y o f any bye-laws t o e n f o r c e attendance d u r i n g t h e years
i m m e d i a t e l y f o l l o w i n g t h e passage o f t h e A c t . T h i s n a t u r a l l y
h i n d e r e d any e f f o r t t o secure improved a t t e n d a n c e , and as e a r l y as
1871 t h e Lord Mayor r e f e r r e d t o t h e d i f f i c u l t y o f g e t t i n g
children
i n t o t h e s o h o o l s , and p o i n t e d o u t t h e need f o r power o f compulsion
t o be g i v e n t o t h e Town C o u n c i l . I B ) .
The r e s u l t was t h a t t h e l e v e l
of attendance became l o w ^ * ) , the f o l l o w i n g f i g u r e s i n d i c a t i n g t h a t
i t became more i r r e g u l a r than ever:(C)
1870
No. a c t u a l l y on r o l l
6275
(D)
1877
No; on r o l l
7502
Avge. A t t e n d m o e 4742 ( 7 5 % )
do.
4842 ( 6 5 % )
A l t h o u g h t h e number o f c h i l d r e n on t h e r o l l o f schools had i n c r e a s e d .
g r e a t l y , t h e r e were s t i l l over 600 n o t a t t e n d i n g an elementary
school. ID).
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(DM
(x)
1870 A c t , S.74
York Herald i t e p o r t , 11.11.1871
School Attendance committee M i n u t e s , 23.4.1877
Reports o f uomui. o f C o u n c i l on E d u c a t i o n : 1878 General Report
Benson: H i s t o r y o f E d u c a t i o n i n York.
L e t t e r f r o m riev. G. Hewison t o ' Y o r k s h i r e G a z e t t e ' 11.12.1875
York.church o f England s c h o o l s , 1875*
No. on books 2501.
Avge. Attendance 15:63
Only 1177 a t t e n d e d w i t h s u f f i c i e n t r e g u l a r i t y (more than 250
a t t e n d a n c e s ) t o earn t h e g r a n t .
i'he s o l u t i o n t o t h e problem was
p r o v i d e d by t h e 1876 A c t ,
w h i c h e n f o r o e d a t t e n d a n c e i n an i n d i r e c t manner by p r o h i b i t i n g t h e
employment o f c h i l d r e n under 10, and of c h i l d r e n between 10 and
14
u n t i l t h e y had complied w i t h c e r t a i n e d u c a t i o n a l c o n d i t i o n s
specified
i n t h e Schedules o f t h e A c t .
( E ) . To e n f o r o e these
measures, i n any a r e a where t h e r e was no School Board, a Sohool
Attendance committee was
to be a p p o i n t e d ( 0 ) ; t o these Committees
was g i v e n t h e power of making bye-laws c o m p e l l i n g a t t e n d a n c e , and
of appointing o f f i c e r s *
(G).
As a r e s u l t o f t h i s l e g i s l a t i o n , a t t h e C i t y C o u n c i l meeting
on 9 t h November, 1876, a School Attendance Committee was
constituted, consisting
o f t h e Lord Mayor and 11 o t h e r membersi ( H ) .
E f f o r t s t o improve a t t e n d a n c e , 1876-1888
By 1876, 84$ o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n of Boroughs were uilder
bye-laws
and i t appeared t o t h e newly-formed Committee t h a t t h e i r most
u r g e n t t a s k was t o f o r m u l a t e and t o put i n t o e f f e c t a s e t o f t h e i r
own.
( I ) . Yet t h r e e years were t o pass b e f o r e t h i s was a c h i e v e d ,
t h e d e l a y being l a r g e l y due t o a w r a n g l e w i t h t h e E d u c a t i o n Dept.
over t h e s t y l e of heading;
t h e Committee wished t o l a b e l York a
• C i t y * , but t h e Dept. wished i t t o be a mere 'Borough'; ( J ) .
(E)
(F)
(H)
(I)
(J)
1876 A c t : 1 s t Schedule
1876 A c t : S.7
(G) 1876 A c t : SJ21 and
C i t y C o u n c i l M i n u t e s , 9.11^1876
F. S m i t h
"
Sohool Attendance Coram. M i n u t e s , 3.8.1877
S.28
E v e n t u a l l y , t h e bye-laws were issued e a r l y i n ' 1880,
i n time t o
a v o i d York coming under t h e p r o v i s i o n s o f the 1880 A c t , which made
the
i s s u e o f bye-laws a d u t y on every l o c a l a u t h o r i t y . ( K ) .
p r o v i d e d f o r compulsory attendance
They
between 5 and 13 unless t h e r e
was
'reasonable excuse', w i t h f u l l exemption f o r those between 10
and
13 i f t h e 5 t h Standard
the
3 r d s t a n d a r d was reaohed and i f t h e c h i l d was • b e n e f i c i a l l y
and n e c e s s a r i l y employed'.
was reached,
and p a r t i a l
exemption i f
( L ) . I n a very short time, t h e
employers asked t h a t t h e s t a n d a r d f o r p a r t i a l exemption be lowered,
as many i n employment would have t o go back t o s c h o o l . (M).
This
r e q u e s t was r e f u s e d . ( N ) .
In
the
o r d e r t h a t t h e Committee should have f u l l knowledge o f a l l
c h i l d r e n i n t h e C i t y , a census o f those under 14 was t a k e n , and
arrangements made f o r i i e t u r n s o f B i r t h s and Deaths t o be s u p p l i e d .
(0).
To a c t i n e x e o u t i o n o f the A c t , 2 Attendance O f f i c e r s were
a p p o i n t e d , t h i s number e v e n t u a l l y being i n c r e a s e d t o 4 because o f
p o p u l a t i o n i n c r e a s e s and e x t e n s i o n s t o t h e ^ i t y boundary. ( P ) .
O r i g i n a l l y each o f f i c e r had a d i s t r i c t o f t h e C i t y t o cover, but
the
f i n a l arrangement was t h a t t h e r e were o n l y 3 d i s t r i c t s and t h e
f o u r t h o f f i c e r was l e f t t o l o o k f o r t r u a n t s i n a l l d i s t r i c t s .
IK)
(M)
iK\
JoJ
)p
}Q)
1^).
1880 A c t ; S.2
( L ) Bye-laws dated 9.2.1880
Sohool Attendance Comnu M i n u t e s , 28;4.1881
do;
13.6.1881
do.
3;8.1877 - 81*1.1878
do.
23.4.1877 - 24.3.1879 - 21.1.
do.
24.9*1888
1885
To g a i n knowledge o f i r r e g u l a r a t t e n d e r s , among o t h e r t h i n g s ,
sohools were r e q u e s t e d to submit monthly r e t u r n s
soon found neoessary
( H ) , but i t was
f o r Attendance O f f i c e r s t o v i s i t a l l s c h o o l s
once each week t o t a k e n o t e of them. i S ) . A S t h i s d i d n o t prove
t o be adequate, as evidenced by d e p u t a t i o n s f r o m t h e Managers ( T ) ,
i t was arranged f o r each s c h o o l t o send a l i s t o f such people by
the end o f the week, f o r immediate a c t i o n by t h e o f f i c e r s .
d i f f i c u l t y was
Much
experienced g e t t i n g c h i l d r e n o f the 'poor and
w a s t r e l l c l a s s e s ' i n t o t h e s c h o o l s , as many o f t h e Managers
r e f u s e d t o accept them. ( U ) .
prevailed
E v e n t u a l l y , t h e N a t i o n d l S o o i e t y were
upon t o re-open a s c h o o l s p e c i a l l y f o r them, and l a t e r
o t h e r Managers were persuaded
t o accept them. ( V ) .
Under t h e 1876 A c t , the s c h o o l a t t e n d a n c e Committee had t h e
d u t y o f warning or p r o s e c u t i n g t h e p a r e n t s o f c h i l d r e n h a b i t u a l l y
absent f r o m s c h o o l or found h a b i t u a l l y wandering.
(W).
Accordingly
a Sub-Committee was formed t o i n v e s t i g a t e , and, i f neoesaary,
i n t e r v i e w p a r e n t s and o r d e r them t o have t h e i r c h i l d r e n a t t e n d .
(X)
L a t e r i n t h a t year, t h e Committee f i r s t used i t s power t o summon
p a r e n t s b e f o r e t h e M a g i s t r a t e s , w i t h t h e r e s u l t t h a t a few f i n e s
and oommittals t o i n d u s t r i a l Schools were awarded. ( Y ) .
After
1880,
w i t h t h e bye-laws to be e n f o r c e d , t h e number o f p r o s e c u t i o n s
i n o r e a s e d g r e a t l y r e a c h i n g a peak o f over 200 per annum d u r i n g t h e
(R) SAC M i n u t e s , 18.2.1878 (S) School Attendance Comm. M i n u t e s ,
24.3.1879
( T ) SAC Minutes, 21.1.1885 (U) York Gazette Report,
21.4.1877 (V) School Attendance Committee M i n u t e s , 23.4;1877 18ill.l878
(W? 1876 A c t : SS 11 and 12 (X) SAC M i n u t e s , 21.1.1878
8;7;1878 (Y) SAC Annual Reports
years 1383 - 85. ( Y ) .
The M a g i s t r a t e s appear t o have g i v e n t h e
Committee good s u p p o r t , j u d g i n g by t h e number o f f i n e s and
o o m m i t t a l s , b u t t h e pressure became so heavy t h a t a Bye-Laws
Sub-Committee was formed
t o i n t e r v i e w p a r e n t s and t o d e c i d e who
should be p r o s e o u t e d . ( Z ) . I n 1885, a t o t a l o f 629 p a r e n t s
appeared b e f o r e t h i s tiub-Committee, but t h e r e was a r a p i d
decrease
a f t e r that year. ( Y ) .
By 1880, t h e r e was g r e a t d i f f i c u l t y i n f i n d i n g I n d u s t r i a l
School accommodation, and i t was decided t o i n v e s t i g a t e the
p o s s i b i l i t y o f e s t a b l i s h i n g a Day I n d u s t r i a l s c h o o l i n t h e o i t y .
(A).
An a d d i t i o n a l reason was the burden o f the c o s t o f p l a c i n g
c h i l d r e n i n schools elsewhere;
i n 1883, t h e r e were 66 York p u p i l s
i n such schools a t a c o s t o f over x.5o0.
was
IB;.
T h i s annual f i g u r e
t o r i s e t o a maximum o f over £7u0, but i n s p i t e o f a good d e a l o f
a c t i v i t y , l i t t l e was achieved as r e g a r d s the proposed
s c h o o l by
t h e end o f 1888; ( C ) .
V a r i o u s minor a c t i o n s were taken f r o m time t o time t o a t t e m p t
t o improve a t t e n d a n c e ;
a c t i o n s such as c o n t r o l l i n g c a s u a l
employment, p u b l i c i s i n g cases and a t t e m p t s t o s t o p bathing.:in
school h o u r s . ( D ) .
(Y)
(Z)
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
S.A.C. Annual Heports
S.A.C. M i n u t e s , 19.11.1883
S.A.G. M i n u t e s , 15.11.1890
do.
22.1.1883
S.A.C. Annual i i e p o r t d
S.A.C. Minutes, 5.12.1882 - 13.9.1880
R e s u l t s o f t h e e f f o r t s o f t h e S.A.O.
Throughout t h e p e r i o d under r e v i e w , t h e Committee r e p o r t e d i n
t h e i r Q u a r t e r l y Reports i n c r e a s e s i n t h e number on s c h o o l
improvements i n attendance
attending school,
rolls,
and decreases i n the numbers n o t
q u i t e e a r l y on, a Sub-Committee v i s i t i n g
schools
r e p o r t e d a c o n s i d e r a b l e decrease i n t h e number o f c h i l d r e n r u n n i n g
about t h e s t r e e t s , and t h e r e i s a f u r t h e r r e f e r e n c e t o t h e g r e a t
improvement i n attendance
and behaviour
o f ' s t r e e t a r a b s ' . (£).
A t v a r i o u s t i m e s , these improvements were put down t o t h e
a c t i v i t i e s o f Attendance O f f i c e r s , and t h e e f f e c t o f the Bye-Laws and
summonses r e s u l t i n g f r o m them. ( F ) .
From t h e s t a t i s t i c s p u b l i s h e d a t the t i m e , i t i s e v i d e n t t h a t a
g r e a t improvement d i d i n f a c t take p l a c e ; i n 1 8 7 7 t h e number on
rolls totalled
7502
w i t h an average attendance
of
4841
(65%),
w h i l s t i n 1 8 8 7 t h e former f i g u r e had r i s e n t o 1 0 3 2 9 and the
to
7942
(76.9%).
(G).
latter
The r i s e i n t h e number o f c h i l d r e n on t h e
r o l l s o f t h e schools i s l a r g e l y accounted f o r by t h e i n c r e a s e
in
p o p u l a t i o n , t h e p r o p o r t i o n o f t h e whole p o p u l a t i o n on the r o l l s
r e m a i n i n g a t between 15% and 1 6 % , oompared w i t h t h e n a t i o n a l
figure o f 16.24% i n
(E)
(F)
(G)
S.A.C. Minutes
do.
1877
1886.
Regarding the average
( H ) .
17.8.1877
3.8.1887
-
attendance,
18.11.1881
30,6.1880
Report o f uomm. o f C o u n c i l on Eduo. -
S.A.C.
1887
Report
(H)
Adamson:
English Education, 1 7 8 9 -
1902.
Annual
t h e r e was l i t t l e ,
issued i n 1880;
i f any, improvement u n t i l t h e Bye-Laws were
i n f a o t , t h e 1878 f i g u r e a c t u a l l y f e l l t o 64.8$.
T h i s gave r i s e t o adverse comments about t h e d e l a y i n o b t a i n i n g
Bye-Laws f r o m t h e HMI ( I ) and f r o m t h e Managers o f l o c a l s c h o o l s .
(J).
As soon as they were i s s u e d , t h e r e was a tremendous
improvement
as seen by oomparing these f i g u r e s : - (K)
Deo. 1879
No. on R o l l s
8906
Average Attendance
4847 (54.4%)
Dec.
No. on R o l l s
9066
Average Attendance
6093 (67.2$)
1880
By 1881, t h e average a t t e n d a n c e f o r t h e year had reached 70$, and
p r o g r e s s t h e n c e f o r w a r d was s t e a d y .
Throughout t h e p e r i o d , t h e r e
was a r e g u l a r decrease i n r e p o r t e d i r r e g u l a r a t t e n d e r s , o f w h i c h
there-were o n l y 1 1 i n 1887.
The average a t t e n d a n c e f o r t h a t year
(76.9$) can be compared w i t h t h e n a t i o n a l f i g u r e o f 76.27$ quoted by
the
Cross Commission f o r 1886, (X) w h i c h i n d i o a t e s t h a t , by t h e end
of
t h e p e r i o d , a t t e n d a n c e was comparable w i t h t h a t o f t h e c o u n t r y as
a whole.
One
g r e a t d i f f i c u l t y which b a d l y a f f e c t e d the a t t e n d a n c e
f i g u r e s f o r t h e G i t y was t h a t o f about 1500 - 2000 p u p i l s a t t e n d i n g
schools w i t h i n t h e boundary
c o n t r o l o f the Committee.
but l i v i n g
i n r u r a l areas o u t s i d e the
A l l a t t e m p t s t o persuade t h e rtural S.A.C.
t o oo-operate f a i l e d , l a r g e l y because o f f i n a n c i a l arrangements, (M)
(I)
(K)
(L)
(M)
1878 HMI General Report
( J ) S.A.C. M i n u t e s , 18.11.1878
S.A.O. Annual Reports
Adamson: E n g l i s h E d u c a t i o n , 1789 - 1902
S.A.C. V a r i o u s M i n u t e s , 1879 - 1882
and i t was n o t u n t i l the C i t y boundaries were extended
t o include
these areas a t the b e g i n n i n g o f 1885 t h a t t h e problem was s o l v e d . ( N )
I t i s n o t i c e a b l e t h a t the average attendance f o r 1885 was 76.5% as <:
compared w i t h 73.5%
f o r the previous year.
