Resource Pack : School

Birmingham Sunday School Pamphlet

In the first half of the nineteenth century not many children went to school because their families needed them to work and earn money. In 1870 Parliament passed the Education Act which said that no child should be denied an education and that every parish must have a school. Victorian schools were very strict and the cane was used to punish bad behaviour. Children would sit in rows facing the black board and would write on slate. Often boys and girls would be separated with the boys learning woodwork and the girls learning how to cook and sew. Some children from rich families were sent to boarding schools which could be very cruel as they were privately owned and sought to make large profits. Larger boarding schools like Eton were very good and some rich children were taught at home by a governess.

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