Early History
In the period after Roman withdrawal from Great Britain literacy in what is today Wales was largely restricted to the clergy. They were educated in monastic settlements which functions included acting as centres of learning. Illtud established one at Llantwit Major which was particularly known for its scholarship. For most people the wide range of skills and knowledge needed for the work they did was passed from one generation to the next verbally. Bards played a significant role in maintaining cultural memory. Throughout much of the mediaeval period even the highest ranking members of the lay population could often go without formal education though this steadily changed. Towards the end of the period the growth of towns and increased use of writing in the justice system led to more need for bureaucracy. Meanwhile, the skills needed for many trades were becoming increasingly complexed and the vocational education of the period, 7-year-apprenticeships, were controlled by the guilds. An aristocratic child could receive their education through private tuition but those aiming for a career in the Church would usually attend grammar schools generally linked to cathedrals. The grammar schools gave a classical education based on trivium and quadrivium. The seven subjects of study were grammar, dialectic/rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy. The impact of the Black Death and the Glyndwr rebellion had a negative effect on the Welsh elite's prospects for education but the 15th century saw a gradual recovery. There was also a growing appreciation of the value of formal education and increasing demand for it among wealthier landowners. However, the growth of formal education was slower in Wales than in England. In Wales, formal education remained almost entirely dominated by the Church until after 1500.[1]
According to historians Gareth Elwyn Jones and Gordon Wynne Roderick the 16th century saw a growth in demand for formal education among "the middling sort of people - merchants, professional people, shopkeepers, freeholders, skilled craftsmen and lesser landowners". They wrote that this was a result of a more stable social situation along with the Wales Acts which made Wales formally a part of the Kingdom of England[note 1] and created a more developed system of local government. In the 16th and earlier 17th century, a number of new grammar schools were established to cater to this demand. The grammar schools, which were all boys schools, were essentially secondary schools expecting boys to be literate before enrolling but often admitted boys from as young as eight-years-old. The leaving age could vary from 12- to 19-years-old but there was usually some kind of restriction on maximum age placed by the school. The pupil numbers were generally fairly low ranging from about twenty to 120 at the largest school in Ruthin. The emphasis of instruction was on Latin and less often Ancient Greek. The Renaissance ideal of a wider curriculum had little practical effect on schools, if anything teaching became narrower with more emphasis on grammar and literature taught through reciting and dictation. There was some criticism of this approach at the time which had next to no practical effect. Discipline was strict with the birch being used to punish both bad behavior and poor academic progress. Fees were usually expected but while grammar schools were frequently required by their original endowments to provide some free places the cost of materials needed for lessons restricted the boys that could take them up. The upper end of the gentry often sent their sons to more prestigious grammar schools in England. In spite of their limitations, the increasing number of grammar schools provided a major expansion in education availability for boys, opportunities for girls were far more limited.[1]
While there were a small number of schools providing elementary education and other ways that some children may have received some basic education, for the vast majority of the population in the 16th and much of the 17th century formal education was unattainable. In the early 17th century around 20% of people in Wales were literate in Welsh or English. Historians Gareth Elwyn Jones and Gordon Wynne Roderick argue that the peasantry generally was not interested in literacy as it held little practical advantage for them. The Reformation changed the typical experience of religious education. Previously, with services recited in Latin by priests often with little understanding, most people's main engagement with religion had come from the images that decorated places of worship. These were discarded with the reformation and the growing puritan movement became concerned about poor levels of literacy. As Wales had particularly low levels of education and had been one of the most royalist areas in the Civil War, Oliver Cromwell's government decided that a state intervention was needed. An 1650 Act appointed a commission that established sixty schools in Wales, these partially resembled the grammar schools but also gave a elementary level education. They were funded by the church. The schools existence would be relatively short lived only 21 still existed by 1660 and they disappeared entirely after the restoration. There was ultimately little evidence that the kinds of people they were intended for wanted their children to go to school.[1] In the early 1670s, clergyman Thomas Gouge began to preach in Wales, by 1675 he had established 87 schools which were attended by a total of 2225 children.[2] The schools were intended 'to teach the poor Welsh children to read and write English, cast Accompts [numeracy] and repeat the Catechism.' They closed after his death in 1681.[3] The Society for the promotion of Christian Knowledge (SPCK) was founded in 1699 with similar aims.[4] These sporadic religiously motivated attempts by members of the wealthier classes to develop mass literacy in the later 17th century would continue in the 18th century with significantly more success.[5]