,
Sohool gees and T h e i r Remission
An i m p o r t a n t f a c t o r a f f e o t i n g s c h o o l attendance was the l e v e l
o f s c h o o l fees and t h e d i f f i c u l t y met by some p a r e n t s i n p a y i n g them.
I t was l a i d down i n t h e 1870 Act ( 0 ) t h a t the f e e s o f a p u b l i c
elementary s c h o o l must n o t exceed 9d. per week b u t , i n s i d e
this
l i m i t , t h e r e was a steady i n o r e a s e i n f e e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n
V o l u n t a r y Sohools, where t h e y r o s e f r o m 8 / 9 i d . per head o f average
a t t e n d a n c e i n 1872
t o l l / 2 | d . i n 1885.
(P).
T h i s appears t o have
been t h e case i n York, where c o m p l a i n t was made t o t h e S.A.C. about
the r a i s i n g o f fees i n v a r i o u s s c h o o l s . ( Q ) .
HMI
From t h e Report o f
( R ) , i t appears t h a t the p r e v a i l i n g system i n York d u r i n g
t h i s p e r i o d was t o r a i s e f e e s as c h i l d r e n rose i n t h e s c h o o l , a
system which d i s c o u r a g e d r e g u l a r a t t e n d a n c e and l e d t o attendance
o e a s i n g when t h e l e g a l o b l i g a t i o n had passed.
i s a l s o undoubted;
That f e e s were h i g h
i n 1884-5, t h e payment f o r f e e s and books p e r
head o f average attendance was 14/7-fd. as compared w i t h t h e n a t i o n a l
(N)
(0)
(Qj
S.A.C. M i n u t e s , 21.1.1885
1870 A c t 8.3
IP) Adamson
S.A.C. M i n u t e s , 8.1.1880 (R) 1888 General
Report
average
f o r a l l V o l u n t a r y S c h o o l s of 11/2. ( S ) .
Under the 1870 A c t , S c h o o l Boards were empowered to r e m i t f e e s
i n t h e o a s e o f poor p a r e n t s
1
children,
( T ) but t h i s d i d not
apply
to York, where, a p a r t from t h e c h i l d r e n o f p a r e n t s on r e l i e f ,
machinery
1876 A o t .
no
e x i s t e d f o r the r e m i s s i o n of f e e s u n t i l the p a s s i n g o f t h e
By t h i s A c t , the G u a r d i a n s had
the duty of paying s c h o o l
f e e s f o r poor p a r e n t s i f s a t i s f i e d w i t h t h e i r i n a b i l i t y t o pay. ( U ) .
I n York,
the School Attendance
Committee a p p o i n t e d
to l i a i s e w i t h the Guardians,
( V ) and
from time to time send a l i s t
o f p a r e n t s c l a i m i n g to have f e e s p a i d ,
and
t h a t the A t t e n d a n c e
i t was
agreed
a Sub-Committee
t h a t i t should
O f f i c e r s would g i v e t h e G u a r d i a n s what
i n f o r m a t i o n t h e y p o s s e s s e d . (WJ.
E v e n t u a l l y , t h i s Sub-Committee
worked w i t h a Sub-Committee o f t h e Board
of Guardians
t o make
recommendations to the G u a r d i a n s a s to w h i c h p a r e n t s s h o u l d have
the f e e s paid. ( X ) .
Although
a p p l i c a t i o n s v a r i e d w i t h t h e l e v e l of unemployment i n
t h e C i t y , t h e number b e i n g l a r g e r i n w i n t e r , t h e amount p a i d out
y e a r r o s e to over £400 i n t h e 80's and
r a t e p a y e r s of p o o r e r p a r i s h e s . ( Y ) .
per
became q u i t e a burden on t h e
I t was
suggested
t h a t some
endowments, no l o n g e r b e i n g used f o r t h e i r o r i g i n a l p u r p o s e s ,
be
s e t a s i d e t o e a s e t h e burden but no a c t i o n a p p e a r s t o have been taken,
(S)
(U)
(V)
(W)
(X)
(Y)
S t a t i s t i c a l Report - C r o s s Commission
( T ) 1870 ^ o t :
1876 A o t : S.10
S c h o o l A t t e n d a n c e Committee M i n u t e s , 31.8.1877
do.
14.9.1877
do.
21.12.1877
Annual R e p o r t s of S.A.C.
S.16
a l t h o u g h the amount p a i d r e a c h e d a peak o f £421 i n 1888. ( Z ) .
(Z)
S.A.C. M i n u t e s 16.4.1885 and 1888 A n n u a l
Report.
P A R T
T H E
P E R I O D .
S C H O O L
TWO
Off
B O A R D
T H E
Chapter 1 :
On
A D e f i o i e n o y A r i s e s (1887-89)
1 6 t h December, 1886,
t h e E d u c a t i o n D e p t . informed
the
S c h o o l A t t e n d a n c e Committee t h a t the P e t e r Lane S c h o o l was
longer
considered
doubtful
efficient
(A) and
t h a t , as a r e s u l t ,
i t was
i f t h e s u p p l y of p u b l i c s c h o o l accommodation was
I n r e p l y to a request for information,
a s the e s t i m a t e d
required. ( B ) .
school r o l l s ,
p o p u l a t i o n was
I n 1886,
the Dept. was
sufficient.
informed t h a t ,
67654, a t o t a l of 11275
when an a v e r a g e of 10172
no
p l a c e s were
c h i l d r e n were
on
10509 p l a c e s were s u p p l i e d w i t h the a d d i t i o n o f 985
s c h o o l s not r e c o g n i s e d
a s e f f i c i e n t due
mainly
in
to d e f e c t s i n the
buildings. (B).
W r i t i n g on
24th March, 1887,
e s t i m a t e a s b e i n g low and
Returns,
be 1000
t h e r e was
one
considered
population
s c h o o l w h i c h d i d not
the western
elementary
(A)
(B)
(C)
to the
latest
correot. ( C ) .
r e c o g n i t i o n was
There
doubtful,
appear to be a v a i l a b l e to the f u l l
o f i t s n o m i n a l accommodation.
d e f i c i e n c y due
population
p l a c e s w h i c h would p o s s i b l y
e s t i m a t e was
s c h o o l s whose c o n t i n u e d
the
t h a t , according
a d e f i c i e n c y of 450
i f the h i g h e r
were a l s o two
the Dept. queried
extent
I n a d d i t i o n , there wasa l o c a l
to u n e q u a l d i s t r i b u t i o n of s c h o o l s , e s p e c i a l l y
s i d e o f the C i t y and
s c h o o l was
sited.
and
i n t h e c e n t r e , where not a
T h i s l o c a l d e f i c i e n c y was
S c h o o l A t t e n d a n c e comm; M i n u t e s , 4.1.1887
do.
10*1.1887
do.
28;3*1887
on
single
contested
on t h e grounds t h a t s c h o o l s were o l o s e t o g e t h e r i n t h e d e n s e l y populated
a r e a s of t h e u i t y , w h i l s t
i n t h e c e n t r e t h e r e were
m a i n l y b u s i n e s s p r e m i s e s , w i t h t h e people
c l a s s not u s i n g elementary
schools;
t h a t t h e Dept. might proceed
( £ ) , a s i t was f e l t
without
l i v i n g there being of a
( D ) . The f e a r was e x p r e s s e d
p u b l i c e n q u i r y and n o t i c e s
t h a t such an e n q u i r y
should
be h e l d .
0
The Managers of t h e V o l u n t a r y S c h o o l s were i n c l i n e d , to doubt
t h e f i g u r e s f o r the p o p u l a t i o n and numbers o f s c h o o l age, but a t
the same time they formed a committee t o make recommendations on t h e
needs f o r accommodation.
(F).
As a r e s u l t ,
t h e department postponed
a c t i o n f o r t h r e e months to g i v e them an o p p o r t u n i t y
deficiency.
(G).
to s u p p l y t h e
The Managers, however, were u n a b l e
a scheme w i t h i n t h e time and, i n a l a t t e r d a t e d
to f o r m u l a t e
1 6 t h August,
r e q u e s t e d a f u r t h e r p e r i o d of g r a c e * t o w h i c h t h e reply, was made
t h a t no immediate a c t i o n w i t h r e g a r d to N o t i c e s was
contemplated.
As t h e Managers i n t h e e y e s of t h e Department, c o n t i n u e d
no e f f e c t i v e a c t i o n to i n c r e a s e accommodation, a w a r n i n g
was g i v e n
t h a t t h e i s s u e o f a a i r s t N o t i c e might be n e o e s s a r y , and t h i s
did
t a k e p l a o e on 23rd J a n u a r y , 1888. ( H ) .
details
of t h e procedure
This Notice
to take
indeed
contained
l a i d down i n S S 9 and 10 o f t h e 1870 A c t ,
w h i c h c o u l d l e a d t o t h e f o r m a t i o n o f a S c h o o l Board, and a l s o l i s t e d
(D)
(E)
(G)
(H)
S c h o o l A t t e n d a n c e (Jomm. Minutes, 28.4.1887
1870 A c t . S.12 ( 2 )
( F ) S.A.C. Minutes,
S.A.C. M i n u t e s , 29.8.1887
S.A.C. M i n u t e s , 26;9.1887
25;7.1887
the schools considered a v a i l a b l e .
providing a t o t a l
was r e q u i r e d
(I).
T h e r e were 24 o f t h e s e ,
o f 10739 p l a c e s , w h i c h meant t h a t
for at least
600 p u p i l s , w i t h s p e c i a l
accommodation
attention
r e q u i r e d t o t h e need f o r f u r t h e r G i r l s ' and I n f a n t s *
accommodation i n t h e west p a r t of t h e C i t y .
T h i s N o t i c e s p u r r e d on V o l u n t a r y e f f o r t
particular,
t o meet* i n
t h e demand f o r a c e n t r a l l y - p l a c e d s c h o o l , and t h e
Committee o f Managers reoommended t h a t one o f 300-400 p l a c e s be
built.
(J).
T h e s e e f f o r t s were, however, i n s u f f i c i e n t
to s t a y
t h e i ' i n a l N o t i o e , w h i c h was i s s u e d on 22nd May, 1888, and whioh
r e q u i r e d t h e p r o v i s i o n o f 'at l e a s t 1000 p l a c e s ' , o f w h i c h a
minimum o f 300 were to be i n t h e C i t y
c e n t r e t o w a r d s Boothanu
(K)
s~\
These i s some mention o f a scheme, t o p r o v i d e
IS
increased
accommodation, b e i n g p r e p a r e d by a V o l u n t a r y S c h o o l E x t e n s i o n
Committee, but t h e Lord Mayor, on 22nd J a n u a r y , 1889, r e c e i v e d an
o r d e r f o r the f o r m a t i o n o f a s c h o o l B o a r d . ( L ) .
(£). S.A.C. M i n u t e s , 30.1.1888
( J ) N a t i o n a l E d u c a t i o n a l A S s n . pamphlet 'The S c h o o l C a s e a t Y o r k
1890..
( K ) S.A.C. M i n u t e s , 29.10.1888
ID
do.
24.1.1889
Chapter
The
Order
2:
C o m p o s i t i o n of t h e S c h o o l
to t h e L o r d Mayor l a i d down t h a t t h e number of
members of the S c h o o l Board
e l e c t i o n should
Boards
should
be e l e v e n , and
be h e l d w i t h i n 28 d a y s . ( A ) ;
that
A c c o r d i n g l y ; on
15th F e b r u a r y ; 1889; a l l p e r s o n s on the burgess r o l l ;
them o a s t i n g e l e v e n v o t e s , proceeded
to e l e c t
Board.
party gained
IB).
*»s a r e s u l t ,
( 3 Churchmen* 1 H.C; and
t h e Church
e a c h of
the f i r s t
candidates supporting Unsectarian education. ( C ) ;
School
6 seats
2 I n d e p e n d e n t s j to the 5 won
a Churchman (Rev. H. u l a r k e j was
the
by
By agreement,
e l e c t e d a s Chairman; and
U n s e c t a r i a n member (H. T e n n a n t ) a s V i c e - c h a i r m a n .
:
i he members
were e l e c t e d f o r a p e r i o d o f 3 y e a r s , (D) so t h a t f u r t h e r
were h e l d i n 1892; 1895;
subsequent
1898 and
and a t e a c h of t h e s e
D u r i n g t h e whole of t h i s p e r i o d , i t
o n l y once n e c e s s a r y , i n 1895,
to r e s i g n a t i o n ;
to f i l l
a v a c a n c y on t h e Board
due
the o t h e r members d e c i d e d on t h i s o c c a s i o n t h a t
the
r e t i r i n g member s h o u l d be r e p l a c e d by one
From t h e v e r y f i r s t ,
in
elections
e l e o t i o n s the c h u r c h p a r t y g a i n e d a 6 t o 5 m a j o r i t y over
t h e U n s e o t a r i a n group. ( E ) ;
was
1901,
an
h o l d i n g the same v i e w s .
a l l p a r t i e s agreed
that
t h e y would work
r e a s o n a b l e harmony w i t h e a c h o t h e r i n c a r r y i n g out
b u s i n e s s , ( G ) , and
t h i s appears
their
to have been done u n t i l s i g n s o f
( A ) S.A.C. Minutes, 24.1.1889. 1870 A c t * S.31 ( 1 )
(B)
1870 A c t * i . 2 9
( C ) S c h o o l Board Minutes, 7.3.1889
(D)
1870 A c t , 2nd S c h e d u l e
( E ) S o h o o l Board M i n u t e s , 16.2.1892,
9 i 2 . 1 8 9 5 , 4;2.1898, 1 0 . 2 ; 1 9 0 l
( F ) S c h o o l Board M i n u t e s , 4.5.1895
(G) S.B. Minutes, 5.5.1898
(F}
deeper d i v i s i o n manifested
themselves
Church p a r t y t r i e d to f i l l
the Vice-Chairmanship
own s u p p o r t e r s ;
I n that year, the
w i t h one o f t h e i r
i n t h e end, they f o l l o w e d t h e p r e c e d e n t
previous elections as regards t h i s ,
did
i n 1398;
t a k e up t h e C h a i r m a n s h i p
but f o r t h e f i r s t
of a l l t h e committees*
t h e f o l l o w i n g e l e c t i o n i n 1901, they a l s o took o v e r
Chairmanship
o f t h e Board *
set after
time
(H).
they
After
the V i c e -
( I ) .
T h i s c o n t i n u i n g m a j o r i t y of t h e C h u r c h p a r t y d i d o f c o u r s e
e x p l a i n t h e c o n s i d e r a t e a t t i t u d e o f t h e Board towards t h e
Voluntary
approval
and
schools i n the C i t y ;
i'hey were a l w a y s
quick
to g i v e
t o t h e proposed e s t a b l i s h m e n t o r e x t e n s i o n o f s u c h s c h o o l s ,
on many o c o a s i o n s appeared most a n x i o u s
w i t h e x i s t i n g denominational
to avoid
competition
s c h o o l s when a new Board S o h o o l was
contemplated; ( J ) . I n the very f i r s t
year, i n s p i t e of strong
o p p o s i t i o n from Non-Conformist i n t e r e s t s , t h e y a c c e p t e d
a scheme
whereby t h e d e f i c i e n c y i n t h e c e n t r e o f t h e C i t y was made good
by a C h u r c h s c h o o l ; so t h a t no Board s c h o o l was a c t u a l l y
built
t h e r e a t t h a t time.
being
expressed
(K).
