National Schoolmasters.

[Phil Goater]

A distant relative as a young man upped sticks from Croscombe in Somerset and married and settled in Great Glen in Leicestershire circa the late 1850s. His father was a coachmaker and his mother came from a family of butchers (which he ended up doing). However in 1861 at the age of 24 he was a 'National Schoolmaster' living in the School House at Great Glen. He also had a younger brother living with him acting as a pupil teacher.

The question is how did he end up in Leicestershire? What was the system for the training, appointment and deployment of school teachers at that time?

Phil

[Christopher]

Hiya Phil,

I've had an initial look at your query. Your distant relative must have had some training to be a teacher prior to his appointment in Leicestershire. It's a pity he didn't commence teaching thirty years later. A Teachers' Training Syndicate was established at Cambridge in 1879 which led to initial and postgraduate teacher training. 

Christopher

[stanmapstone]

Before the Education Act 1902 the training of teachers was largely carried out under a pupil-teacher system, first established in 1846. Details of Pupil-Teacher Training and other details can be found at
http://www.catalogue.nationalarchives.gov.uk/Leaflets/ri2170.htm

"National Schools" were set up by the Church of England, and were founded in 1811, under the auspices of the 'National Society for the Education of the Poor,' by Andrew Bell, an Anglican clergyman, at the invitation of members of the Church of England.
Stan

[Christopher]

Hiya Stan,

Phil's distant relative was twenty four when he was a National Schoolmaster and had his brother acting as a pupil-teacher. Would it be safe to assume he'd been a successful Queen's (King's) scholar who'd had the opportunity of attending a residential training college for two or three years. If so where were these colleges located? Were they quite well known colleges?

I see that schools of higher education were established in London, Leeds, Durham, and Manchester sometime before 1869 when Girton College in Cambridge announced the acceptance of female applicants.

Christopher

[Phil Goater]

Thank you Christopher and Stan.

In addition to ChIstopher's questions is there any information as to how vacant positions were advertised/filled? Could young teachers choose where they went or would they have been sent?

 Has any one else got migratory schoolmasters in their trees?

Phil

[Christopher]

Hi Phil,

I'm certain that the vacancies weren't advertised in the Times Educational Supplement. The positions may have become known by word of mouth via teaching associations. I don't know, at the moment, which ones existed in 1861 but there must have been some as when the government introduced the Education Act 1870, the National Union of Elementary Teachers (NUET) was formed to unite existing teacher associations across the country.

I've gone from 1879 to pre 1835 this time. The Clergy of the Church of England Database mentions that diocesan registers record the ordination of clergymen, the point at which they ‘became’ clergymen, and the appointment of beneficed clergy to their livings. They and licensing books also record the appointment, or licensing, of unbeneficed clergy or curates and preachers, appointments of schoolmasters, resignations, and other similar events.

Those National Schools weren't State Schools as we know them so who made the appointments as well as the Clergy? I wonder if members of poor families had the same opportunity to become Schoolmasters? Your distant relative appears to have come from a reasonably well to do family ... a father who was a coachmaker and butchers on the mothers side.

Christopher

[stanmapstone]

Chester Diocesan Training College was founded in 1839 by leading figures in the Church of England, including two future Prime Ministers - William Gladstone and Lord Derby. It was one of Britain's first purpose-built teacher training colleges and was for men only.

Some additional information on Pupil Teachers from
http://www.camelotintl.com/heritage/victorian_school/hitch12.html
In an effort to improve standards the national Committee of Council on Education introduced the pupil teacher system in 1846. The first five pupil teachers at Hitchin British Schools were selected for training in 1847. They were aged 13 and 14 years. Trainees were apprenticed to study and to teach in the school for five years. At the end of each year they were examined by an Inspector. If they passed the inspection they were paid £10 a year in the first year rising to £20 in their fifth year. Girls were paid only 2/3 of these amounts.

Having completed a satisfactory apprenticeship the pupil teachers received their certificates and were then able to take the Queen’s Scholarship examination. If successful in passing they were admitted to training college for 3 years to study for their Teacher's Certificate. By 1896 the minimum age for apprenticeships had risen to 15 years and its duration reduced from 5 to 4 years. The system continued into the 1900s and was still in use in some rural areas in the 1920s.


Just to add that "The Times Educational Supplement" was first published on 6th September 1910.

There is some interesting history on education in Coventry at http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=16036
Stan

[Phil Goater]

Thanks guys, following your lead I found this:

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=22049#n154   which relates to Great Glen.

There is a report of an inspection in 1862  and a reference in the notes. Any idea how one may come by it?

[Phil Goater]

 Was there a teacher training establishment in Chelsea or thereabouts? The schoolmaster's widowed mother was resident in Chelsea in 1861 having moved from Croscombe for some unknown reason and her 82 year old mother was with her.

Phil