18th century
In 18th century England and Wales, schools were operated by private business, charity and the church, becoming reasonably common. According to historian W.B Stephens, charity schools in Wales tended to have a particularly heavy emphasis on religion reflecting the preferences of the Welsh peasantry. In the early 18th century, many charity schools were established with the support of the SPCK but later founding's tended to be associated with the "circulating [travelling] school movement" which originated in Wales. The second group catered for both children and adults.[6] 96 SPCK schools were established by 1714. The SPCK schools attempted to provide assistance to the poorest families to reduce the financial sacrifice of sending a child to school. An aspect of the schools that was very popular was their emphasis on training children in the skills they would need in life. For instance, working with textiles for girls and farm-work or seafaring for boys. This even extended to arranging apprenticeships for boys and attempting to watch over them after they left school. The schools also attempting to inculcate certain moral values and a sense of their class position into children but this was deemed less necessary in Wales where people were already particularly socially divided. However, because of the government's fear of a largely imagined threat of Jacobitism in Wales, the Welsh SPCK schools had a especially heavy emphasis on religion. The circulatory schools were developed by Griffith Jones a priest in the Church of England. The schools would only teach an ability to read with other subjects forbidden. They would run for three months during the period when demand for labour was lowest, usually winter. Accommodation would be found where ever available, even barns were used if necessary. Jones believed it was better to provide a large number of people with a basic education than a few with a more thorough one. He received donations from various patrons many of whom were English as well as Welsh. He informed them about the progress of the schools through an annual publication Welch Piety.[5] Historians Gareth Elwyn Jones and Gordon Wynne Roderick commented on the success of the schools that:
The circulatory schools were among the most important educational experiments anywhere in Europe in the eighteenth century. Between 1731 and 1761 it has been estimated that 3,325 schools were held and as many as 250,000 scholars - something like half the population of children and adults - taught to read. Within this limited definition, it is hardly an exaggeration to say that the schools were responsible for making Wales a literate nation, and the fame of the schools was widespread throughout Europe... the spread of reading skills on this scale not only rested on the provision of religious literature but also fostered a demand for it... The Bible became a desired and precious possession in innumerable households across Wales, among even the poorest sections of society.[5]
By the late 18th century the circulatory schools largely faded away replaced by Sunday Schools. Sunday schools developed from the 1780s onwards. Early Sunday schools tended to admit adults as well as children. In Wales, they were generally Nonconformist and often associated with the Methodist revival. Welsh Sunday Schools tended to focus on bible studies and reading avoiding the wider secular education sometimes taught at Sunday Schools elsewhere.[6] 79 endowments for elementary schools in Wales by individuals were made between 1700 and 1800. Most were made by non-church officials and some were made by women providing a slight increase in educationally opportunities for poorer girls. The schools were spread across all counties with Denbighshire having the greatest number. Usually they consisted of a single schoolroom but their was an increase specially built multi-storey accommodation towards the end of the century. The various new forms of education targeted at the poor were not without their critics. Some people, even among those that gave them financial support, worried that the peasantry were being over educated and exposed to subversive ideas especially towards the end of the 18th century. There was a certain degree of decline of the grammar schools during this period though their was some evidence of an increase in demand. Some of them disappeared or declined into elementary schools. The gentry had become smaller, wealthier and more detached from the lands they owned, they tended to prefer to send their own sons to the English public schools and were less interested in financing grammar schools. The endowments made in the 16th and 17th centuries were increasingly financially inadequate and enforced a classical education which seemed outdated to the parents of some potential pupils.[5]
Early to mid 19th century
In the first half of the 19th century, education began to be seen as something of a civilising mission. A sense of anxiety was developing about the condition of the working classes in Wales, especially in the South Wales Valleys. The industrial revolution had brought significant social upheaval and children in particular were seen as newly vulnerable to immorality. While working-class parents were felt to be more interested in pursuing pleasure for themselves than educating the young. These worries were reinforced by various instances of significant social unrest in relation to movements such as Chartism, Scotch Cattle and the Rebecca Riots.[7] This was a time when the American Revolutionary War and French Revolution had shaken the western world fairly recently, living conditions were extremely poor and there was a sincere fear of revolution.[5] Schooling was believed to be an effective response to these problems. In a 1843 report, HMI[note 2] H.W Belliars described a "band of efficient schoolmasters" as a cheaper alternative to "a body of police or of soldiery" to manage "an ill-educated, undisciplined population, such as exists among the mines of South Wales".[7]