T h i s policy l e d to the f e e l i n g
t h a t t h e York s c h o o l Board was c o n s i d e r e d
by t h e
E d u c a t i o n Dept. to be o b s t r u c t i v e , ( L ) w h i l e S i r George K e k e w i c h
h i m s e l f remarked, a t t h e o p e n i n g o f t h e 4 i s h e r g a t e Board
School
t h a t t h e r e had been d i f f e r e n c e s between t h e Board and t h e y e p t . w h i c h
had n e c e s s i t a t e d t h e l a t t e r
(HJ
(J)
(K)
(L)
to p r e s s upon t h e s c h o o l Board
certain
S;B. Minutes* 4;2.1898 ( I ) s.B. M i n u t e s , 10.2.1901
S c h o o l Board M i n u t e s , 4*2.1893, 4.3.1893* 5.5.1893, 2.3.1894
do;
4.10.1889, 1.11.1889
. do.
8.7;1893
m a t t e r s of s c h o o l s u p p l y ;
It
was
i s , then, apparent
o n l y p r o v i d e d because
resisted,
towards
and
that
explaining
(M).
t h a t much of t h e Board S c h o o l
t h e demands o f the u e p t . oould not
t h e c o m p o s i t i o n o f the Boards
goes a l o n g
t h e i r u s u a l l y generous a t t i t u d e towards
V o l u n t a r y S c h o o l s i n the C i t y ;
(M)
S c h o o l Board M i n u t e s ,
supply
5;8;1895
be
way
the
Chapter 3
:
P r o v i s i o n o f Accommodation
The 1870 Aot l a i d down t h a t a r e q u i s i t i o n s h o u l d be s e n t to
a newly-formed S o h o o l Board, r e q u i r i n g them t o t a k e p r o c e e d i n g s
f o r s u p p l y i n g t h e accommodation mentioned
t h a t any Board not c o m p l y i n g would
dated
26th A p r i l *
i n t h a t r e q u i s i t i o n , and
be i n d e f a u l t .
(A)i
In a letter
1889* t h e i i d u c a t i o n Dept. p o i n t e d o u t t o t h e
York S o h o o l Board t h a t i t was t h e i r d u t y to p r o v i d e s c h o o l s f o r t h e
purpose of s u p p l y i n g t h e d e f i c i e n c y o f accommodation s e t out i n
the F i n a l N o t i c e . ( B ) . T h i s l e t t e r was to be t h e s u b j e c t o f a
prolonged d i s p u t e a s r e g a r d s i t s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n ;
t h e S c h o o l Board,
h a v i n g put i n hand t h e p r o v i s i o n o f 650 p l a c e s , a c c e p t e d t h e o f f e r
o f t h e Church E x t e n s i o n S o c i e t y t o p r o v i d e a c e n t r a l l y - s i t u a t e d
s c h o o l * and d e c i d e d n o t t o b u i l d any f u r t h e r s c h o o l t h e m s e l v e s . ( C )
The u l e r k t o t h e Board a d v i s e d
them t h a t t h e y were n o t a t l i b e r t y
to d e l e g a t e the d u t y o f p r o v i d i n g accommodation, t h i s view b e i n g
s u p p o r t e d by t h e M i n o r i t y of t h e Board i n a l e t t e r o f a p p e a l t o t h e
Department; ( D ) .
stated
W r i t i n g on 3 1 s t J a n u a r y , 1890, t h e Department
t h a t i t was n o t i t s d u t y , under the c i r c u m s t a n c e s , t o send a
r e q u i s i t i o n to t h e Board under S.10 o f t h e A c t .
argued by many t h a t t h e l e t t e r o f A p r i l ,
u n t i l Mr. M u n d e l l a r e c e i v e d
I t was, however,
1889 was a r e q u i s i t i o n ,
i n r e p l y t o a q u e s t i o n i n t h e Wommons,
t h e answer t h a t s u c h a l e t t e r was n o t deemed to be one.
(AJ
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
(E).
1870 A c t - S S . 10 and 11
N a t i o n a l aduc; A s s n . Pamphlet 'The s c h o o l oase a t Y o r k ' 1890
S o h o o l Board M i n u t e s * 2*8.1889 - 4;10.1889
do;
1.11.1889
N a t i o n a l EduOi A s s n i Pamphlet 'The s c h o o l wase a t Y o r k ' 1890
L a t e r * he was informed t h a t t h e proposed V o l u n t a r y S o h o o l would i n
fact
s u p p l y p a r t o f t h e r e q u i r e d aocommodation, and t h e r e t h e
m a t t e r r e s t e d i n s p i t e of f u r t h e r
protests.
S o h o o l Board Aocommodation
Thus, i n i t s e a r l y y e a r s ,
s c h o o l , w h i c h was opened
the s c h o o l Board p r o v i d e d o n l y
a t the b e g i n n i n g o f 1891;
f o l l o w i n g y e a r a l a r g e w e s l e y a n s o h o o l was
however,
one
i n the
c l o s e d , and t h e Board
a c c e p t e d i t s t r a n s f e r a t t h e recommendation o f t h e M u c a t i o n u e p t ;
I F ) , who
p o i n t e d out t h a t i t s c l o s u r e would g i v e r i s e
d e f i c i e n c y o f o v e r luOO p l a c e s i n t h e d i s t r i c t .
to a
IG).
It
was
d e c i d e d to r e p l a c e i t by a new Board S c h o o l o f 1000 p l a c e s , but
w i t h i n a few months a f u r t h e r c r i s i s
free places;
a r o s e due to t h e demand f o r
As a r e s u l t o f a c o n f e r e n c e h e l d between
and JiMI to o o n s i d e r t h i s ,
the Board
t h e E d u c a t i o n Dept. d e c i d e d t h a t
3000
e x t r a f r e e p l a c e s were r e q u i r e d , and a g r e e d w i t h th.'7proposal f o r
two f u r t h e r Board S c h o o l s of 1500 p l a c e s e a c h ; ( H ) .
The
was made worse by t h e c l o s i n g o f a n o t h e r " e s l e y a n s c h o o l ,
was t r a n s f e r r e d to t h e Board and opened
School; ( I ) .
position
whioh
a s a temporary Board
I n s e e k i n g a s i t e f o r one o f t h e new
schools,
S c a r o r o f t , t h e Board was unable to get t h e one d e s i r e d
by
agreement,
and had to r e s o r t t o t h e compulsory powers g i v e n i n t h e ^ c t . ( J ) .
(F)
(G)
(H)
(I)
(J)
1870 A c t - S.23
York S o h o o l Board 2nd T r i e n n i a l rieport e n d i n g 31.. 12; 1894
L e t t e r from Eduo. Dept. to York S;B; d a t e d 6.7;1893
1870 E d u c ; A c t , a.23
do*
S.20
As a r e s u l t , a P r o v i s i o n a l Order was
confirmed
made i n A p r i l , 1894
and
by A c t of P a r l i a m e n t i n the August; but e v e n t u a l l y
agreement was
reaohed
w i t h the C i t y C o u n c i l .
W i t h the c o m p l e t i o n o f t h e s e 3 s c h o o l s i n 1895-96, ( K ) t h i n g s
remained as they were u n t i l 1899* when a d e f i c i e n c y a r o s e i n two
a r e a s o f t h e C i t y , i n both of w h i c h a g r e a t d e a l of new
to be p r o v i d e d
i n the n e a r f u t u r e . ( L ) .
S o h o o l s were planned
To meet t h i s ,
housing
was
2 Board
to p r o v i d e an a d d i t i o n a l 1800 p l a c e s , but were
n o t completed b e f o r e t h e S c h o o l Board handed over
to the
new
E d u c a t i o n Committee.
V o l u n t a r y S c h o o l Accommodation
The f o r m a t i o n of the s c h o o l Board i n 1889
effort
from t h e V o l u n t a r y
p l a c e s i n t h e y e a r s 1889
b o d i e s , who
- 1891.
were i n C h u r c h S c h o o l s and
however, was
(M).
the r e s t
b u i l t a f t e r 1890,
met
1207
by
further
additional
Of t h e s e , t h e m a j o r i t y
i n H.C. e s t a b l i s h m e n t s .
t h e peak of t h e i r achievement,
country; a d e c l i n e s e t i n * (N).
by
provided
was
No new
and,
(846)
This,
a s throughout
the
v o l u n t a r y s c h o o l s were
and d u r i n g the y e a r s 1892-1902 accommodation
2000 p l a c e s , 5 s c h o o l s being c l o s e d . ( 0 ) . The
fell
g r e a t e r p a r t of
t h i s was due* a s i n o t h e r p a r t s of the c o u n t r y i to t h e r e d u c t i o n of
(K)
IL)
(M)
(N)
(0)
York S c h o o l Board
do;
do;
Adamson: E n g l i s h
York S c h o o l Board
3rd T r i e n n i a l weport ending
4th
do*
1st
do;
e d u c a t i o n , 1789 - 1902
T r i e n n i a l Reports
31*12.1897
31.12.1900
31*12.1891
p l a c e s i n Wesleyan and B r i t i s h s c h o o l s ( 1 6 5 0 ) , t h e K.C.'s a c t u a l l y
c o n t i n u i n g to i n c r e a s e t h e i r accommodation and t h e C/E l o s i n g some
500
places;
( 0 ) . Thus, by 1902, t h e 19 V o l u n t a r y S c h o o l s and
10003 v o l u n t a r y p l a c e s were p r o v i d e d a s f o l l o w s : - ( P )
G/E
15 s c h o o l s
7536 p l a c e s
fi.C.
3 schools
1653 p l a c e s
wesleyan
1 school
814 p l a c e s .
Conclusion
The
p r o v i s i o n o f accommodation i n t h e 1890's t h u s f o l l o w e d t h e
p a t t e r n o f n a t i o n a l developments;
after
the f i r s t
3 y e a r s o f the
Board, d u r i n g w h i c h t w o - t h i r d s of t h e new accommodation was
provided
due
by t h e V o l u n t a r y
b o d i e s , p r a c t i c a l l y a l l a d d i t i o n s were
to t h e b u i l d i n g o f Board
schools.
i''rom 1891 - 1902, t h e t o t a l
s u p p l y i n c r e a s e d from 12660 t o 15129, w h i l e p l a c e s i n Board
i n c r e a s e d from 659 t o 5126, so t h a t
Schools
by 1902 t h e S c h o o l s Board
s u p p l y i n g over o n e - t h i r d of t h e accommodation.
The r a p i d
was
Board
e x p a n s i o n a f t e r 1892 was due t o s e v e r a l f a c t o r s , t h e c h i e f ones
b e i n g an expanding
p o p u l a t i o n ( 1 8 9 1 C e n s u s 66984;
1901 e s t . 7 5 0 0 0 ) ,
(Qj t h e demand f o r f r e e e d u o a t i o n , t h e c l o s i n g of V o l u n t a r y
and t h e f a i l u r e o f V o l u n t a r y b o d i e s t o i n c r e a s e t h e i r
(0)
(P)
(QJ
Schools
supply;
York S c h o o l Board T r i e n n i a l R e p o r t s
Report by C l e r k to York S.B. on JSlem. S d u c a t i o n , May, 1903
York S.B* T r i e n n i a l R e p o r t s , 1891, 1900,
Competition
o f Board w i t h V o l u n t a r y S c h o o l s
Many o f t h e l a r g e r S c h o o l B o a r d s ,
supported
by t h e E d u c a t i o n
Dept., ( R ) h e l d t h a t t h e y c o u l d n o t d e l e g a t e t h e i r
responsibility
o f p r o v i d i n g s c h o o l s t o o t h e r b o d i e s , ( S ] w h i l e t h e r e were many
a l l e g a t i o n s o f them u s i n g i m p r o p e r l y
their
powers o f p r o v i d i n g
a d d i t i o n a l accommodation w h i c h was, * i n t h e i r o p i n i o n , n e c e s s a r y ' .
(T)*
T h i s was n o t t h e c a s e w i t h t h e York S c h o o l Board, a s p o i n t e d
out i n t h e p r e v i o u s c h a p t e r ;
its
c e r t a i n l y , a l l e g a t i o n s were made, i n
l a t e r y e a r s , t h a t t h e Board was a c t i n g u n f a i r l y t o v o l u n t a r y
Schools
i n t h e s i t i n g and s i z e o f i t s s c h o o l s . ( U J .
o o n t i n u a l l y denied
These were
i n u n m i s t a k e a b l e terms and, t o be f a i r
Board, i t must be s a i d
to the
t h a t t h e y appear to have been under
c o n s i d e r a b l e p r e s s u r e from t h e Dept. r e g a r d i n g t h e p r o v i s i o n o f
more accommodation;
However,well-meaning t h e Board, i t cannot
be d e n i e d
opening o f Board S c h o o l s d i d harm some o f t h e V o l u n t a r y
in
t h a t the
Schools;
1889 t h e s e s o h o o l s , p r o v i d i n g 1U8UO p l a c e s , had 10527 on r o l l ,
w h i l e i n 1898; w i t h I 0 2 u 0 p l a c e s , they had o n l y 8304 on r o l l *
IV).
A f t e r two Board s c h o o l s had opened i n 1895, t h e two n e a r e s t
Voluntary Schools l o s t
165 and 135 p u p i l s r e s p e c t i v e l y * (W) w h i l s t
i n 1897* a f t e r a f u r t h e r Board S c h o o l had opened, one nearby
(R)
(S)
(U)
IV)
(Y/J
free
Marason: E n g l i s h e d u c a t i o n , 17 89 - 1902
1870 Eduo. A c t j S.18
IT}
1870 E d u c . A c t , £.18
York S.B. M i n u t e s , 24.9*1895; York N a t i o n a l S c h o o l s S o c i e t y
M i n u t e s , 11.2.1897
York a . a . T r i e n n i a l R e p o r t s f o r 1891 and 1899
York S o h o o l Board Minutes* 24.9.1885
V o l u n t a r y S c h o o l had
had
272 v a c a n c i e s *
277 v a c a n t
(X).
p l a c e s and
another,
charging
I t must be p o i n t e d out t h a t , w i t h
fees,
the
e x c e p t i o n of t h e s c h o o l j u s t mentioned, t h e ones h a r d e s t h i t
were t h o s e c o n t i n u i n g to charge
was
fees.
But,
i n s p i t e of a l l ,
no o v e r - p r o v i s i o n of accommodation i n t h e C i t y .
Dept* had worked on
The
was
15,129, some 1500
18$ of t h e C i t y ' s
Private
population;
i n number* so t h a t by the end
o n l y seven
(X)
(Y)
which
Schools
n e g l i g i b l e importance.
normally
provided
i n e x c e s s o f the number on r o l l ,
S c h o o l s o f t h i s type p r o v i d i n g e l e m e n t a r y
dwindled
Education
the p r i n c i p l e t h a t 20$ of the p o p u l a t i o n might
be found on the s c h o o l r o l l s , whereas i n York the p l a c e s
totalled
there
I t was
schools attended
reported
by 170
education
steadily
of the p e r i o d they were of
i n 1898
t h a t t h e r e were
o h i l d r e n o f t h e c l a s s who
be found i n t h e p u b l i c e l e m e n t a r y
York S.B; 3rd T r i e n n i a l Report ending
York S c h o o l Board Minutes, 1.7;1898
schools;
(Y).
31.12.1897
would
Chapter 4
A.
Board
:
f i n a n c e . 1889
-
1903
Schools
The p r o v i s i o n of new
Board
was,
n o t u n n a t u r a l l y * a major item o f i t s e x p e n d i t u r e , a l t h o u g h
they
appear
s c h o o l s by t h e York S o h o o l
t o have been p r o v i d e d e c o n o m i c a l l y a s compared w i t h t h o s e
of o t h e r s c h o o l B o a r d s .
