I was confirmed at 11 before I went to senior school.
Not sure anything was different between England/Scotland as it was all the same R.C religion i.e. I would assume the same usual rules & I too was confirmed pre high school.
This should help with look-up dates to narrow yrs down?
Annie
Children in the Scottish R.C. parish where I live are Confirmed in their last term at primary school.
Scotland has a separate hierarchy from England, they do things differently.
I am from Salford Diocese which is the Catholic diocese for South Lancashire including Manchester. It's in Liverpool Arch-Diocese. I don't know how typical it is. About 20 years ago procedure for First Communion, First Confession and Confirmation changed. Children now get all 3 over the course of about a year when they are around 8 and in a different order to what was customary in my day.
Confirmations of a few Catholic parishes have recently been added to Lancashire Online Parish Clerks website. The 3 I found are contrasting parishes.
1. The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Salford. Confirmations took place every year 1856-1874 (and presumably ever since). There were 6696 Confirmations during those years. I matched up only 2 (out of 10) with baptisms. Their DOBs were in baptism register; they were aged 10 years 9 months and 11 years at Confirmation.
Some entries in 1916 baptism register have a note of Confirmation. The first 3 I saw were summer babies Confirmed in May 1925 aged 8 years and 10 months. 1 child was 6 years and 10 months.
2. St. Marie, Bury. Large town a few miles North of Manchester. Confirmations were at approximately 5 year intervals 1885-1914, then 1917. The Bishop of Sebastopol presided at the last 2. Total 1379. Matching some less usual names from 1885 to baptisms gave an age range 9-15. Baptisms of children Confirmed in 20thC haven't been transcribed.
3. St. Mary, Chipping. Village church in rural area further north in Lancashire. Pattern 5-6 year intervals, although 1900/01 missing and the one scheduled for late in WW1 was brought forward to 1915. Number of candidates for Confirmation was roughly equivalent to 4-5 years-worth of baptisms a decade previously. Range of ages was probably similar to Bury.
So, Confirmation was likely to have been between 8 and 15, depending on diocese, parish
and other variables.