In the early 19th century, the British and Foreign School Society (which was Nonconformist) and the National Society for Promoting Religious Education (which was Anglican) were founded. These organisations began to establish "voluntary schools".[8] In practice, a large majority of voluntary schools belonged to the latter group which had various practical advantages. In Wales, the Anglican schools were reported to be poorly attended as Nonconformists,[8] who formed a clear majority of the Welsh population,[9] preferred private schools. Though the proportion of day school[note 3] pupils at private schools fell in Wales from 58% in 1833 to 26% in 1851. While school participation rates in the early-to-mid 19th century are somewhat hard to assess, a lower proportion of the population were enrolled in day schools in Wales than in England or Scotland.[8] One estimate is that 85% of children in Wales between five- and fifteen-years-old were not in day school in 1821.[7] Sunday schools were often used as a substitute for fulltime schooling. In 1844, 56% of grooms and 35% of brides were able to sign the marriage register in South Wales counties, this was lower than any individual Scottish or English county. That year, 58% of grooms and 39% of brides in North Wales counties were able to do so, this was lower than any Scottish or English county other than Monmouthshire (then part of England) and Staffordshire. The number of people who were able to write was lower than those who could read during this period because reading was seen as a more basic skill which was taught first and tended to be more practically useful for most people. According to historian T.B Stephens:[8]
... in Wales and Monmouthshire educational progress suffered from the difficulties Welsh speakers experienced in schools using English as the medium of instruction, from the absence of resident gentry, the weakness of the Church of England and the opposition of dissenters to its influence. This was compounded by widespread poverty and the expansion of coal mining.
From 1833, the voluntary schools began to receive government funding.[10] In 1839, the Committee of the Privy Council on Education (CCE) was formed which conducted state inspections of schools receiving grants in England and Wales for the first time. For its first report in 1840, HMI Hugh Seymour Tremenheere visited 35 schools in mining areas of South Wales. He wrote that the schools were "‘for the most part, dirty and close [unventilated]" and one was "so filthy and disgusting that the inquiry had to be conducted from outside". Most of the schools were lacking in books and equipment while teachers maintained discipline using "loud exclamations and threats". Contrastingly, HMI Harry Longueville Jones, was impressed by the quality of teaching he found on his first tour of 190 schools across Wales in 1849. He complimented various teachers as "very able", "studious", "clever", "well informed", "alert" and "well respected". He also noted a few teachers with exceptional abilities such as one working near Pwllheli who taught Latin to his most able pupils and another in Llanidloes whose "forte lies in his music" .[7]
The Newcastle Commission led to the introduction Revised Code of 1862. The code introduced a system of payment by results with grants given based on pupils knowledge of the three R's and attendance. The code has been praised for its perceived objectivity as well as for encouraging teachers to focus on literacy and numeracy.[7][11] At times, this system placed significant power over schools in the hands of individual inspectors in a way that could be quite arbitrary and lead to controversy. For instance, in his autobiography, HMI Sneyd-Kynnersley recalled 7-year-old Angharad who had told him she did not know the answer to a sum but who he decided to pass anyway due to her "frankness, combined with good looks". In a different case, schoolmaster James Kelly left his job at St David’s Roman Catholic school in Cardiff after a poor inspection report in 1863. Unusually, Kelly decided to formally complain to the Education Department alleging HMI John Reynell Morell spent less than 20 minutes in the school during which the children were quiet before leaving after saying "I will make a report sufficient for the grant". Morell was dismissed (officially for missing appointments) following an investigation during which both men attacked each other's character. Morell privately published his own version of events. Historian Russell Grigg suggests that a possible explanation for his conduct was that he was responsible for inspecting schools across 17 counties in England and Wales. The system also created a temptation for corruption among teachers. For instance, upon a check of birth certificates, it was found that most of the pupils at Llwynypia Colliery Infant School were over the age of eight making it ineligible for certain grants for infant schools. The attendance records had also been falsified and the register destroyed in "a very suspicious circumstance". They had two thirds of their grant removed and were given a warning.[7]