S h i p t o n S t r e e t , opened i n 1891,
cost
£9.16;7. per head a t a time when t h e a v e r a g e c o s t i n England
and
Wales was £12.12.2, w h i l e the o t h e r t h r e e s c h o o l s were s u p p l i e d a t
an a v e r a g e of £11.14.1 per head, a f i g u r e w h i c h was
than t h o s e f o r s c h o o l s e r e c t e d a t t h e same time by
authorities;
(A).
appreciably less
neighbouring
I n s p i t e of the reasonable c o s t , these s c h o o l s
a t t r a c t e d f a v o u r a b l e oomment from HMI, and were f a r b e t t e r
t h a n any p r o v i d e d by t h e d e n o m i n a t i o n s .
c o u r s e , to t h e f a c t
(B).
t h a t the S c h o o l Board
s o u r c e s not a v a i l a b l e to t h e c h u r c h e s .
premises
T h i s was due,
c o u l d draw on
of
financial
By t h e 1870 A c t , ( C ) they
the power to borrow money f o r b u i l d i n g s c h o o l s e t c . , w i t h the
c o n s e n t o f t h e E d u c a t i o n Dept., and were a b l e to c h a r g e t h e S c h o o l
Fund and
the l o c a l r a t e s w i t h p r i n c i p a l and
Thus* a l l t h e money r e q u i r e d f o r t h e new
interest
Y o r k Board
payments.
s c h o o l s was
l o a n e d , t h e a n n u a l c h a r g e on the S c h o o l *'und f o r p r i n c i p a l
i n t e r e s t payments r i s i n g
(A)
(B)
ic)
(D)
to £3059.9.1 by 1900.
and
(D).
1 s t and 2nd T r i e n n i a l r e p o r t s o f Y o r k S.B.
N e w c a s t l e , H u l l , L e e d s and S c a r b o r o u g h a v e r a g e c o s t per head
£12.13*0.
1897 HMI Report quoted i n 3rd T r i e n n i a l Report of York S.B.
1870 A c t , S.53 amended by. 1873 AOt, S.10
4 t h T r i e n n i a l Report o f York S.B.
had
Throughout t h i s period, the cost of maintenance of the schools
was r i s i n g , the 1881 average of £2 per head i n Board Schools
having increased t o £2.17^7^- per head by 1900. ( E ) . I n York, t h i s
trend was r e f l e c t e d by a sharp increase from £2.14.6 per head i n
1895 t o £2.18;6 per head i n 1900, the l a t t e r being i n excess of
the n a t i o n a l average. ( F ) .
This high cost, was t o a great extent,
the r e s u l t of generous s t a f f i n g and the good s a l a r i e s paid to the
teachers.
I n 1898* the average oost of s a l a r i e s per c h i l d was
£2.4;7-£ i n York compared w i t h a n a t i o n a l average of £2.0.8, w h i l s t
i n 1903 the Board schools, w i t h accommodation f o r 5126 c h i l d r e n
and an average attendance of 4594, were s t a f f e d f o r 5950 p u p i l s ; (G)
On top of t h i S j the provision o f books and apparatus was without
doubt •admirable', to quote from the HMI's Report o f 1897.- (H).
The two main sources of income f o r the School Boards were
Government grants and Sohool *ees and/or tfee Grants.
Regarding the
f i r s t of these, the grants earned by the York Board Sohools remained
at a high l e v e l throughout, r i s i n g from 19/3 per head i n 1891, when
the average f o r the whole oountry was 18/5^-, to 22/8 i n . 1900, ( I ) ,
as compared w i t h an average of 22/1 f o r the English County ..Boroughs;
(J).
I n the 1900 uode, the e x i s t i n g system of v a r i a b l e grants was
replaoed by one of block grants * which were to be paid at p r a c t i c a l l y
the same r a t e t o a l l schools, and t o be of no higher value than
(E)
(F)
(G)
(Hj
(I)
I J)
smith: 'History o f English alementary Education, 1760-1902
3rd T r i e n n i a l aeport of York S.B./Report of Board of Education,
1900-01
Report by Clerk to York S.B. on Elementary EduCi May, 1903
3rd T r i e n n i a l Keport of York S.B.
1st T r i e n n i a l Report of York S.B.
Report of Board of i,ducation, 1900-01.
h i t h e r t o paid to average schools. ( K ) . This occasioned some.regret
on the York Board, i t being feared t h a t t h e i r schools would s u f f e r
a d i m i n u t i o n of grant of about £200. ( L ) . I n a c t u a l f a c t , i n the
f i r s t year of the new system, the grant earned was £101.16*0 less
than i t would have been under the o l d one. (M).
As w i l l be shown * ^N) fees were q u i c k l y abolished i n the Board
Sohools a f t e r the 1391 Act, so t h a t income from t h i s source came i n
the form o f a Fee o r a n t .
I n 1900, t h i s amounted to £2156, about
17% of the t o t a l income of the schools. ( 0 ) /
Income from these two sources was by no means s u f f i c i e n t t o
meet the expenditure of the Board schools, and i t was l a i d down i n
the 1870 Act (P) t h a t any d e f i c i e n c y i n the School uund (out of
which a l l expenses were paid) should be made up by the r a t i n g
a u t h o r i t y out of the l o c a l r a t e .
ihe c a l l s made on the ratepayers
of York proved t o be ever-increasing, r i s i n g from a.2500 (the
equivalent of a 2d. r a t e ) i n 1890 t o a peak of £11500 ( l i d . r a t e ) ( x l j
i n 1897, a burden f a r heavier than the average f o r oounty Boroughs,
a f t e r two years of smaller demands, the r i s e began again and
continued u n t i l 1903, when the amount was J:14400 19-jd. r a t e ) , a r a t e
(K)
(L)
(M)
(N)
(0)
(P)
(si)
4 t h x r i e n n i a l Keport of York S;B.
York S.B. Minutes, 4.4.1900
do.
6.12.1901
see Chapter 5
4 t h T r i e n n i a l Heport of York S.B.
1870 Act, a.54
1897-98: Avge. r a t e f o r County Boroughs, 9*8d.
which was now much l i g h t e r than the average. (x2) (Q).
the
By 1900,
schools themselves were dependent on the rates f o r almost 50$
of t h e i r income, (x3) a percentage which had a c t u a l l y been exceeded
i n 1897. I R ) .
I t i s l i t t l e wonder t h a t the York Board was subject t o
c r i t i c i s m of extravagance, both from some of i t s members and from
the
C i t y Council;
(S) these c r i t i c i s m s were soon spreading
throughout the c i t y ^ and had t o be s t r o n g l y answered by the Chairman
of the Board on a t l e a s t one occasion. ( T ) . Although i t i s
d i f f i c u l t t o judge how f a i r these charges were, i t must be admitted
t h a t the schools were o v e r s t a f f e d , by average County Borough standards,
(x4)
and well-equipped, but i t must be remembered t h a t the Board
was t r y i n g to remedy defects i n the City's educational p r o v i s i o n
by supplying expensive Science and P r a c t i c a l f a c i l i t i e s .
Although
those having to f o o t the b i l l might desoribe the Board's f i n a n c i a l
p o l i c y as "extravagant", educationists would probably describe i t
as "progressive".
(*2) 1902-03: Avge; r a t e f o r County Boroughs, 11.7d.
(x3)
1896-97 Rates provided 56.6% of income of S.B.'s i n England
1897-98
do.
58.3%
do.
1901-02
do.
61.4%
do.
(Qj York School Board ' t r i e n n i a l Reports
(R) York School Board 4 t h T r i e n n i a l Report
( S ) York School Board Minutes, 2.4.1896 - 2.6.1899
(T)
do.
4.7.1896
(x4)
Report of Committee i n Council of Education, 1898
S a l a r i e s per head o f average attendance:C.B.'s Average £2.1.0.
York £2.6.0.
B.
Voluntary Schools
As w i t h Board schools, the oost of maintenance rose r a p i d l y
during the period, the n a t i o n a l f i g u r e per head i n c r e a s i n g from
£1.15.0. i n 1881 t o £2.6.4ijr i n 1900.
( A ) . They were also s e r i o u s l y
h i t by the requirements of the U e p t i f o r r e p a i r s and improvements,
as many of the b u i l d i n g s were o l d . I n the ^ i t y , we have already
seen that i n 1884-85 the cost of maintenance per head was £1.3.6,
a f i g u r e below the n a t i o n a l average;
(B)
by 1898, t h i s had r i s e n t o
£2.3.11, which compared w i t h a n a t i o n a l voluntary School average of
£1.19.0. (C).
Thus, the York schools were now costing more t o run
than the average v o l u n t a r y school of the country, but t h i s cost was
much less than t h a t of the Board schools i n the C i t y . (D).
While the v o l u n t a r y schools had obviously made a great e f f o r t
to improve t h e i r c o n d i t i o n s and standards of equipment and
staffing,
so as to compete w i t h the new Board schools, they were s t i l l
i n f e r i o r i n many ways.
I n 1903, 8 out of 24 schools were reported
as having d e f i c i e n c i e s , such as u n s a t i s f a c t o r y playgrounds, weak
s t a f f i n g , i n s u f f i c i e n t l i g h t , bad heating and v e n t i l a t i o n ,
t o i l e t f a c i l i t i e s and the existence of g a l l e r i e s ;
poor
( E ) . Whilst the
Board schools had one P r i n c i p a l or c e r t i f i c a t e d teacher to 51ohildren
there was only one to 101 p u p i l s i n the v o l u n t a r y schools. ( F ) .
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
IF)
Smith: H i s t o r y of English Elem. Educ. 1760-1902
Part I , chapter 2.
M i n u t e s of York N a t i o n a l S c h o o l s S o c i e t y , 24.2;1898
1898 Board Schools, J - 2 . 1 6 . l i per head
Report by c l e r k to York S.B. on Elem. education, May,
do.
1903
The cost per head of s a l a r i e s i n Board schools i n 1896 was £2.
compared w i t h a f i g u r e of £1.1.5 i n Voluntary schools;
0.0.
f o r books
and apparatus the costs were 6/6 and 1/11 per head r e s p e c t i v e l y . (G)
I n 1898, the new s a l a r y scale f o r C e r t i f i c a t e d teachers i n C/E
Schools was £75-85 per annum, w h i l e t h a t e x i s t i n g i n Board schools
was £70-120 per annum;
obviously, such a s a l a r y scale was
going to a t t r a c t the best teachers. (H).
not
Thus, the York voluntary
schools, l i k e those throughout the country, s t i l l had to employ
more u n q u a l i f i e d teachers, pay smaller s a l a r i e s and purchase less
equipment than t h e i r r i c h e r partners i n education;
To meet t h i s expenditure, the Voluntary schools s t i l l had the
same three main sources of income as previously mentioned. ( J ) .
From the mid-80's to the e a r l y 1900*8, there was a considerable r i s e
in
the Government grant earned, so t h a t by 1901-02 they had reached
a sum of £7457.11.8, which represented some 47% of t o t a l inoome. IK}
Compared w i t h an average of 16/9 per head i n 1884-85, t h i s
represented one of 19/3 per head.
Throughout the e a r l y 90 »s, the schools had found the 17/6
limit
irksome ( L j , and i n 1895, the Bishop of Beverley produced a plan
to
get round i t .
(G)
IH)
(l)
(K)
(L)
(M)
(M).
B r i e f l y , he proposed that a l l s u b s c r i p t i o n s
York School Board Minutes, 2.4.1896
Minutes of York N a t i o n a l schools Society, 8.3.1898
Part I , Chapter 2
Heport by c l e r k to York s.B. on Elem* M u c a t i o n , May,
Part I , chapter 2
Minutes of Xork National Schools s o c i e t y , 18.2.1895
1903
to u/E Schools should be paid i n t o a common fund, as should the
Fee Grants earned;
any schools l i k e l y t o be affected by the 17/6
l i m i t would receive enough money out of the Subscription £und t o
allow them t o receive t h e i r f u l l grant, w h i l s t the other schools
would receive money out o f the Fee Grants fund.
This scheme,
based on S.6 of the 1891 Act, was approved by the Education i^ept.,
and resulted i n n e t a d d i t i o n s o f grant o f £124.17.5. i n 1895 and
£174.4 ;4 i n 18S6. (N).
By 1897,
the f i n a n c i a l p l i g h t o f the
Voluntary schools was recognised, the r e s u l t being the 'Relief Act'
of t h a t year.
By t h i s , the 17/6 l i m i t was abolished,
Voluntary
schools were exempted from the rates and an a i d grant o f 5/- per
p u p i l per annum was t o be paid to associations of Managers grouped
f o r the purpose.
I n the f i r s t year, t h i s Aid Grant amounted t o
£1610 f o r the York C/E Schools, and by 1901-02 made up 14$ o f t o t a l
income, but i t was soon f e l t t h a t help under the Act was not
s u f f i c i e n t t o lead to a permanently s a t i s f a c t o r y p o s i t i o n . ( 0 ) .
Yet another item of concern was the Block Grant system introduced
i n the 1900 Code, as most of the schools had been earning a
r e l a t i v e l y high grant. ( P ) .
AS pointed out e a r l i e r , fees had provided n e a r l y h a l f the
(N)
(0)
(P)
Minutes of York N a t i o n a l Schools Society, 23.1.1896, 27.1.1897
do.
24.2.1898, 26.1.1899
Minutes of York National School Society, 9*4.1900
Report o f Board of Education: Grant per head York V o l .
Schools £1.0.9 - Vol. Schools i n County Boroughs £1.0.7
income of the schools i n 1884-85, and they and the *ee Urant (where
fees were abolished) remained an important source of income r i g h t
up to 1901-02.
I n t h a t year, they averaged .11/4 per head of
average attendance, which was much the same as i n 1884-85. (Q).
However, they now accounted f o r only 29$ of the income of the schools
thus having decreased a great deal i n r e l a t i v e importance.
Voluntary subscriptions had been low before 1888, but improved
d u r i n g the 1890's, so t h a t i n 1898 the l e v e l compared
w i t h that f o r the country as a whole* (R).
favourably
A f t e r t h i s year, there
was a d e t e r i o r a t i o n i n the p o s i t i o n , while that i n the country
generally appears to have improved;
(S) by 1901-02 the t o t a l
( i n c l u d i n g c o l l e c t i o n s e t c . ) received by a l l the C i t y ' s Voluntary
Schools amounted to £1194.0.1, some 8% o f t h e i r t o t a l inoome, and
an average o f 5/1 per head of average attendance. ( T ) . The averages
per
head by denominations were:-
G/E 3s.0^d., Roman-Catholic 3s.l0d.
and Wesleyan ls.Sd., f i g u r e s which go a long way t o e x p l a i n i n g the
continued existence of a l l C/E and H.C. Schools d u r i n g these years
and the c l o s i n g o f a l l but one of the Non-Conformist schools .
A good p i o t u r e of the trends of the period i s given by the
fortunes of the 0/E Schools and the National Society, on which they
(Q) Report by ulerk to York S.B. on Elem. iiduc. May, 1903
(R) Elem. iduc. Return cd. 315 HMS0 1901: 1898-99 N a t i o n a l avge*
f o r Vol. schools 3/10 per head - York Vol. Schools 4/3 per head
(S) Report of Board of education: 1901-02 Avge. f o r England & Wales
6/10^ per head, i . e . 15% of t o t a l income
(T) Report of c l e r k to York S.B. on Elem. E d u c , May, 1903
Figs, f o r 1884-85 T o t a l £783., 7% of income and 2/5f per head
s t i l l leaned h e a v i l y . The t h r e a t , and eventual formation, o f the
Sohool Board stimulated voluntary e f f o r t s , so t h a t the l e v e l of
c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o the schools jumped from £335 i n 1887 t o £761 i n
1890, while t h e Society was able to d i s t r i b u t e to several schools a
sum of £264 i n the form of e x t r a g r a n t s . (U).
Thereafter, although
there was a f a l l i n g - o f f i n the e a r l y 90*s, t h i s higher l e v e l of
subscriptions t o the schools was reached again and maintained
until
1902, when the amount received t o t a l l e d Just over £800. (V).
As f o r the Society* i t s annual r e c e i p t s of s u b s c r i p t i o n s and
c o l l e c t i o n s picked up a f t e r 1892, when the t o t a l had f a l l e n t o
£109.8.9, and were maintained a t around the £200 mark u n t i l 1898,
when they began to decrease once again. (W). I n a d d i t i o n , the period
was notable f o r several s p e c i a l e f f o r t s and appeals;
i n 1893, £585
o a p i t a l was r a i s e d a f t e r a s p e c i a l appeal, i n 1896 a Bazaar and
T h e a t r i c a l s produced £1330 and, i n 1900, £150 was raised by a
R e c i t a l . ( X ) . This increased income of the 90's meant t h a t
increased grants could be made to the schools;
i n a l l £645 was
granted t o fourteen schools, w h i l s t the w i n d f a l l of £1300 was
d i s t r i b u t e d amongst a l l the schools.
