|
In 1865 only about 800 children attended ordinary schools, about 200 attended private schools with an average weekly fee of 4d. A headmistress pay in 1894 was about £1 a week or less. Many received £40.00 a year. In 1895 a proposal was put forward to raise the school leaving age from 11 years to 12 years. The Bacup town council was against such a move. The mayor said the children were so happy at their work that he would be sorry to deprive them of it until they were 12. The editor of the Bacup Times commented " If it is so splendid I wonder why well to do people keep their children away".
Bacup National School Was built in 1828 and stood on Burnley Road in the place that is now occupied by St Johns Sunday School. The school was used as a temporary place of worship in 1877 due to St Johns church having collapsed £ 300.00 was raised to renovate the school which was also in a poor state of repair. Eventually despite the repairs the school collapsed and the present building was built in its place and opened as a Sunday School on October 10 1909.
St Saviours School New Line
Mount School
Central School
Northern
Blackthorn
Fearns
|
Private Schools Some private schools existed in the town for people who could afford them for instance Miss Hamer's School which was situated in Irwell Cottage Rochdale Road which is shown as the first house next to the mill in the photograph right.
Template of Miss Hamer's School Charges
Other private schools in Bacup were. 1866 Mrs Gowers Young Ladies Seminary Primitive Methodist School South Street. With Young Children accepted at 4d a week. Instruction in Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, and main needlework. Cost 6d a week. Alternatively for 8d a week Reading, Writing, Dictation, Geography, Grammar, Plain and Fancy Needlework.
1892 Miss Mitchell The Poplars 4 Boys 2 Girls Miss Difford Corporation Street 1 Boy 15 Girls Mr Wilkinson South Street 28 Boys 8 Girls.
1894 Higher Grade School South Street Mr J.F.Wilkinson B.A., A.R.S.M
According
to writing on the back of one of the pictures below the pictures were
drawn by Tom Bradley at a Night School in Bacup about 1835. Its
probable that this night class was one being held in the school that
once existed on the same site as that of the Mechanics Institut
By 1913 -1914 various day schools were also open in the evening for what were known as Evening Continuation Classes. These classes were open to any pupil aged 12 over who was no longer on the register or attending a day school, secondary school or pupil teachers centre and lessons were taught in various subjects for a Fee. The sessions for 1913 commenced on Monday September 15th 1913 and were held for Female students at Central, Western, Northern and Britannia schools, and for Male students Britannia, Mount, Western and Northern schools. As with today's students those on what was considered a low income could apply for help with travelling expenses to the Board of Education. For those pupils who had left day school in 1913-1914 the fee for the evening classes would be wavered if the parent of employer signed a form stating that the fee would be paid by them if the pupils attendance was not satisfactory. Some of the subjects open to pupils for study in the various schools were as follows.
Britannia Council School Evening Class Time Table Females.
Mount Council School Evening Class Time Table Males
As can be seen in the table above the courses in general for women were those of a Domestic Nature these courses were open to girls aged 13 to 16 and would have cost 2 shillings. Had one of your female ancestors been studying Laundry this is just a small sample of the work she would have had to do to complete the course. Theory Work 1 General Rules for washing and finishing table, body and bed linen. 2 Use of Soda, blue, melted soap, starch and borax. 3 Making a hot water starch and the use of each ingredient used. 4 Cleaning and heating of irons, management of fire, arrangement and of ironing table. Practical Work
1 Wash and iron a pocket handkerchief. 2 Wash and iron a silk hander kerchief. 3 wash, starch , fold and mangle a small table cloth. 4 Iron a calico undergarment previously washed. 5 Make hot and cold water starch and soap jelly.
Again as can be seen above the Male courses were based on subjects such as Woodwork which again cost 2 shillings. To gain a Elementary Grade in woodwork the pupil wood have to do the following.
Woodwork 1 Drawing Freehand sketches of familiar wood-working tools, the whole or parts saw, plane, chisel, gouge, mallet, hammer try-square. 2 Freehand sketches of the leaves of the common broad leaved trees such as Oak, ash elm, beech and sycamore. A practical exercise which consisted of the student being presented with a sawn piece of wood which they would have to reduce by saw, plane, or chisel to any simple form shown by dimensioned sketches.
Apart from the subjects already shown in the tables there were of course many other subjects and examinations that they could take if they wanted to below is just a small selection.
A City and Guilds in Cotton Spinning , Carpentry and Joinery, Principles of Art, Typography, Lithography, Plumbers Work. Manchester University Certificate in Technology. Electrical Engineering. Union of Lancashire and Cheshire Institutes. Practical Geometry Theoretical Mechanics. Building Construction Principles of Mining Hygiene Physiology.
Many Prizes and Scholarships were available for pupils to win for their efforts during the evening school year. such as the Mechanics Institute Scholarship which was a prize valued at £60.00 in addition to which the the Board of Education made a grant valued at £25.00. The winner of this Scholarship in 1913 was Mr Wm Herbert Blythe. Another worthy prize was the Greenwood Scholarship which had a value of £5.00 to £10.00. Did your ancestor win a Greenwood Scholarship?
|
