Exploring Oxfordshire school history

Resources from Oxfordshire County Council's Heritage Services

Definitions and terminology

An explanation of education acts and a glossary of types of school

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1. Education Acts

2. Grammar School

  • The oldest Grammar Schools were founded to teach pupils Latin. They were often founded as charitable bequests by wealthy nobles or merchants. The Endowed Schools Act 1869 led to the reform of these schools, with literary and scientific subjects also being taught from then on. The 1944 Education Act saw Grammar Schools taking pupils who had passed the 11+, whilst other pupils attended the Secondary Modern or Secondary Technical Schools.

3. Bluecoat School

  • Bluecoat Schools were charity schools that were founded in the 16th century. The pupils wore a distinctive blue uniform, which is how they got their name.
  • Oxfordshire History Centre hold records for Banbury Bluecoat School and Oxford Bluecoat School for Girls (S200/1)

4. British School

  • British Schools were early non-conformist, or non-denominational schools, who maintained their independence from the Church of England National Schools and provided teacher training.
  • In the 18th century Joseph Lancaster founded a school system, known as the Lancasterian System, to provide a cheap basic education for children. In 1808 his worked was continued by the foundation of the Society for Promoting the Lancasterian System for the Education of the Poor and later became the British and Foreign School Society.
  • Following the 1870 Education Act these schools became known as Board Schools.

5. National or Voluntary School

  • National Schools were founded in the 19th century by the National Society for Promoting Religious Education. Their aim was to educate the children of the poor in accordance with the teachings of the Church of England.
  • In 1944 these schools became Voluntary Aided or Voluntary Controlled Schools.

6. Ragged School

  • Ragged Schools were charitable schools which arose in the 19th century to provide free education for poor children. They were independently set up in local communities, often by churches or local philanthropists, and were largely run by volunteers. The name ‘ragged’ came from the ragged clothes worn by destitute children. The demand for Ragged Schools decreased after the founding of Board Schools in the 1870s.

7. Industrial School

  • Industrial Schools were created by the 1857 Industrial Schools Act. They provided food, board and basic education to poor or wayward children, with the aim of improving their lives and preventing them from entering a life of crime. Local magistrates could send neglected or vagrant (homeless) children between the ages of 7 and 14 years to Industrial Schools. Children found begging or committing minor criminal offences could also be sentenced to time in an Industrial School. Numbers of these schools significantly decreased in the early 20th century. From 1927, Industrial Schools were renamed ‘Approved Schools’.

8. Board School

  • Boards Schools were set up as a result of the 1870 Education Act to provide elementary education free from Church of England instruction. Though these schools did not provide free education, they were run by School Boards of elected officials. These Boards had the power to subsidise the education of poor children, as well as build new schools and raise money from a rate. They were abolished as a result of the 1902 Education Act.

9. Elementary School

  • A school that provided a basic level of education to boys and girls aged 5-14. Some National and Board Schools can also be referred to as Elementary Schools in the records.

10. Council School

  • The 1902 Education Act saw the creation of Local Education Authorities, which replaced the School Boards, with many Board Schools becoming Council Schools. Two Local Education Authorities were created in Oxfordshire, one for the County and one for Oxford City.

11. Technical School/Institute

  • Technical Schools provided continuing education for pupils after leaving elementary school. They provided practical training to prepare young people for employment in specific trades. They varied widely and could include mechanical institutes and art schools, or day or evening classes which would teach a range of skills to assist their work.

12. Infants School

  • Infants Schools taught the youngest pupils, usually aged 4 or 5 up to 7. In some cases the infants had a separate building from the main Boys and Girls School, but in the smaller schools it may have only been a classroom. Pupils would then go on to attend Junior School.

13. Junior School

  • Junior Schools taught pupils aged 7-11 following on from Infant Schools.

14. Primary School

  • Primary Schools teach pupils from the age of 4/5-11 and combine Infants and Junior School into one school.

15. First School

  • First Schools taught pupils aged 4/5-8 before they moved onto Middle School. Oxford introduced First Schools in the 1970s but changed to a two-tiered system in 2003.

16. Middle School

  • Middle Schools taught pupils aged 9-13 before they moved onto Upper Schools. Oxford had Middle Schools from the 1970s until their closure in 2003.

17. Upper School

  • Upper Schools were the third tier of education in Oxford and took pupils aged 13-18 until they became Secondary Schools in 2003.

18. Secondary Modern School

  • The 1944 Education Act raised school leaving age to 15 and saw the separation of Primary and Secondary Education, which meant more Secondary Schools were needed. Secondary Modern Schools were created to provide education to pupils who were not selected to attend Grammar Schools.

19. Secondary Technical School

  • Secondary Technical Schools were also created as a result of the 1944 Education Act to teach pupils mechanical, scientific and engineering skills.

20. Comprehensive School

  • From 1965 the Secondary School system was mostly replaced with Comprehensive Schools that did not choose pupils based on academic ability. Many of these schools continue today as Academies.

Related content

Oxfordshire History Centre
Oxfordshire Museum Service