I n a d d i t i o n , the annual
grants were kept a t a higher l e v e l than i n the 80's, ranging from
£135 i n 1898 t o £287 i n 1900, and b e n e f i t i n g some fourteen
schools. ( Y ) . These grants began to f a l l a f t e r 1898, when the
(U) Minutes o f York N a t i o n a l School Society, 30.1.1888, 29.1.1891
(V) Report by Clerk to York S.B. on Elem. Aduc, May, 1903
(W) Minutes of York N a t i o n a l schools Society, 3.2.1892 and Annual
Heports, 189 3-1902
(X) Minutes of York Nat. Schools Socy. 3.2.1893, 7.1.1897, 30.1.1901
(Y) York Nat. Schools Socy. Annual rieports, 1893-19 3
0
s u b s c r i p t i o n l e v e l f e l l once again.
Thus, compared w i t h the pre-school Board days, the Voluntary
Schools were r e c e i v i n g increased income per head from grants and
s u b s c r i p t i o n s , roughly s i m i l a r amounts from fees or u'ee Grants,
and a d d i t i o n a l sums from the Aid w a n t s .
But they were burdened
by a constant increase i n the cost of maintenance, w i t h which the
increased income could not keep pace. ( Z ) .
As a r e s u l t , apart from
some improvement up to 1891, the f i n a n c i a l p o s i t i o n of the schools
got s t e a d i l y worse;
the overdrawn Balances of the ^/E schools
had deoreased from £2089.1.2. i n 1888 to £1754•11.o. i n 1890,
but then increased year by year to a t o t a l of *.4913 i n 1902. ( A ) .
Schools of the other denominations were l i k e w i s e a f f e c t e d , and i n
1902 two Q/E Schools were the only ones w i t h balanoes i n hand. ( B ) .
N a t u r a l l y , there were constant references to the need f o r increased
subscriptions required to provide money f o r the p r o v i s i o n of f r e e
places, and to meet the increased standards of s t a f f i n g and
equipment l a i d down by the Education Department.
Reference was
made to the increased d i f f i c u l t y of r a i s i n g subscriptions due to
the high o a l l on the r a t e s by the School Board, and by 1900 there
was great a n x i e t y over finance.
(Z)
(A)
(B)
Most of the Aid Grant was spent on
York Nat. Schools Socy. Annual aeports, 1893-1902
do.
Report by Clerk t o York S.B. on Elem. i i d u c , May* 1903
increasing e f f i c i e n c y .
Any required extensions or a l t e r a t i o n s
needed a s p e c i a l e f f o r t , so i t was l i t t l e wonder t h a t the
Voluntary bodies could not a f f o r d to provide new schools. ^C);
By 1894i the N a t i o n a l s o c i e t y were being t o l d o f the i n a b i l i t y of
the denominations to provide free places, and the School Board
had already been asked by one C/E school to provide increased
accommodation which could not be otherwise provided due t o lack of
funds; ID).
I n s p i t e of the great e f f o r t s made, and. the good response,
the Voluntary schools were hardly able t o keep t h e i r heads above
water, l e t alone provide f u r t h e r schools.
When the l e v e l o f
s u b s c r i p t i o n i s compared w i t h the amounts received from the r a t e s
by the School Board, how uneven was the s t r u g g l e i s c l e a r l y shown.
(C)
(D)
Minutes of York N a t i o n a l Schools Society •, 29.1.1890
do.
2.6.1894
4.3.1895
Chapter 5
: School Attendance. Leaving Age and gees
Early i n 1890, the Chairman of the school Board stated t h a t
the
l e v e l of attendance i n York schools was not s a t i s f a c t o r y ,
a t t r i b u t i n g t h i s to three main causes :1.
That many parents d i d not appreciate the value o f education
2.
That many parents found d i f f i c u l t y i n paying fees, being
r e l u c t a n t t o apply f o r r e l i e f , and t h a t the system of fees i n York
Schools was bad
3.
That h a l f - t i m e r s were not kept on a separate r e g i s t e r . (A)
His reasoning appears t o point to the three d i r e c t i o n s of the main
,
e f f o r t s made i n the 1890 s>, e f f o r t s to secure more regular attendance,
to ease and f i n a l l y remove the burden of school fees, and t o r a i s e
the
school leaving age.
Before 1889, the emphasis had been on the
f i r s t of these but i n t h i s l a t e r period i t appears that i t had
s h i f t e d t o the other two.
S.A.C. and -Administration of the Bye-Laws.
The 1876 Education Act l a i d down that where a School Board was
appointed i n a d i s t r i c t where a School Attendance Committee was
f u n c t i o n i n g , the l a t t e r a u t h o r i t y should cease to act two months
a f t e r the e l e c t i o n ;
although the bye-laws made by i t should
continue i n foroe unless being a l t e r e d by the Board. ( B ) .
(A)
(B)
Statement o f Chairman of York S.B.
1876 Education Act, S.36
7.2.1890
As such a committee was f u n c t i o n i n g i n York, i t was three months
a f t e r the School Board was elected before i t appointed i t s School
Attendance committee (C.);
f o r a period, of two months, i t
consisted of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and two other members,
but
was then expanded t o include a l l members o f the Board.
The
e x i s t i n g bye-laws were adopted, but were to be s l i g h t l y amended
w i t h i n a few months, w h i l e , at an early meeting of the Board, 4
V i s i t i n g O f f i c e r s were appointed. ( D j .
The Chairman of the School Board indicated a t an early date
t h a t f i r m a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of the Bye-Laws was very necessary, but
for
t h i s to be c a r r i e d out e f f e c t i v e l y , the support of the
Magistrates was v i t a l .
of
(£)..
However, throughout the f i r s t years
the Board's l i f e , there are references t o l e n i e n t treatment of
offenders and t o the need f o r more support from the Bench. ( F ) •
Prosecutions rose from 355 i n 1889 t o 704 i n 1890, the f i r s t
full
year of the new S . A . C , and then gradually declined to around 480
by 1897;
out of the high number of people prosecuted i n 1890,
there resulted 37 f i n e s , 22 committals and 168 Orders, w h i l s t i n
the
f o l l o w i n g years less than 30$ of the prosecutions were
successful. (G). A f t e r 1897, the Magistrates began t o give more
(0) York School Board Minutes, 17*5*1889
(D)
do;
3.5.1889 - 2.8;1889 - 15.3.1889
(E) Statement of chairman of York S.B. 7.2.1890
(F)
York S.B. Minutes, 5.5.1893 - 7.3.1896
(G)
York School Board T r i e n n i a l heports
supporti t h i s being commented on by the Board i n 1900;
i n 1398,
over 50% o f the prosecutions were successful, w h i l s t the number o f
those f i n e d jumped from 32 i n 1896 t o 117 i n 1900, two years i n
which the number o f prosecutions was n e a r l y equal. (H).
From time t o time, other actions were taken by t h e S.A.U. to
t r y and reduce the number o f i r r e g u l a r attenders*
They found i t
necessary t o post placards saying t h a t they could enforce attendance
up to the age of 14 o f any c h i l d whose education was neglected; ( I )
while l a t e r the Committee was d i v i d e d i n t o two sections, so that more
cases could appear before them. I J) . I t was suggested
on one
occasion that prosecutions should be made against some employers who
were i r r e g u l a r l y employing c h i l d r e n w h i l e members of the Board were
occasionally q u i t e concerned a t continued p a r e n t a l i n d i f f e r e n c e t o
education by those of the poorer classes. i K ) .
Throughout the country, the e f f o r t t o secure regular
attendance continued t o be rewarded w i t h improvement, average
attendance r i s i n g from 77.3^ i n 1889 t o 81.2% by 1894, and 82.2%
by 1901, although there were s t i l l some c h i l d r e n who absented
themselves too r e a d i l y and escaped punishment too e a s i l y . ( L ) .
We have seen t h a t the second remark applies t o York, and the f i r s t
one has equal f o r c e as regards the C i t y .
(H)
(I)
(J)
(K)
(L)
I n 1889, the average
York School Board 4 t h T r i e n n i a l r e p o r t
York S.B. Minutes 6.12.1889 - 1876 Education A c t , S . l l
do.
4.2.1893
do.
5.11*1898
Reports of Committee of Council on iiducation/Board o f Jiduoation
Smith: History of E n g l i s h Elementary Education, 17 60-1902.
attendance f o r York was 76.4$, not only below the n a t i o n a l
average but considered more u n s a t i s f a c t o r y
f i g u r e s of over 80%.
because many towns had
One good feature was t h a t no c h i l d r e n were
found who were not attending school. IM).
The labours of the new
S.A.C. began to produce r e s u l t s by the f o l l o w i n g year, when the
average attendance was b e t t e r . (M).
This improvement
continued,
an 80% average being reached i n 1891 and some 87% i n 1902.
By
1894, the Board could be t o l d t h a t attendance was w e l l above the
N a t i o n a l average, while on one occasion i t reached 89%, the highest
f i g u r e of any County Borough a t t h a t time. (N).
Undoubtedly, by
the end of the School Board era, school attendance i n York could
stand comparison w i t h most County Boroughs i n the country, ( x )
Payment, Heduotlon and A b o l i t i o n of School Jt'ees
I n h i s annual statement of 1890, the Chairman of the School
Board expressed d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h the e x i s t i n g way of making
a p p l i c a t i o n f o r the remission of school fees, and suggested an
a l t e r n a t i v e , which he repeated i n h i s statement of the f o l l o w i n g
year. ( 0 ) .
The f i r s t Board School having been opened, a p p l i c a t i o n s
on behalf of c h i l d r e n a t t e n d i n g that school would have to be made
to the Bye-Laws Sub-Committee of the Board, and he f e l t that
parents of c h i l d r e n i n Voluntary Schools should do the same.
(M)
(N)
(0)
(x)
1890 Chairman's Statement
York School Board Minutes, 2.6.1894 - 1.9.1899
1891 Chairman's Statement
Report of Board o f Education, 1900-01.
Average attendance i n York 82.8%
Average attendance u.B.'s i n England 82.7%
School Board o f f i c e r s could then make the necessary enquiries and
make recommendations t o the Board of Guardians, who could then pay
fees d i r e c t t o the Managers.
Thus, the reluctance o f many t o apply
would be overcome, and attendance be improved.
However, though
requested by the School Board to consider the matter, the Guardians
took no a c t i o n and nothing f u r t h e r was heard of i t . ( P ) .
As regards the fees demanded by the schools up t o 1891, they
remained high and continued to r i s e up the school, although i t was
reported to the Board t h a t , w i t h a view to improving attendance i n
the
higher standards, the fees charged i n some Voluntary Schools
had been reduced. (Q,).
The most s i g n i f i c a n t developments, however, occurred a f t e r the
passing of the 1891 Elementary Education A c t , which offered a fee
grant of 10/- per head, f o r c h i l d r e n between 3 and 15, t o schools
which abolished fees or so reduced them t h a t the fees and fee-grant
did not exceed the old fees. (R).
I t also l a i d down t h a t , where
there was a d e f i c i e n c y o f free accommodation as desired by parents
i n any d i s t r i c t , that d e f i c i e n c y was t o be supplied under SS. 9 and
10 o f the 1870 Act. ( S ) . This r e a l attempt t o make the schools
free
was welcomed by the York School Board, which accepted the fee grant
(P)
(Gj
(R)
(S)
York School Board Minutes, 6.2.1891 - 6.3.1891
Chairman's statement, 7.2.1890 and 6.2.1891
1891 Act, SS. 1 and 2;
do. S.5
f o r the s i n g l e school opened by them. ( T ) .
Managers of Voluntary
schoolsj however, were not so eager t o accept i t , except f o r
I n f a n t s , and by the end of 1891 provided only 2260 places f o r Boys
and
G i r l s out of a possible 8450 (only 464 i n f a n t s places were not
f r e e ) . (U).
As we have seen, p a r t l y a t least due to t h i s p o l i c y
of Voluntary School Managers, d e f i c i e n c i e s of f r e e accommodation
r e s u l t e d i n various d i s t r i c t s , and were supplied as l a i d down i n
the 1891 Act,
by the Sohool Board, which had provided 5306 ( o f which
1437 were I n f a n t s ) such places by 1900. ( V ) . I n the meantime, supply
by the Voluntary schools continued t o be slow u n t i l a f t e r 1893, when
things speeded up a great d e a l , so t h a t by 1900 they were providing
f r e e accommodation f o r 7103 p u p i l s , of which 2363 were I n f a n t s ; ( V ) .
iinother r e s u l t was that no more d e f i c i e n c i e s of such accommodation
were reported during the period 1894 - 1903*
By the middle of the
l a t t e r year, out of 15129 places provided, 13009 were f r e e , and
of 24 a v a i l a b l e schools, only 5 were reported as r e c e i v i n g any
income from school fees* (W).
Thus, by the end of the period,
nearly a l l the schools had i n f a c t become f r e e , as was the case
throughout the country* ( X ) .
I t was hoped that t h i s Act would accelerate the improvement
i n average attendance, but the r e s u l t s were not as good as expected.
(Y)
(T) York school Board Minutes, 3.7.1891
(U)
do*
28*8.1891 - 1st T r i e n n i a l Heport
(V) York school Board 4 t h t r i e n n i a l Heport
(W) Heport by olerk t o York S.B. on elementary education, May 1903
(X) o u r t i s : History of education i n ureat B r i t a i n
IY) Smith: History of English iiilementary educationj 1760-1902
The f i g u r e s f o r England and Wales show a s l i g h t improvement f o r
1891 as compared w i t h p r e v i o u s y e a r s , a setback i n 1892, but a
g r e a t improvement o f n e a r l y 4% between 1892 and 1894.
[Z).
This
p a t t e r n was almost e x a c t l y f o l l o w e d i n f o r k , as shown by t h e
following figures
September, 1889
-
Average Attendance
81$
"
1891
-
"
82$
"
189 2
-
"
82$
1894
-
"
86$
(A)
The average attendance showed some improvement a f t e r t h e 1891
^ct,
t h e f i g u r e s f o r each month of the f i r s t year o f i t s o p e r a t i o n being
h i g h e r than those f o r t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g months i n t h e p r e v i o u s
year. I B ) .
However, the most s t a r t l i n g improvement o c c u r r e d i n t h e
years 1892-94, a p e r i o d o f g r e a t a c t i v i t y i n the p l a n n i n g o f f r e e
p l a o e s , which a c t u a l l y were n o t p r o v i d e d u n t i l 1895,
difficult
thus making i t
t o assess t h e importance of t h e a b o l i t i o n o f fees i n
making t h i s improvement.
I t seems s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t the average
attendance i n 1897 was 4$ h i g h e r i n schools where fees were p a i d
t h a n i n those where a l l places were f r e e , t h e e x p l a n a t i o n p o s s i b l y
being t h a t many c h i l d r e n at t h e l a t t e r schools came f r o m poorer
f a m i l i e s , who
were r e p o r t e d as not having s u f f i c i e n t a p p r e c i a t i o n
o f the v a l u e of e d u c a t i o n . ( C ) .
(Z)
(A)
(B)
(C)
Reports o f committee o f C o u n c i l on I d u c a t i o n
York S c h o o l Board 1 s t , 2nd and 3rd ' i ' r i e n n i a l Reports
do.
l s t - t r i e n n i a l rteport
1890 Chairman of School Board's statement
R a i s i n g o f the School-Leaving
Age
D u r i n g the years 1889-1902, a v e r i t a b l e stream o f A c t s of
P a r l i a m e n t and l o c a l Bye-Law amendments combined t o h e l p t o
l e n g t h e n t h e s c h o o l l i f e of Xork c h i l d r e n *
By t h e 1893 and
A c t s , the minimum age o f t o t a l or p a r t i a l exemption,
Bye-Laws, was
followed
raised
from 10, f i r s t
1899
under any
t o 11 and then t o 12;
There
the A c t o f 1900, which gave power t o L o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s t o
enforce d i r e c t l y
4
under Bye-Laws, attendance o f c h i l d r e n between 5
and 14, thus r a i s i n g t h e maximum age by one y e a r .