In the 1860s, there was growing political pressure in England and Wales for a significant intervention in the elementary education system. It was becoming increasingly clear that education provision through the voluntary societies was inadequate for a growing population. In Wales, at the end of the decade, there were school places for 60% of school-aged children with significant geographic variances. In Merthyr Tydfil, places were available for only 22%. Meanwhile there were concerns that rapidly industrialising France and Prussia, which had state education systems, were a threat to Britain's status as the world's most industrialised country. The second Reform Act which extended the franchise to a wider cross-section of the male population led to worries about ignorant voters making unwise decisions. Elsewhere, the American Civil War and Austro-Prussian War were won by powers with a developed state education system. In Wales, political pressure for change took the form of the Educational Alliance Society founded in 1870.[12]
Secondary education provision during this period was poor for boys and worse for girls. The situation in Wales was much worse than in England which was itself lacking in comparison to the continent.[13] In the 1850s, HMI Harry Longueville Jones argued for the creation of evening schools to teach maritime skills given that many boys became sailors after leaving school. The Taunton Commission in 1868 noted that twenty towns in Wales with an average population of 11,000 lacked grammar schools.[7] The commission identified 28 boys grammar schools with combined pupil numbers of 1,100. These schools tended to be located in areas that had once been focuses of the Welsh economy but were now far from the new population centres. As the aristocracy and new industrial elite tended to employ tutors or send their sons to the English public schools, pupils were mainly the sons of the same middle class group that had attended them since the 16th century with the upper middle classes themselves drifting towards English boarding schools. 24 of the 28 were classified as giving classical or semi-classical education which seemed outdated to parents of many potential pupils in a changed economy. The fees were too high for many middle class households and Nonconformists saw the schools as being under Anglican influence. Meanwhile, the Howell Foundation had established two girls schools in 1860 based on the endowment of a draper which were mainly attended by Anglicans. A number of families also employed governesses for teenaged girls. The Taunton Commission noted an apathy to their daughters education among many middle class parents. The role of a middle class women in the Victorian era was to act as a supportive figure for her family. Superficial "accomplishments", rather than serious academic study, were believed to be needed for girls. Their were a number of private secondary schools for girls and boys. Some provided good quality education, most were mediocre.[13]
Late 19th and early 20th centuries
According to historian T.B Stephens, Elementary Education Act 1870 began the transition to compulsory education and a school system run directly by the state. However, he describes it as a compromise which only started that process. It required school boards run by locally elected officials to be established in areas where there was "insufficient places in efficient voluntary schools" to run additional schools. The boards were allowed but not required to make education compulsory. A power that was extended to other districts in 1876.[8] Compulsory education was introduced for 5- to 10-year-olds across England and Wales by the Elementary Education Act 1880.[10] 10- to 13-year-olds could leave school once they had reached a certain academic standard.[11] Attendance was made free in 1891, the minimum school leaving age was increased to 11 in 1893 and 12 in 1899.[14] These older children in large part remained in Elementary school rather than going to secondary school, a practice that would remain the norm until the 1940s.[15] (needs better source) Compulsory education was also extended to deaf and blind children in 1893.[16]
Between 1870 and 1900, many new schools were built by the boards with the overall number of schools more than doubling. The boards also took over a lot of works and Nonconformist schools. In 1900, 1,709 schools were receiving public funds of which 893 were board schools, 687 were Anglican schools and 51 Nonconformist schools. 65% of school places were at board schools. At the time of the 1870 Education Act many school buildings were of a poor quality, lacking proper facilities and healthy conditions. The Education department pushed for improvements. Some of the poorer, smaller school boards employed local builders to design their new schools but most recruited professional architects. While the schools provided a basic education for almost all children they were not without their limitations. The payment by results scheme encouraged a emphasis on rote learning and teaching to the test. Though the curriculum steadily expanded with payments available to schools for results in history, geography, science, domestic science, metalwork and woodwork. Classes were large, varied in age, ability and pupils were often from impoverished households. Resources of all kinds were lacking. Discipline was difficult to maintain and the cane often made use of. The newspapers frequently featured stories about teachers whose punishments were so severe that they ended up on trial for assault. Poor attendance was also a problem. There were various factors that contributed to this included outbreaks of childhood diseases, indifferent parents, child labour and initially fees that were difficult for many households to pay. The overall level of attendance was 75.6% in 1899.[12]
