Education was not compulsory in Victorian England during the early reign of Queen Victoria. Most poor children worked to contribute to family income rather than attend the few existing church or dame schools. A new law passed in 1870 mandated that a school be established in every town and village, improving access to education. Schools were strict, teaching religious and gender-separated subjects through rote memorization and physical punishment for misbehavior. Conditions remained difficult for many poor students, as reflected in the logbook entries of one Edinburgh school describing student illness, truancy, and inadequate clothing in winter.

2. Only a few children attended school at the beginning
of Queen Victoria's reign. Most poor children worked,
and their earnings were an important part of the family
income. If they went to school, their families would
lose this money.

3. There were village schools in some places in the country
run by the Church, or small 'Dame' schools usually run
by one woman.

4. Dame schools were often more about child care than
learning.

5. Some places where children spent all day making lace or
plaiting straw were called schools but were really
workshops. Children were used as cheap labour in
Victorian times.

6. There were Ragged schools in many big towns, set up
by people who cared, like Dr Barnardo. Children without
a home could get food and shelter there as well as
lessons.

7. In 1870 a new law was passed which said there had to
be a school in every town and village. A 'School Board'
of important local people was appointed to build and run
the new schools.

8. This meant all children had to attend school. Boys and
girls went into school through different doors, and sat in
separate rows, all facing the front of the class.

9. There were strict classroom rules. Pupils were hit with a
cane or ruler if they did not listen to the teacher.

10. Children wrote on slates with slate pencils and spent a
lot of time copying from the blackboard. Many things had
to be learnt by heart, with the class repeating what the
teacher told them over and over again.

11. The children learned to write and count but the content of
lessons was moral and religious. In the classroom the
teacher sat at the front of the class.

12. There were maps and perhaps a picture of Queen Victoria
on the wall. There were books, including a bible, but the
teacher probably kept these on her desk.

13. There would be a globe for geography lessons, and an
abacus to help with sums.

14. Children mainly used slate pencils to write on slates. If
children wrote with a pen, it had a metal nib that was
dipped into ink.

15. They were punished for making inkblots on the paper.

16. For some lessons boys and girls were taught separately.
Boys learned technology, got extra maths and science. In
Victorian times boys were thought to be more important
than girls.

19. Girls learned sewing, and other skills which would
help them to run a household. These were subjects
which were thought to be most useful to girls.

21. Girls were not expected to be as well educated as boys.

22. Children from wealthier families often had a miserable
time if they were sent away to a private school. These
schools were sometimes only run to make profits for
the owners.

23. Fortunate children from rich families had their own
teacher, called a Governess. She taught the girls and
younger boys at home, before the boys were sent away
to boarding school.

24. A few boys from very rich
families were sent to good
private boarding schools,
like Eton, where the fees
were very expensive.

25. A few private boarding schools for girls were also
started in Victorian times. Like the boys' schools they
were Secondary schools.

26. Most schools in Victorian times kept a school log
book. This was a diary of school life. It also records
punishments given out to the children and teachers’
comments. Here are some extracts from the log books
of Milton House Public School in Edinburgh in the late
nineteenth century.

27. Year 1881:
April 8th
One death during week from Fever. Every member of
Craig family ill with Fever and removed to hospital.
May 13th
Universally large number of Truants. Parents of found
summoned before the School Board tomorrow.
November 25th
Sent for Mrs Ferguson, New Street. Ordered her to take
home her daughter and clean her head, which is
overrun with vermin. This has escaped notice till now as
the girl had a bandage over her head.

28. Year 1882:
December 25th
Work as above - no intervals per time table 12.30-1.30.
Year 1896:
December 11th
As the weather is still very cold and many of the
children are barefooted and poorly clad, we intend
working without ordinary interval, as above, for some
time.