Acts were o b l i g a t o r y ,
The f i r s t
two
the t h i r d permissive.
The School Board, s h o r t l y a f t e r assuming power, amended t h e
e x i s t i n g Bye-Laws by r a i s i n g t h e h a l f - t i m e
exemption
s t a n d a r d t o 4,
but d u r i n g the 1890's the number of p u p i l s
g a i n i n g exemption,
(D),
p a r t i c u l a r l y f u l l - t i m e , r o s e r a p i d l y f r o m 45 ( 4 1 f u l l ) i n 1890
289
(284 f u l l ) i n 1897.
(A).
This occasioned
to
much concern on the
Board, poor p a r e n t s being h e l d l a r g e l y r e s p o n s i b l e , u n t i l i n
1898
the Bye-Laws were a g a i n amended, r a i s i n g t h e f u l l - t i m e exemption
s t a n d a r d f r o m 5 t o 6, and the h a l f - t i m e
f r o m 4 t o 5. ( E ) .
the e f f e c t of r a p i d l y r e d u c i n g the numbers o f exempted
T h i s had
pupils,
f u l l - t i m e f a l l i n g t o 121 by 1901, and t h e r e b e i n g no h a l f - t i m e r s
(D)
(E)
at
York School Board M i n u t e s , 2.8.1889
York School Board Minutes, 6.4.1895, 8.2.1896, 5.6.1897, 4.12*189
a l l a f t e r 1897;
under the 1876
A l a r g e number of these p u p i l s gained
exemption
Aot by p a s s i n g Standard 4, and they were t h e
source
o f some concern when t h e Board considered e x t e n d i n g t h e Bye-Laws,
t o c h i l d r e n up t o 14, under the 1900 A c t . I F ) .
the Board o f E d u c a t i o n t h a t c h i l d r e n of 13-14
the
They were t o l d
by
would n o t come under
1876 A o t j but could o n l y be exempt under Bye-Laws. ( G ) . . There
the m a t t e r r e s t e d f o r t h e time b e i n g , i t being considered t h a t so
few would
pass s t a n d a r d 6 and t h a t h a r d s h i p would
by h a v i n g to keep a c h i l d a t s c h o o l u n t i l 14*
amendment was
be caused t o many
(H);
However, t h i s
e v e n t u a l l y made i n 1902, so t h a t p a r e n t s i n 19o3 c o u l d
be t o l d t o note t h a t attendance was
t h a t no c h i l d was
compulsory
exempt unless i t was
f r o m 5 t o 14, and
over IS and had passed
Standard
6. ( I ) .
That the l e n g t h o f s c h o o l l i f e was
i n c r e a s e d i s undoubted;
r e f e r e n c e t o t h i s does appear i n a meeting o f the School Board, ( J )
but t h e evidence s u p p l i e d by t h e f o l l o w i n g f i g u r e s i s s i g n i f i c a n t ; No.
September, 1891
September, 1901
on
rtoll
Papulation
10416
13657
12) and 1 s t Schedule s . l
67000
75000
IF)
1876 A c t , S.5
York S.B.
(G)
(H)
(I)
(J)
(K)
L e t t e r f r o m Board o f e d u c a t i o n t o ¥ork S.B.
York s c h o o l Board M i n u t e s , 3.1.1901
do;
4.7;1902 - 1.5.1903
do.
5.6.1897
York School Board 1 s t and 4 t h T r i e n n i a l r e p o r t s
(K)
Minutes,
7.11.19U0
dated 17.10.1900
A 12^2 r i s e i n t h e p o p u l a t i o n was matched by a 30$ r i s e i n t h e
number of o h i l d r e n i n the s c h o o l s ;
a greater p r o p o r t i o n of the
p o p u l a t i o n was now on t h e s c h o o l r o l l s t h a n ever b e f o r e , an
i n d i c a t i o n t h a t many who
were now
i n e a r l i e r y e a r s would have l e f t s c h o o l
s t i l l i n attendance.
The a f f e c t o f t h e C u r r i c u l u m on Attendance
A p o i n t which should be mentioned here i s t h a t t h e r e was
g e n e r a l improvement
a
i n t h e c u r r i c u l u m {L) due i n p a r t i c u l a r t o t h e
Board S c h o o l s , which must have had a b e n e f i c i a l e f f e c t on t h e
attendance.
I n f a c t , the percentage of the t o t a l number o f p u p i l s
who were i n s t a n d a r d 5 and above had r i s e n , by 19u0, t o 29.2 f o r
boys and 27 ;1 f o r g i r l s , oompared w i t h averages f o r uounty Boroughs
i n .MIgland o f 24.1 and 23.2 r e s p e c t i v e l y .
(L)
See t h e f o l l o w i n g c h a p t e r .
112J Report o f Board of E d u c a t i o n ,
lL2j.
1900-01.
Chapter 6
:
Curriculum
( i n c l . R . I , and
Technical
S u b j e c t s ) , w i t h S p e c i a l Reference to the Board
Schools;
The Cookerton Judgment
V o l u n t a r y Schools (pre-1889)
From 1871, changes i n t h e Code i n i t i a t e d the p o l i c y o f
e n l a r g i n g the elementary s c h o o l c u r r i c u l u m , t o the 3R's
an i n c r e a s i n g number of 'class s u b j e c t s ' and
for
which g r a n t s could be awarded* ( A ) .
however, due
t o the 17/6
t a u g h t i n the 70's and
limit,
'specific
subjeots*
Throughout the c o u n t r y ,
s p e c i f i c s u b j e c t s were
80's, so t h a t t e a c h i n g s t i l l
c o n s i s t e d o f the 3R's. ( B ) .
being added
little
mainly
T h i s appears t o have been e s p e c i a l l y
so i n t h e York s c h o o l s where, by 1884-85, out o f 34 S e n i o r
Depts.,
2 d i d n o t even teach E n g l i s h as a 'class s u b j e c t ' , w h i l s t 7 f a i l e d
to
p r o v i d e a second 'class s u b j e c t ' . ( C ) .
s u b j e c t s ' , o n l y 90 passes were recorded
1889
As f o r ' s p e c i f i c
i n that year, w h i l s t
suoh s u b j e c t s were t a u g h t i n o n l y f o u r s c h o o l s .
During
t h e 80 *s, t h e view was
developing that
by
ID).
practical
s u b j e c t s were of g r e a t v a l u e i n e d u c a t i o n , but t h e r e was
little
p r o v i s i o n o f them, l a r g e l y because of the c o s t e n t a i l e d . ( B ) .
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Adamson: E n g l i s h i i d u c a t i o n , 1789 - 1902
S m i t h : H i s t o r y o f j i n g l i s h iileraentary E d u c a t i o n , 1760 Cross commission tfeport: D i g e s t o f S t a t i s t i c s , 1884-85
do.
York Sohool Board Minutes, 6.12.1889
1902
I n Y o r k , i n 1884-85, o n l y 39 g i r l s earned t h e g r a n t f o r Cookery;
i n t h a t year a Cookery c l a s s was e s t a b l i s h e d f o r a l l t h e York
schools but i t was n o t a success, l a r g e l y because the Managers and
Teachers had no i n t e r e s t i n t h e g r a n t . ( E ) .
S i x years l a t e r , i t
was r e p o r t e d t h a t no Cookery was t a u g h t . ( F ) . A t r . t h i s t i m e , t h e
t e a c h i n g o f Drawing under t h e Science and A r t Dept. was b e i n g w i d e l y
u n d e r t a k e n , y e t out of t h e 34 s e n i o r Depts., i n Y o r k , o n l y 11 were
making such p r o v i s i o n . ( G ) .
Undoubtedly, t h e n , t h e c u r r i c u l u m o f the York V o l u n t a r y Schools
was s t i l l e x t r e m e l y narrow up t o 1889, being l a r g e l y c o n f i n e d t o t h e
basic e s s e n t i a l s .
V o l u n t a r y Schools (1889 - 1902)
The c u r r i c u l u m remained l a r g e l y o f a basic c h a r a c t e r d u r i n g
t h i s p e r i o d , t h e r e being l i t t l e p r o v i s i o n made, by 1900, f o r anyf
t h i n g but t h e 3R s, S i n g i n g and o l a s s S u b j e o t s .
Of t h e 26 S e n i o r
Depts. i n t h a t year o n l y 3 t a u g h t any S p e c i f i c S u b j e c t s >
one
i n s t r u c t e d t h e g i r l s i n Needlework and one p r o v i d e d Science t e a c h i n g
and Manual I n s t r u c t i o n ; ( H ) .
iwo s c h o o l s , C a s t l e g a t e and P r i o r y
S t r e e t Wesleyan, were, however,
c l a s s e d as Higher Grade Schools*
Expansion o f C u r r i c u l u m i n Board Schools (1889 - 1902)
I n h i s statement of 1890, t h e Chairman
(E)
(GO
(HJ
o f t h e York Sohools
HMI»s General Report, 1884
(F) HMI's General R e p o r t , 1890
Cross Commission R e p o r t : D i g e s t of S t a t i s t i c s * 1884-85
Annual Report o f Board o f Education* 1900-01.
Board p o i n t e d o u t t h a t the Board was
which was
f u l l y occupied
b e g i n n i n g i t s work i n a f i e l d
by v o l u n t a r y S c h o o l s , and
that i t s
a t t e n t i o n might w e l l be d i r e c t e d t o the s u p p l y o f p r i v i l e g e s n o t
yet
o f f e r e d i n these s c h o o l s .
Such a p o l i c y was
indeed
largely
f o l l o w e d d u r i n g t h e l i f e of the School Board.
As r e g a r d s General S u b j e c t s , the narrow c u r r i c u l u m o f the
3R's was
expanded on t h e l i n e s l a i d down by t h e v a r i o u s Codes.
In
a d d i t i o n t o t h e O b l i g a t o r y S u b j e c t s , a l l t h e Board Schools taught
2 class subjects;
scheme was
these were Geography ( f o r which a s p e c i a l l o c a l
used) and one
of E n g l i s h , H i s t o r y , Elementary Science
and Object l e s s o n s . ( J ) . S p e c i f i c S u b j e c t s were f r o m t h e
t a u g h t , and
in
by the end of 1897
a t o t a l o f 19 o f them were o f f e r e d
t h e v a r i o u s s c h o o l s . ( J ) . I n 1900,
• O p t i o n a l S u b j e c t s ' and
first
under t h e NswGode, 7
7 'Upper S u b j e c t s ' were d e a l t w i t h i n
a d d i t i o n t o t h e o b l i g a t o r y 3 f l ' s , u r a w i n g (Boys;, and Needlework
(Girls).
(K).
The most i m p o r t a n t advances were made, however, i n t h e
fields
o f Oookery and Manual, T e c h n i c a l and s c i e n t i f i c S u b j e c t s .
This
type o f i n s t r u c t i o n was
by
recommended f o r elementary
the Gross commission, ( L ) and
(J)
(K)
(L)
schools
r e c e i v e d encouragement i n t h e Code o f
York S c h o o l Board 3rd T r i e n n i a l r e p o r t ending 31.12.1897
do.
4 t h t r i e n n i a l n e p o r t ending 31.12.1900
s m i t h : H i s t o r y of E n g l i s h .elementary E d u c a t i o n , 1760-1902
1890 as w e l l as by t h e T e c h n i c a l I n s t r u c t i o n A c t o f 1889j w h i c h
authorised t h e newly-created Local A u t h o r i t i e s t o supply
t e o h n i o a l and manual i n s t r u c t i o n and t o r a i s e up t o I d . r a t e f o r
the purpose.
I n a d d i t i o n , t h e /Whiskey Money* m i g h t be devoted
t o secondary and t e c h n i o a l e d u c a t i o n . I n accordance w i t h t h e
1889 A c t , the York C i t y O o u n c i l a p p o i n t e d a T e c h n i c a l I n s t r u c t i o n
Committee,
contributed
(M).
as suggested by t h e School Board, w h i c h i n 1890
£200 t o be d i s t r i b u t e d between e l i g i b l e
institutions.
Two y e a r s l a t e r , a f t e r a conference w i t h t h e School Board,
i t was d e c i d e d t h a t t h e C o u n c i l would purohase t h e f i n e A r t
I n s t i t u t e and t h e York I n s t i t u t e , which were t o be e s t a b l i s h e d as
T e c h n i c a l School t o be f i n a n c e d o u t o f t h e 'Whiskey Money». ( N ) .
Thus was t h e York U i t y C o u n c i l launched i n t o t h e sea o f e d u c a t i o n ,
accompanied
by a p l e a f r o m t h e School Board t h a t a p l a n should be
adopted which would a l l o w c h i l d r e n i n t h e upper standards o f t h e
elementary s c h o o l s t o r e c e i v e b e n e f i t from t h e A d t .
(0).
I n t h e meantimej t h e Board proceeded w i t h i t s own p l a n s ;
i t was soon decided t o e s t a b l i s h a Cookery Centre a t t h e f i r s t
Board S c h o o l , and t h i s was f o l l o w e d
by s i m i l a r p r o v i s i o n a t l a t e r
s c h o o l s , so t h a t f r o m 1895 f o u r such c e n t r e s e x i s t e d .
(M)
(N)
(0)
(P)
IP). A l l
York C i t y C o u n c i l M i n u t e s , S. 2.1890
do.
1.2;1892
York s c h o o l Board, 1 s t - t r i e n n i a l Heport ending 21.12.1891
do.
. 2rd
do.
51.12.1897
g i r l s f r o m Standard 4 and upwards a t t e n d e d , w h i l s t V o l u n t a r y
School Managers were i n v i t e d t o send c l a s s e s on payment o f a f e e ;
by 1900, eleven such schools were sending a t o t a l o f 376 g i r l s . (Q.)
For the boys, Manual I n s t r u c t i o n Centres t e a c h i n g Woodwork were
p r o v i d e d a t t h r e e of the s c h o o l s , and n e a r l y a l l boys f r o m s t a n d a r d
5 and upwards a t t e n d e d .
These were a l s o open t o V o l u n t a r y School
c l a s s e s , but by 1900 o n l y two schools sending 48 boys were t a k i n g
advantage o f t h e f a c t . ( R ) .
I n 1903, Cookery g r a n t s were earned
by 522 Board and 370 V o l u n t a r y p u p i l s , and Manual I n s t r u c t i o n
g r a n t s by 315 Board and 39 v o l u n t a r y School boys.
IS).
To g i v e i n s t r u c t i o n i n S c i e n t i f i c s u b j e c t s , Day S c i e n c e / A r t
Classes were formed a t two o f the s c h o o l s w h i l s t an Organised
Science School was
established at a t h i r d . (T).
I n addition,
Drawing under t h e Science and A r t wept, was t a u g h t i n a l l f o u r o f
the s c h o o l s .
I t was
i n connection w i t h the establishment o f the
Organised Science School t h a t t h e r e appeared t h e f i r s t s i g n s o f
d i f f i c u l t y w i t h t h e T e c h n i c a l Committee.
A l t h o u g h t h e scheme was
supported by t h e Chairman o f t h a t committee, many people o b j e c t e d
t h a t i t would compete w i t h C o u n c i l - s u p p o r t e d e s t a b l i s h m e n t s and,
i n s p i t e o f an e f f o r t t o a r r a n g e t h a t t h e r e s h o u l d be no
(Q)
(R)
(S)
(T)
York School Board 4 t h - t r i e n n i a l r e p o r t ending 31.12*1900
do.