The Aberdare Committee of 1881 emphasised the need for improved secondary education, especially for girls.[7] The committee envisaged a four tier system of secondary education. The social elite would continue to attend English public schools. The upper end of the middle classes would attend "first grade" intermediate schools which would continue until the age of 18 or 19 and prepare the most able for Oxbridge. Lower middle class children (a new group to receive secondary education) along with the most gifted and determined working class children would attend "second grade" intermediate schools which would take them up to the age of 16. Fees would therefore be kept relatively low for this group and some scholarships provided. Below them would be the "higher grade" schools which had been created as quasi-secondary schools for higher performing children by the school boards and were not covered in the 1889 act. The witnesses spoken to by the committee were mainly middle class, the handful of working class witnesses spoken to also expressed a strong desire for education but it was hard for middle class people to imagine that many working class children would be interested.[12] The committee led to the Welsh Intermediate Education Act 1889 predating similar legislation in England by thirteen years.[7] By around 1900, their were 7,000 children in the intermediate schools including almost as many girls as boys. A majority catered for both sexes in a segregated manner. While the schools had been intended primarily for the middle classes in some areas as many as a third of pupils were of working class backgrounds. For a long time, the main curriculum of a majority of intermediate schools was English, Latin, mathematics, history, geography and french. The practical and scientific side of curriculum, though encouraged by the authorities, was largely neglected by schools. Most of the headmasters adopted an ethos for the schools resembling English grammar schools and public schools including uniforms, sport on Saturdays, prefects and school clubs.[12] The House of Commons was told in 1904 that 91 of 95 intermediate schools were classified as good or excellent. The Central Welsh Board was established in 1896 to inspect the Intermediate schools but they were also visited by inspectors from other government bodies. Meanwhile, the period saw a growth in evening classes teaching vocational subjects. While their progress had previously been slow and varied by the end of the 19th century these classes were becoming increasingly well regarded.[7]
The payment by results system ended in the middle of the 1890s. A feeling had developed in the education department that the inspectorate needed to return to its original role as a supportive advisor for schools rather than punitively judging their results. Historian Russell Grigg writes that it took "time, commitment and training" for teachers to adjust to the new system but that by the 1900s there was evidence of them moving away from rote learning to a wider curriculum and more varied teaching methods including "field visits, local study, school museums and the creation of school gardens".[7] Class sizes remained large, instruction was focused on the three r's and the cane frequently used. Elementary schools were widely understood to be mainly institutions providing a fairly low level of education to those destined for lives of manual labour. 1904 guidance for elementary schools commented that they provided "training in followership rather than leadership training, suited to the working classes".[17] Changes in the 1900s including the end of the pupil teacher system in which teenagers had been put to work from the age of 13 as trainee teachers and the creation of local education authorities.[7]
The passing of the 1902 Education Act which established the local education authorities was deeply opposed by the non-conformists because it restructured school financing in a way that meant ratepayers would be paying directly for the upkeep of Anglican and Roman Catholic schools. In the heightened religious atmosphere of the 1904 to 1905 christian revival, this led to a political crisis in Wales with most local authorities refusing to apply the law. A prolonged struggle took place between the local authorities and central government which had a disruptive effect on schooling. It ultimately concluded after the election in 1906 of a government that was more popular in Wales. [17] In 1907, the Welsh department was established within the Board of Education. The department was headed by Owen Edwards a figure who was supportive of introducing a curriculum more specific to Wales and had some success in implementing it.[18] The 1902 act allowed local authorities to create municipal secondary schools outside the network of intermediate school created after the 1889 act. This was encouraged by the Welsh department as a way to undermine the Central Welsh Board. Edwards disliked the secondary schools focus on rote learning and exams though he was ultimately fighting against the grain of public opinion at the time. Meanwhile between 1906 and 1910, the Liberal government passed various legislation intended to improve the welfare of schoolchildren at a time when disease was a serious threat to children. Free school milk was offered, local authorities were given the option to provide free school meals, a medical department was set up in the board of education and local authorities were required to appoint school medical officers as well as conduct physical examinations of pupils.[17] Maude Morgan Thomas, a Welsh immigrant to the United States, wrote a biography intended for American children about her early years in Pontypool during the Edwardian period. In the chapter on her schooling she describes lessons in art, Welsh mediaeval history, needlework (for girls), domestic science (for older girls), optional piano lessons and frequent corporal punishment. She comments on her experience that:
School days in Wales were rather more uncomfortable than happy for me. There were always so many rattan canes lashing about, so much writing and arithmetic. Copy books had to be neatly filled with carefully written words, evenly spaced and shaded properly on each down stroke. One blot or one imperfect letter would bring the rattan cane stinging down on laboring knuckles... As I look back now, kindergarten[note 4] days were very pleasant. Welsh children usually began school at a very early age, many of them as young as three years. So school days were play days for the beginners.[19]
World Wars and Interwar period
World War 1 had a fairly limited immediate impact on education in Wales. A number of school buildings were requisitioned for military use and a shortage of male teachers had a particular effect on secondary schools. A suspension of new school-buildings led to increase in class sizes especially in secondary schools where enrollment increased sharply in the later war years. The inspectorate believed that pupils had been negatively unsettled by the war but this was not reflected in exam results. The war coincided with the introduction of compulsory education for disabled children. The conflict did have a significant effect on the future of education as it led to discussion of the effect of rival powers education systems on their war efforts. In 1917, the Lewis Report by the Board of Education was released resulting in the 1918 Education Act was passed. The act increased the minimum school leaving age to fourteen. Other provisions included some financial changes which benefited the education system and the creation of central schools. These were a new form of quasi-secondary school similar to the higher grade schools of the late 19th century. Parents were somewhat sceptical of them seeing them as a poor substitute to other forms of education after elementary school. The act also included various other proposals for reforming the education system which were not implemented.[18]
Around the time of WW1, the subjects listed on inspection reports as being taught at elementary schools included "English, Arithmetic, history and geography, music and drawing". Practical subjects might also be included such as "needlework, laundry, handicraft, hygiene and school gardens".[18] While academic orthodoxy around teaching methods, especially for younger children, was changing by the interwar period this had little practical effect on schools. The primary focus of education in Wales remained on pupils memorising information. Teaching practises did gradually improve during the first half of the 20th century and the curriculum became broader in subjects such as history, geography and nature studies especially in larger elementary schools. Oracy lessons became more common and school trips were encouraged. Government funding cuts during the Great Depression, were difficult for elementary schools Outside of school, while participation was starting to decline by the interwar period, chapels remained a significant source of informal religious and cultural education in both English and Welsh.[18]
Demand for secondary education continued to increase in the post World War I period and opportunities increased even as the financial situation got worse due to a fall in birth rates . By 1931, 19% of elementary school pupils transitioned to secondary school at the age of about 11-years-old, while the rest remained at elementary school until the age of fourteen. However high rates of early drop out from secondary school, which had already been a problem, continued in the difficult economic environment of the 1920s and especially 1930s. Even though increasing numbers of secondary school places were now free the additional costs of keeping a child in school as well as the loss of their potential wages meant that their was a strong temptation to leave at the age of fourteen. Very long travel times added to the appeal of this option. For instance, in 1922, it was reported that pupils in Barmouth County School's journey back and forth to school began at 5am and ended at 7pm. Various proposals were made throughout the interwar period for all children to transition from elementary school to secondary school at the age of 11- or 12-years-old and possibly raising the school leaving age. However none of these plans came to fruition so the school system of 1939 was very similar in structure to its counterpart at the start of the 20th century.[18]
Post-World-War-II period
Devolution era
Language Usage
In reflection of their close relationship with the Roman Catholic Church, the schools of the medieval period were conducted in Latin. By the 15th century, knowledge of English and Latin was one of various forms of education which seen as increasingly valuable by the Welsh social elite. In the 16th century, the laws that made Wales part of the Kingdom of England also established that English was to be the official language of administration and justice even though the vast majority of the Welsh population of a lower rank than Gentlemen were solely Welsh speaking. This added additional importance to learning English for the Welsh gentry. The grammar schools of the early modern period taught in English or Latin with boys expected to have learnt sufficient English before starting though their were complaints at the time that some had not. The schools established by Cromwell's government taught a grammar school level education in Latin and a more basic level in English.[1] The schools established by Thomas Gouge were conducted in English. Historian T.B Stephens observes that in 18th century charity schools "the vernacular [local language] was used as a medium of instruction more readily than in Gaelic-speaking parts of Scotland".[8] The typical medium of instruction in the SPCK schools was English but speaking Welsh in the schools was not restricted and a dozen schools in North Wales were conducted in Welsh. The circulatory schools used Welsh as their medium of instruction and aimed to teach the ability to read in Welsh only. This was criticised by some of its patrons but the practise was defended by Griffith Jones. Who argued that previous efforts at mass education had gained limited traction because they had been conducted in English at time when Welsh was the sole language of a large majority of the Welsh peasantry. The Sunday schools established in Wales in the late 18th century were conducted in Welsh. The day schools created by the voluntary societies in the early 19th century were usually conducted in English. [5]
