When researching school records in the United Kingdom, you are most likely to find documents from England and Wales from the 1880’s onwards when education in a school environment became legally compulsory until the age of 10. In Scotland, school attendance was essential for children between the ages of 5 to 13 from 1872.[1] You may find admission registers, school log books, photographs and architectural plans amongst other useful genealogical documents.
School records can provide you with key genealogical information such as a child's date of birth and a parent's name. They can also give you precise details about the day to day activities of their life such as what lessons they had, what the weather was like and if they were disciplined.
Admission registersAdmission registers
School admission registers were created when a child was first registered to attend the school. The information recorded may include:
- Child's name (may or may not include middle names)
- Child's date of birth
- The name of their next of kin (most commonly their father's name)
- The next of kin's home address (may be a specific address or the name of a parish)
- Date of leaving the school
- Reasons for leaving the school
The child's reason for being removed from the school may be useful, such as detailing a house move to another parish or informing you of their date of death.
School log booksSchool log books
All schools kept a daily log book. These were written be a senior member of school staff and recorded information including:
- Attendance numbers for the day
- Staff sickness
- Notable weather events
- Lessons taught that day
- If pupil attendance was low it would be noted if this was due to a particular contagious illness or heavy snow for example
- Names and positions of new staff
- Names and titles of visitors
- Any building or restoration work that occurred
- If any exams were taken that day or results of previous exams
Log books are therefore useful to genealogists researching school staff members as well as pupils. In some cases staff and pupils are named whereas other log books keep more generalised notes.
Other school records for the United KingdomOther school records for the United Kingdom
.jpg)
Admission registers and school log books are likely to be the most useful school records for genealogical purposes. Other potential historical school records of interest may include:
- Attendance registers
- School magazines
- Punishment books
- Staff meeting minutes
- Photographs of the building, staff or pupils
- Architectural plans and building layouts
- School brochures
- School correspondence
- Staff and pupil diaries
Where to find school records in the United KingdomWhere to find school records in the United Kingdom
A majority of the surviving school records are held at the relevant county archive. For example, if your ancestor attended school in Derbyshire, the school records are most likely to be held at Derbyshire Record Office. There are a minority of cases where some are found in a neighbouring county archive. Other records are retained privately by the schools. Some school admission registers and log books are available to view online such as the England, Cheshire School Registers, 1796-1909 collection and Admission Registers of St. Paul's School, From 1748 To 1876 (1884) record set at MyHeritage. Further transcripts of some school records can be purchased by family history societies.
See alsoSee also
Explore more about school registers in the United KingdomExplore more about school registers in the United Kingdom
- United Kingdom - Schools & Universities record sets at MyHeritage
- Back-to-School Around the World with MyHeritage on the MyHeritage blog
- The ABCs and 123s of Researching Your Ancestor's School Records at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- How to look for records of Schools at The National Archives
References
- ↑ A History of Education in Edinburgh & Scotland. History of Education Centre