Report o f o l e r k to York School Board on Elementary E d u c , May,
1903
York S c h o o l Board 4 t h T r i e n n i a l Report e n d i n g 31.12.1900
o v e r l a p p i n g o f t e c h n i o a l c l a s s e s , t h e T i l . Committee remained
d i f f i c u l t and s a i d t h a t t h e Board was spending money d o i n g t h e
same j o b as t h e y were d o i n g . ( U ) . N e v e r t h e l e s s t h e s c h o o l was
opened t o p r o v i d e i n s t r u c t i o n f o r ex-Standard 7 p u p i l s and, as
p r e d i c t e d by t h e Board, was s e l f - s u p p o r t i n g , t h e 4&t7Science g r a n t
being such t h a t a p r o f i t o f £30 was made i n t h e f i r s t year. IV)'.'
Thus, by 1900, t h e s c h o o l Board was u n d e r t a k i n g i n i t s s c h o o l s
a g r e a t d e a l o f work which was c a r r i e d o u t under t h e A r t / S c i e n c e
Dept., and was bound t o be a f f e c t e d by t h e famous ^ o c k e r t o n Judgment.
The Cockerton Judgment and Subsequent A c t s
The Judgment d e l i v e r e d i n t h e Oockerton case r u l e d t h a t no
p u b l i c money c o u l d be l e g a l l y spent on i n s t r u c t i o n o u t s i d e t h e v^ode
c u r r i c u l u m or i n t h e e d u c a t i o n o f a d u l t s , and, as a temporary
measure t o l e g a l i s e such c l a s s e s and s c h o o l s , a B i l l was p r e p a r e d ,
under which School Boards had t o get t h e a u t h o r i t y o f t h e r a t i n g
a u t h o r i t y (County Borough and c o u n t y C o u n c i l s ) t o c a r r y on as b e f o r e
for
t h e p e r i o d o f one year* ( X ) * This was seen by t h e York School
Board as "a d e a d l y blow a g a i n s t t h e e x i s t e n c e o f t h e School Boards"
(Y),
and was t h e s u b j e c t o f a S p e c i a l M e e t i n g , a t w h i c h i t was
(U)
IV)
(X)
York School Board M i n u t e s , 2.5.1896 - 3 i l u l l 8 9 6
do.
11.9.1897
Adamson: E n g l i s h e d u c a t i o n , 1789 - 1902
.saglesham: i'rom School Board t o L o c a l a u t h o r i t y
York School Board M i n u t e s , 4.7.1901
(Y)
decided to m e m o r i a l i s e t h e Government t o amend t h e B i l l , so t h a t
Boards be a l l o w e d t o c a r r y
on as b e f o r e f o r a f u r t h e r two years and
so t h a t government c-rants and money out o f t h e 'School Fund' could
be paid w i t h o u t r e f e r e n c e t o any a u t h o r i t y o t h e r tihan t h e Board
o f iiiducationi (Z.).
They no doubt remembered t h a t some years e a r l i e r
the t ^ i t y c o u n c i l , when asked f o r i t s views on t h e s u b j e c t of
M u n i c i p a l c o r p o r a t i o n s t a k i n g over t h e work o f t h e School
had shown much sympathy f o r t h e i d e a . ( A ) .
Boards,
O p p o s i t i o n to t h e
B i l l was heated, and the board of E d u c a t i o n was charged w i t h being
u n f a i r i n t u r n i n g on t h e Boards f o r d o i n g work which t h e e d u c a t i o n
u e p t . had i n t h e past encouraged;
However, i t was obvious t h a t t h e b i l l would become l a w , and,
a t a f u r t h e r s p e c i a l m e e t i n g , t h e Board d e c i d e d t o a p p l y t o t h e C i t y
C o u n c i l f o r leave t o c a r r y on t h e i r work. ( C ) .
This m u c h - r e g r e t t e d
s t e p was t a k e n because i t wtis f e l t t h a t no arrangements
would be
ready t o t a k e t h e p l a c e of t h e e x i s t i n g p r o v i s i o n and t e a c h e r s
might be thrown out o f work.
A t a meeting o f t h e T e c h n i c a l
I n s t r u c t i o n Committee, t h i s r e q u e s t was g r a n t e d , s u b j e c t t o t h e
Board complying w i t h s u g g e s t i o n s t o a v o i d o v e r l a p p i n g , and a sum o f
£400 was a l l o w e d f o r maintenance.
(Z)
(A)
(©)
(D)
ID).
Such terms were accepted by
York School Board M i n u t e s , 12.7.1901
do.
10.6.1895
do.
2.8; 1901
York C i t y c o u n c i l M i n u t e s , 12.8.1901
the Board, and t h e c l a s s e s were c a r r i e d on. ( E ) . The 1901 A c t ,
under which t h i s a c t i o n was t a k e n , was extended f o r a f u r t h e r year
by t h e 1902 A c t , and once a g a i n t h e School Board had t o go 'cap i n
hand' t o t h e C i t y C o u n c i l f o r s a n c t i o n t o c a r r y on. ( F ) .
T h i s was
g i v e n q u i t e r e a d i l y , t h e a l l o w a n c e f o r maintenance being i n c r e a s e d
t o £800.
As a r e s u l t o f these measures, t h e ground had been w e l l
prepared f o r t h e E d u c a t i o n A c t o f 1902, when t h e gloomy prophecied
of t h e York School Board r e g a r d i n g t h e i r f u t u r e provted t o be
justified.
R e l i g i o u s E d u c a t i o n i n Board S c h o o l s
The 1870 Aot s p e c i f i e d t h a t any r e l i g i o u s t e a c h i n g g i v e n i n
Board Schools should be u n s e c t a r i a n , ( G ) , and t h a t i n f u t u r e no
g r a n t would
be made i n r e s p e o t o f t h i s i n s t r u c t i o n , w h i c h would no
l o n g e r be i n s p e c t e d by t h e E d u c a t i o n Dept. ( H ) .
However, i t was
open t o V o l u n t a r y Schools t o a r r a n g e t o be i n s p e c t e d by o t h e r than
HMI, ( I ) and e a r l y i n 1872 t h e York Diocesan E d u c a t i o n S o c i e t y
r e p o r t e d t h e appointment o f a Diocesan I n s p e c t o r f o r " e l i g i o u s
I n s t r u c t i o n . ( J ) . A t about t h e same t i m e , t h e <<*rchbishop o f York
IE)
(F)
(G)
(I)
York School Board M i n u t e s ,
do;
1870 A c t , S.14 ( 2 )
do.
S.76
6.9.1901
4.7.1902
(H) 1B70 A c t , S.97 and ^.7 ( 3 )
U ) York Herald " e p o r t 13.4.1872
was
p o i n t i n g o u t t h e danger o f schools becoming p r a c t i c a l l y
s e c u l a r i s e d due t o t h e ending of G o v e r n m e n t i n s p e c t i o n , and c a l l i n g
upon a l l t o p r o v i d e R e l i g i o u s I n s t r u c t i o n and I n s p e c t i o n . ( K ) .
A l t h o u g h a few School Boards decided on s e c u l a r i n s t r u c t i o n
o n l y i n t h e i r schools* t h e m a j o r i t y f o l l o w e d London School
Board
which p r o v i d e d time f o r B i b l e "eading and E x p l a n a t i o n , b u t s t r i c t l y
made no a t t e m p t t o a t t a c h c h i l d r e n t o any p a r t i c u l a r d e n o m i n a t i o n . ( L )
I n York, a s i m i l a r arrangement
Board S c h o o l .
An approved
was made on t h e opening o f t h e f i r s t
scheme f o r i t . I . was i s s u e d w i t h t h e
statement t h a t 3S. 7 and 14 o f t h e 1870 A c t were t o be complied w i t h ;
it
p r o v i d e d f o r 30 minutes i n s t r u c t i o n a t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f
each morning, and an Annual E x a m i n a t i o n . l M ) .
The whole Board was
c o n s t i t u t e d as a Committee t o c a r r y t h e l a t t e r o u t , w i t h t h e
Chairman t o do t h e a c t u a l examining. ( N ) .
However, t h e f o l l o w i n g
year i t was d e c i d e d t o ask t h e d i o c e s a n i n s p e c t o r t o t a k e over
t h e t a s k , an arrangement which c o n t i n u e d u n t i l 1902, i n s p i t e o f a t
l e a s t one p r o t e s t f r o m t h e T r a d e s and Labour C o u n c i l about t h e
payment o f a M i n i s t e r f o r t h i s work. 10).
I t i s interesting to
n o t e t h a t t h e E d u c a t i o n u e p t . would n o t a l l o w money f r o m t h e r a t e s
t o be spent on p r i z e s f o r x t . I . and a c o n c e r t had t o be held t o
p r o v i d e t h e necessary f u n d s . ( P ) .
(K)
(L)
(M)
(N)
(0)
(P)
York H e r a l d Report, 20.4.1872
C u r t i s : H i s t o r y o f a d u o a t i o n i n Great B r i t a i n
York School Board 1 s t T r i e n n i a l n e p o r t ending 31.12.1892
York School Board M i n u t e s , 6.11.1891
do.
7.10.1892 - 5.10.1895
do.
24.4.1895
Development of K i n d e r g a r t e n Methods
A f t e r t h e 1870 A c t , i n t e r e s t began t o r e v i v e i n t h e
K i n d e r g a r t e n i d e a , t h e e v e n t u a l r e s u l t being t h e f o u n d i n g , i n 1887,
of
the N a t i o n a l D'roebel Union t o examine and c e r t i f y
teachers. (Qj.
I t was r e p o r t e d t o t h e York School Board t h a t , from 1895,
i t would
become a s u b j e c t i n t h e schools under t h e ^ode, and t h a t t h e r e
was a need f o r t e a c h e r s t o be i n s t r u c t e d , i R ) .
Accordingly a class,
open t o v o l u n t a r y as w e l l as board s c h o o l t e a c h e r s , was formed i n
January* 1895 and a t t e n d e d by over 100 t e a c h e r s . ( S ) .
schemes o f work were prepared
As a r e s u l t ,
f o r t h e board Schools, and t h e work
was i n t r o d u c e d i n t o t h e f o u r lower s t a n d a r d s *
IT)*
I n t r o d u c t i o n o f v i s i t s , r e c r e a t i o n a l A c t i v i t i e s , etc*
D u r i n g t h e 1890's, t h e e d u c a t i o n u e p t * encouraged the use
of
o u t s i d e f a c i l i t i e s and t h e development o f r e c r e a t i o n a l
i n t h e education of elementary p u p i l s .
the
(U).
activities
As e a r l y as 1891, due t o
g e n e r o s i t y o f c e r t a i n l e a d i n g men i n t h e ^ i t y , t h e f i r s t
board
School was p r o v i d e d w i t h a l i b r a r y , w h i l s t towards t h e end of t h e
c e n t u r y i t was d e c i d e d t h a t c l a s s e s should v i s i t t h e M i n s t e r , t h e
Museum and A r t g a l l e r i e s d u r i n g s c h o o l hours. ( V ) ,
An e x t e n s i v e
scheme f o r t h e sending of swimming c l a s s e s t o the Baths was
(Q.) C u r t i s : H i s t o r y of Jsiducation i n u r e a t B r i t a i n
(R) York s c h o o l Board M i n u t e s , 2.11.1894
(sj
do.
2nd T r i e n n i a l n e p o r t e n d i n g 31.12.1894
IT)
do;
3rd
do.
31.12.1897
(U)
1895/9 6 u o d e s
(V)
York s c h o o l Board 1 s t T r i e n n i a l Report
do.
Minutes, 1.7;1898
ending 31.12.1891
developed i n 1897 and expanded
i n 1900. (W).
Here, t h e n , were t h e
b e g i n n i n g s o f the k i n d of a c t i v i t i e s which have s i n c e become
r e c o g n i s e d as such an i m p o r t a n t p a r t of the l i f e of a s c h o o l .
(w)
York S c h o o l Board 3rd t r i e n n i a l n e p o r t ending 31.12.1897
Uhapter 7
;
Evening Schools. P u p i l 'i'eaohers Centres
and S p e c i a l E d u o a t i o n
Evening s c h o o l s i n York. 1889
Before 1889,
- 19U2
evening School c l a s s e s were a l r e a d y i n e x i s t e n c e
i n Y o r k , c e r t a i n l y h a v i n g been
h e l d a t the I n s t i t u t e , P r i o r y
street
Vi'esleyan s c h o o l and a number o f N a t i o n a l Schools f o r some y e a r s . ( A ) .
No doubt, these c l a s s e s , as o t h e r s t h r o u g h o u t t h e c o u n t r y , were
r e s t r i c t e d i n scope due
to the c o n d i t i o n s t h a t t h e i r p u p i l s had t o
pass i n t h e SK's, and t h a t an age l i m i t of 21 was
imposed.
N a t i o n a l l y , these two c o n d i t i o n s had i n l a r g e p a r t c o n t r i b u t e d t o a
f a l l i n g - o f f i n evening School attendance,
and the Cross Commission
recommended t h a t b o t h o f them be a b o l i s h e d . I B ) .
t h e i r f e e l i n g s , t h e 1890
and 1893
*a a r e s u l t of
oodes a b o l i s h e d the 3H's
e x a m i n a t i o n , a l l o w e d s t u d e n t s over 21 t o be r e c o g n i s e d f o r g r a n t , and
a l t e r e d t h e b a s i s o f t h e g r a n t f r o m t h a t of achievement of
i n d i v i d u a l p u p i l s t o one o f the t o t a l number o f hours of
(C).
I n a d d i t i o n , t h e y encouraged s c i e n t i f i c and
so t h a t t h e r e was
technical subjects,
a g r e a t danger of o v e r l a p w i t h S c i e n c e / A r t
and
.technical i n s t i t u t i o n s . ( D ) .
was
a g r e a t development on e v e n i n g c l a s s e s i n t h e 90's.
(A)
IB)
(C)
(D)
attendance.
1891 chairman of
Eaglesham: From
u u r t i s : History
Eaglesham: From
classes
i'he r e s u l t of a l l these measures
York S.B's .annual Statement
s c h o o l board t o . L o c a l A u t h o r i t y
of e d u c a t i o n i n w.B.
School Board t o L o c a l a u t h o r i t y
T h i s development d i d not by-pass
York;
e a r l y i n 1891, t h e
Chairman o f t h e York S c h o o l Board e x p r e s s e d t h e f e e l i n g t h a t h i s
Board should
c o n s i d e r t h e opening o f an e v e n i n g S c h o o l under
c o n t r o l . (&).,
I n 1892, i t was d e c i d e d
to e s t a b l i s h two s u c h
c e n t r e s , a number which had i n c r e a s e d to f o u r by 1897. I F ) .
provided
a s y l l a b u s of seventeen
s u b j e c t s a t Elementary
l e v e l , a l t h o u g h Drawing was r e s t r i c t e d
t o compete w i t h c o u n c i l c l a s s e s .
c l a s s , a t t e n d i n g by m a i n l y
their
They
and advanced
to t h e former so a s n o t
I n a d d i t i o n , an E v e n i n g S c i e n c e
p u p i l - t e a c h e r s , was formed;
the
s t u d e n t s of t h i s c l a s s took t h e A r t / S c i e n c e ^ e p t . e x a m i n a t i o n s , and
a study of t h e s y l l a b u s shows t h a t t h e e v e n i n g S c h o o l - e n t r e s d i d
not o v e r l a p w i t h i t s work,
a c t u a l l y , t h e o n l y p a r t s of t h e i r
s y l l a b u s e s w h i c h were a t a l l s c i e n t i f i c
E x p e r i m e n t a l s c i e n c e and woodwork. i G ) .
f e e charged
o r t e c h n i c a l were a l g e b r a ,
i n these c e n t r e s , t h e only
{ ! / - ) was r e t u r n e d a t t h e end of t h e s e s s i o n to t h o s e
whose a t t e n d a n c e was s u f f i c i e n t
t o earn t h e Government g r a n t , but
t h e a t t e n d a n c e was so d i s a p p o i n t i n g d u r i n g t h e e a r l y y e a r s t h a t a
g r e a t d e a l of t h e g r a n t was l o s t .
iH).