In 1830s and 1840s the Welsh language became increasingly associated in the eyes of the government with the social unrest taking place in Wales. In the early 1840s, the government agreed to "an inquiry into the state of education, especially into the means afforded the labouring classes of acquiring a knowledge of the English language".[13] The report, released in 1847, caused great offense in Wales due to derogatory comments it made about the morality of the Welsh people and the Welsh language.[7][13] Though it complimented the Welsh population's desire for education, their willingness to make sacrifices to acquire it as well as their knowledge of religion and mathematics.[13] Historian Gregg Russell describes its substance aside from the derogatory comments as "a detailed picture of educational poverty".[7] It depicts the Welsh language as a negative influence limiting the potential of the Welsh population. The report argued that much of the Welsh-speaking public was keen to learn English and that bilingualism in schools was the best way to teach it. Historians Gareth Elwyn Jones and Gordon Wynne Roderick argue that its attitude to the Welsh language was a reflection of the contemporary belief among the English middle classes that everyone in the Empire needed to learn standard English rather than a deliberate expression of anti-Welsh sentiment. The regional dialects of the English working classes were also criticised in other educational reports. They also say that the educational aspects of the report's criticism were broadly reasonable. At the time, nonconformists generally interpreted the report as an English and Anglican attack on the Welsh while some Anglican churchmen criticised its tone.[13]
The attitude that the Welsh Language was an impediment to education would continue through most of the remainder of the 19th century. Welsh speaking parents were often also keen for their children to learn English in order to allow them more opportunities in life. The language of instruction at day schools was almost always English. The revised code of 1862 did not include Welsh as a grant earning subject. One of the drawbacks of this system was that many teachers were themselves Welsh speakers with limited grasp of English. Some critics suggested using Welsh as a means of teaching English though most school inspectors and other influential figures were hostile. Teaching in Welsh was widely available in Sunday Schools, some people who were sympathetic to the language suggested that chapels were the institutions best placed to preserve it.[13][12] One of the more iconic symbols of educational attitudes to the Welsh language during this period is the Welsh Not which became well known in the popular legends of the next century.[20] This was a wooden plaque which some teachers tied around the neck of any child caught speaking Welsh on the school premise. If another child was caught it was moved onto them and the child wearing the plaque at the end of the school day was punished. Much anecdotal evidence of this practise exists but its extent is largely unknown. Their is no evidence of it taking place in board schools.[12]
In reflection of an intensified sense of Welsh identity, attitudes among the authorities relating to the use of Welsh in schools began to soften towards the end of the 19th century. Although, due to reasons largely unrelated to education, Wales was increasingly becoming a predominantly English speaking society. It became possible for Welsh to be taught at elementary schools in the 1880s.[12] Welsh became a grant earning subject under the payment by results scheme during the last few years of its existence and a small fund was established to allow elementary schools to teach the subject in the 1890s.[7] A number of school boards did try to introduce the subject but it was entirely optional, any lessons used English as the medium of the instruction and it was mainly taught as an aid for teaching English.[12][7] In 1899 to 1900, only 0.8 percent of pupils were taught Welsh as a subject.[7] From 1907 to 1920, educationalist Owen Edwards was in the charge of the newly created Welsh department of the Board of Education. He was in favour of increased use of Welsh in schools, primarily in predominantly Welsh speaking areas. Since the end of payment by results Edwards had little power to make schools do anything but there was a gradual, patchy increase in use of Welsh in the years after his appointment. The 1927 government report Welsh in Education and Life found that Welsh was, in Welsh speaking areas, the main language of instruction in infants schools and was often taught as a subject up to the age of 10-years-old. It was sometimes also taught as a second language in elementary schools in English speaking areas. Meanwhile, the report also noted that the number of intermediate schools offering Welsh as a subject increased from 31 out of 79 in the 1897 to 96 out of 116 in 1925. However, only around 40% of pupils took exams in Welsh in comparison to 67% in French and Welsh would not have been a language of instruction.[18]
Higher Education
- ^ The Principality of Wales, an English client state, had previously existed since Conquest of Wales by Edward I.