Economies were made i n 1897,
the c l a s s e s being h e l d on two n i g h t s a week i n s t e a d of f o u r ,
response
falling
continued
but t h e
t o be d i s a p p o i n t i n g , t h e number of s t u d e n t s
f r o m 1402 i n 1895-96 to 400 i n 1898-99* ( J ) .
Things
began
to i m p r o v e i n 19u0, but t h e C e n t r e s had made q u i t e a c a l l on t h e
(E)
(F)
(G)
IH)
t )
J
1891 Chairman of York i . B . ' s Annual s t a t e m e n t
Y o r k S c h o o l Board Zrd T r i e n n i a l neport ending SI.12.1897
Y o r k fc>.b. 2nd and 3 r d - t r i e n n i a l r e p o r t s
York s . B . Minutes* 4.5*1894 - 7.9.1895 ^ 2.4.1896
<*o.
11.7.1897 - 6.11.1897 - 7.1 1899
r a t e s each y e a r , r i s i n g to n e a r l y £400 i n 1895-96
o v e r £200 per annum even a f t e r
p u b l i c money was
and r e m a i n i n g a t
the 1897 economies.
iK).
Undoubtedly,
b e i n g s p e n t on t h e e d u c a t i o n o f a d u l t s ,
remarked on one o c c a s i o n t h a t the c l a s s e s were
c o n s i d e r a b l e number of middle-aged
people.
i t being
being a t t e n d e d by a
IL).
The (JOckerton Judgment, w i t h i t s . i m p l i e d age r e s t r i c t i o n , was
a
blow a s i t meant t h a t a t l e a s t a g r e a t p a r t of e x p e n d i t u r e on t h e
E v e n i n g S c h o o l s was
illegal*
(M).
AS w i t h the s c i e n c e c l a s s e s ,
the
Board a c t e d under t h e 1901 Act and a g r e e d to c a r r y on t h e c l a s s e s
on t h e terms l a i d down by t h e u i t y c o u n c i l .
^N).
The f o l l o w i n g
year,
a f t e r the 1902 A c t , t h e s a n c t i o n of t h e c o u n c i l to c a r r y on t h e
c l a s s e s was a g a i n sought and r e c e i v e d .
S c h o o l Board's l i f e ,
10).
t h e s e c l a s s e s were s t i l l
Thus, a t t h e end of t h e
f u n c t i o n i n g , and
c o n t i n u i n g to improve a s r e g a r d s the number of s t u d e n t s .
In
a d d i t i o n , c l a s s e s were s t i l l
being held
i n two
IP).
voluntary
S c h o o l s i n 19u0. (Q,).
P u p i l - T e a c h e r U l a s s e s and
centres
D u r i n g t h e 1890*s, a p u p i l - t e a c h e r wus becoming
l e s s a teacher
and more a p u p i l , a change welcomed by the G r o s s Commission.
One
(K)
(LJ
(M)
(NJ
(P)
(HJ
consequence o f t h i s was
[R)i
t h a t many o f t h e S c h o o l B o a r d s , and
even
York S.B. 3rd and 4 t h T r i e n n i a l n e p o r t s
York S.B. M i n u t e s , 8.9.1894
iiaglesham: f r o m s c h o o l Board to L o c a l A u t h o r i t y
York S.B. Minutes 6.9.1901
10) York o.B. M i n u t e s , 4*7.1902
York S.B. Minutes 7..U.19U2 IQ) R e p o r t o f Board o f £duc*
1900-01
idarason: j m g l i s h e d u c a t i o n 1789 - 19u2
some o h u r c h of England
v o l u n t a r y o r g a n i s a t i o n s , r a p i d l y began t o
e s t a b l i s h s p e c i a l c l a s s e s or c e n t r e s f o r t h e i r
r or t h e f i r s t
instruction.
t h r e e y e a r s o f e x i s t e n c e of Board S o h o o l s i n
Xorkj n o t h i n g was done on t h e s e l i n e s ,
the ' i n s t r u c t i o n s
to .
T e a c h e r s ' merely s t a t i n g that p u p i l - t e a c h e r s should r e c e i v e
i n s t r u c t i o n from t h e P r i n c i p a l T e a c h e r , and t h a t
oral
particular
a t t e n t i o n s h o u l d be p a i d to t h e i r p r a c t i c a l t r a i n i n g i n t h e a r t of
t e a c h i n g . ( S ) . However, i n 1894, the Board d e c i d e d to u n d e r t a k e
t h e i r e d u c a t i o n , t h e outcome b e i n g t h e a d o p t i o n o f a scheme f o r
the
e s t a b l i s h m e n t of Pupil-Teacher c l a s s e s .
(T).'
T h i s scheme, a s
revised
i n 18S7, p r o v i d e d f o r c e n t r a l G l a s s e s t o be h e l d on
Tuesday
and T h u r s d a y e v e n i n g and S a t u r d a y mornings
for
e a c h week, and
them t o be open t o V o l u n t a r y S c h o o l p u p i l - t e a c h e r s a l s o .
The
5 2 hours of weekly i n s t r u c t i o n c o n s i s t e d of 60 m i n u t e s of E n g l i s h ,
45 m i n u t e s each of H i s t o r y and Geography, and 30 m i n u t e s each o f
Theory of T e a c h i n g , A r i t h m e t i c , M u s i c , .trench, A l g e b r a / M e n s u r a t i o n
and Penmanship. I U ) .
Results i n the f i r s t
y e a r s were n o t a t a l l
good, i t being s u g g e s t e d t h a t perhaps t h e s t u d e n t s had too much t o
do;
for
(S)
(T)
(U)
t h e remedy a p p l i e d was t h e h o l d i n g o f a P r e l i m i n a r y e x a m i n a t i o n
P u p i l - T e a c h e r s h i p under t h e S c h o o l Board, which had to be
York S.B. 1 s t T r i e n n i a l Heport ending 31.12.1891
York S.B. Minutes 2.11.1894 - 3rd " t r i e n n i a l r e p o r t
York S.B. 4 t h T r i e n n i a l u e p o r t ending 31.12.1900
passed
b e f o r e anyone c o u l d q u a l i f y to a t t e n d t h e c l a s s e s . ( 7 ) .
The hope was
e x p r e s s e d t h a t V o l u n t a r y S c h o o l s would
suitable candidates.
R e s u l t s t h e n improved, and
to the o u r r i c u l u m , u n t i l i t was deoided
send
only
L a t i n was
i n 1902 t o r e p l a c e the
C l a s s e s by a P u p i l - T e a c h e r C e n t r e a t t h e o l d Brook s t r e e t
S c h o o l , and
to i n t r o d u c e a
'New Model C o u r s e ' * (W).
S c h o o l Board f i n i s h e d i t s work, t h e r e was
to r e p o r t a
Special
added
Board
Before
the
time f o r them to be a b l e
'great improvement* i n the work of
the P u p i l - T e a c h e r s .
Education
The
educated
e a r l i e s t e f f o r t s to d e a l w i t h c h i l d r e n n o t a b l e to
be
i n o r d i n a r y s c h o o l s were d i r e c t e d
actually
a t t h o s e who
had
t r a n s g r e s s e d t h e law or came from u n s a t i s f a c t o r y homes, and
o o n s i s t e d o f t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of Reformatory and
Schools.
One
1870,
f o r v i i r l s was
one
o f the l a t t e r ,
empowered the f o u n d i n g
f o r Boys, was
opened i n 1877,
o f Day
Industrial
to be found i n Y o r k
and,
a f t e r t h e 1876
by
Act
I n d u s t r i a l Schools for children
who
d i d not a t t e n d s c h o o l r e g u l a r l y , t h e S.A.C. c o n s i d e r e d d e e p l y
the
p r o v i s i o n f o r s u c h a s c h o o l i n the C i t y . ( X ) .
As f a r a s can
be
a s c e r t a i n e d , t h i s a c t i v i t y was n o t f o l l o w e d up by t h e School Board;
(V)
(W)
(X)
York S.B. M i n u t e s 1.7.1898 - 7.7*1899 - 3.8.1900 - 3*10.1900
do.
3.10.1900 - 4.10.1901 - 6.9.1901 - 3.10.1902
Benson: H i s t o r y of e d u c a t i o n i n Y o r k
S t a t e m e n t of S c h o o l S t a t i s t i c s by Town C l e r k , 23.1.1871
York S . A . C . Minutes - v a r i o u s r e f e r e n c e s
1876 .education A c t , S.15
As
was
r e g a r d s p h y s i c a l l y and
little
grew due
Act.
attention
to
(Y).
the
u n t i l the
I n 1899
was
I t was
towards the
been t a k e n b e f o r e
Blind
and
organisations,
provision
any
children
children
in
parents
who
be d e a l t w i t h under the Act
examined.
the
should
(A).
There
no
of s p e c i a l accommodation seems to
D e a f c h i l d r e n had
there
of
been c a t e r e d
for
by
have
voluntary
being a R e s i d e n t i a l B l i n d S c h o o l i n
made o b l i g a t o r y
(Y)
(Z)
(A)
(B)
( t h e r e were 57 M.D.
was
1903.
Act;
the
1893
the
i i d u c a t i o n ( B l i n d and
provision
between the ages of 7 and
school for
provide
the r e s u l t s of t h e s e a r r a n g e m e n t s , but
passing
children
1% of the c i t y ' s
the S c h o o l Board to be
before the
This
1870
such c h i l d r e n
a l s o arranged that
t h e i r c h i l d ought to
i n f o r m a t i o n of
action
that
s p e c i a l treatment
p r e s e n t s u c h c h i l d to
i s no
I n Y o r k , a R e t u r n of
f o r , i t being e s t i m a t e d
that
problem
the
A c t , w h i c h empowered S c h o o l Boards to
Board S c h o o l s . ) ( Z ) .
felt
C e n t u r y , when the
there
p a s s e d t h e .Education ( d e f e c t i v e &nd
s p e c i a l accommodation,
would r e q u i r e
l a t e 19th
children,
advent of u n i v e r s a l e d u c a t i o n f o l l o w i n g
Epileptic Children)
called
mentally defective
blind children
16,
between 5 and
^eaf
of f a c i l i t i e s
and
16
the
(B).
York,
children)
for deaf
attendance at
Accordingly,
C u r t i s : H i s t o r y of E d u c a t i o n i n O.B.
York S.B. M i n u t e s 7.6.1901
do.
4i7.1901
Craig:
C h i l d and a d o l e s c e n t L i f e i n H e a l t h and
disease.
the
Schools Attendance O f f i c e r s
of
i n York were t o l d t h a t
i t was t h e d u t y
t h e Board to e n f o r o e a t t e n d a n c e of s u c h o h i l d r e n ,
and t h a t a
r e p o r t s h o u l d be made to the S c h o o l Board O l e r k of any found n o t
receiving
instruction.
(C).
T h e r e i s no i n d i c a t i o n
of the
numbers i n t h e C i t y , o r what arrangements were made f o r them, but
a few were s e n t ,
from 1895 onwards,
I n s t i t u t i o n s , a t an a n n u a l c o s t
to f i v e Blind
and D@a£
to t h e s c h o o l Board o f £200 - £400.
(D).
(C)
(D)
York S.B. 2nd T r i e n n i a l
do. 4 t h .
rieport
do.
ending 31.12.1894
31.12.1900
found f o r t h e p r o v i s i o n of f u r t h e r s c h o o l s , b e t t e r b u i l d i n g s and an
adequate s t a n d a r d of e f f i c i e n c y i n i n s t r u c t i o n and equipment.
The e f f e c t s o f t h e S o h o o l B o a r d ' s a c t i v i t i e s ,
f i n a n c i a l s o u r c e , were w i d e l y f e l t
indirectly.
backed by a s e c u r e
i n the ^ i t y ,
both d i r e c t l y and
The example s e t by i t s b e t t e r - e q u i p p e d
s c h o o l s and
a b o l i t i o n o f f e e s a c t e d a s a spur t o t h e d e n o m i n a t i o n s , t h e b e t t e r
f a c i l i t i e s and w i d e r c u r r i c u l u m becoming a v a i l a b l e helped t o
improve a t t e n d a n c e
and r a i s e t h e s c h o o l - l e a v i n g age, a l l o f w h i c h
c o n t r i b u t e d to a h i g h e r s t a n d a r d o f e d u c a t i o n g e n e r a l l y .
a doubt, i t c a n be s t a t e d
Without
t h a t t h e work o f t h e Board was o f g r e a t
b e n e f i t t o e d u c a t i o n i n York and t h a t much p r o g r e s s had been made,
by 19Q2.
The r e m a r k a b l e
t h i n g about t h e s e y e a r s , however, was t h e way
i n w h i c h so many V o l u n t a r y S c h o o l s , p a r t i c u l a r l y Church o f E n g l a n d ,
persisted;
b u t , b e f o r e 1902, i t was becoming obvious
that
their
r u n n i n g c o s t s were f a r too low to compete f o r much l o n g e r w i t h t h e
r i s i n g standards.
One i s l e d t o wonder how l o n g t h e y would have
s u r v i v e d i f the 1902 E d u c a t i o n Aot had n o t been
passed.
Under t h i s A c t , t h e whole o f t h e e x i s t i n g system o f e l e m e n t a r y
e d u c a t i o n was to p a s s i n t o t h e hands o f an E d u c a t i o n Committee
appointed
by t h e York C i t y c o u n c i l .
I t was supposed t o oome i n t o
f o r c e on 2 6 t h March, 1902, o r w i t h i n t h e f o l l o w i n g t w e l v e months
a f t e r two postponements,
t h e hand-over took p l a c e on t h e 1 s t
O c t o b e r , 1903, t h e l a s t meeting of t h e o o h o o l Board h a v i n g t a k e n
p l a c e three days e a r l i e r . ( C ) .
o 0 o
(C)
York S.B. Minutes,
28.9.1903
List
of Main R e f e r e n c e s
Adamson, J.W.
E n g l i s h E d u c a t i o n , 1789 - 1902
B i r c h e n o u g h , C.
History o f Elementary Education
Curtis, S.J.
H i s t o r y o f E d u c a t i o n i n threat
Smith, f .
H i s t o r y o f E n g l i s h E l e m e n t a r y E d u c a t i o n , 1760
1902
Eaglesham, E .
From S c h o o l Board t o L o c a l A u t h o r i t y
Lowndes, G.A.N.
The S i l e n t S o c i a l
Britain
Revolution
R e p o r t and E v i d e n c e o f C r o s s Commission on E l e m e n t a r y E d u c a t i o n
A n n u a l R e p o r t s o f t h e Committee i n c o u n c i l o f E d u c a t i o n and t h e
Board of E d u c a t i o n
M i n u t e s o f Y o r k S c h o o l A t t e n d a n c e Committee,
1876 - 1889
M i n u t e s o f York S c h o o l Board, 1889 - 1903
T r i e n n i a l R e p o r t s of York S c h o o l Board, 1891 - 1900
V a r i o u s R e p o r t s from
'York H e r a l d ' and 'York P r e s s * , 1870 - 1903
Report o f Town C l e r k on E l e m e n t a r y e d u c a t i o n A c t o f 1870
Return of S t a t i s t i c s
by t h e Town o l e r k ,
23.1.1871
Bye-Laws under S.74 o f 1870 A c t (amended by 1876 A O t j i s s u e d
S o h o o l A t t e n d a n c e Committee
by t h e
Report of the E d u c a t i o n committee, 9.11.1870
•The E d u c a t i o n a l q u e s t i o n i n xork<» ( r e p r i n t e d from
and N o n c o n f o r m i s t ' of 31.10.1889)
'Independent
M i n u t e s o f York N a t i o n a l S c h o o l s S o c i e t y
Minutes o f t h e York C i t y C o u n c i l Meetings
R e p o r t of C l e r k t o Y o r k S c h o o l Board on E l e m e n t a r y E d u c a t i o n ,
May, 1903.