- ^ "His or Her Majesty's Inspector" - Formal title for a school inspector
- ^ In this context, day school refers to schools operating during the working week as opposed to Sunday school.
- ^ Due to its intended audience the biography frequently uses American terms
- ^ a b c d Jones, Gareth Elwyn; Roderick, Gordon Wynne (2003). "Monasticism to Puritanism, c.410-1670". History of Education in Wales. University of Wales Press. ISBN 978-0708318089.
- ^ L. Greaves, Richard (3 January 2008). "Gouge, Thomas (1605–1681)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-1003012;jsessionid=9d93c50db434282482df39ae721ec5bd. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
Gouge began evangelizing work in Wales in 1672... By 1675, 2225 children were learning to read, write, and cast accounts in eighty-seven new charity schools in Wales, with all of the counties represented except Merioneth. He visited the schools once or twice a year, assisting them with monetary contributions.
- ^ Clement, Mary. "GOUGE, THOMAS (1605? - 1681), Nonconformist divine and philanthropist". Dictionary of Welsh biography. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
- ^ Collins, Sian (16 March 2017). "Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK)". Cambridge University Library. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Jones, Gareth Elwyn; Roderick, Gordon Wynne (2003). "The Religious Motive Redefined, 1670-1847". History of Education in Wales. University of Wales Press. ISBN 978-0708318089.
- ^ a b Stephens, T.B (1998). Education in Britain, 1750-1914. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 1–12, 21–35, 77, 79, 83. ISBN 978-0-333-60512-7.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Grigg, Russell (2022). "Origins and development of the inspectorate in Wales, 1839–1907". In Keane, Ann (ed.). Watchdogs or Visionaries?: Perspectives on the History of the Education Inspectorate in Wales. University of Wales Press. ASIN B0BLCS7YDK.
- ^ a b c d e f Stephens, T.B (1998). Education in Britain, 1750-1914. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 1–12, 21–35, 77, 79, 83. ISBN 978-0-333-60512-7.
- ^ Mitchell, Sally (2011). "Nonconformity". Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia. Routledge. pp. 546–547. ISBN 9780415669726.
- ^ a b Lloyd, Amy. "Education, Literacy and the Reading Public" (PDF). Gale Primary Sources. University of Cambridge. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 November 2020.
- ^ a b May, Trevor (1994). The Victorian Schoolroom. Great Britain: Shire Publications. pp. 26–29.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Jones, Gareth Elwyn; Roderick, Gordon Wynne (2003). "The State and the Nation, 1870-1902". History of Education in Wales. University of Wales Press. ISBN 978-0708318089.
- ^ a b c d e f g Jones, Gareth Elwyn; Roderick, Gordon Wynne (2003). ""Treason" and its Aftermath, c.1847 - 1879". History of Education in Wales. University of Wales Press. ISBN 978-0708318089.
- ^ "The 1870 Education Act". UK Parliament.
- ^ Carradice, Phil (2013-08-12). "The Welsh Intermediate Education Act, 1889". BBC. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
- ^ "The 1870 Education Act". UK Parliament.
- ^ a b c Jones, Gareth Elwyn; Roderick, Gordon Wynne (2003). "Defiance and Depression, 1902-1939". History of Education in Wales. University of Wales Press. ISBN 978-0708318089.
- ^ a b c d e f Keane, Ann (2022). "Owen Edwards, The Welsh Department and the school curriculum.". In Keane, Ann (ed.). Watchdogs or Visionaries?: Perspectives on the History of the Education Inspectorate in Wales. University of Wales Press. ASIN B0BLCS7YDK.
- ^ Morgan Thomas, Maude (1936). "IV. School Days". When I Was A Girl In Wales (PDF). New York: LOTHROP, LEE AND SHEPARD CO.
- ^ "BBC Wales – History – Themes – Welsh language: The Welsh language in 19th century education". BBC. Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
For note
In 2016, 16% of pupils attended Welsh-medium schools while 10% attended "bilingual, dual-medium [with Welsh and English speaking departments], or English with significant Welsh provision" schools.[1]
Possible images
- ^ Jones, Megan (August 2016). "Welsh-medium education and Welsh as a subject" (PDF). National Assembly for Wales (research service). pp. 5–7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.