Gloucester: Education

EDUCATION

The history of the Gloucester grammar schools before 1882, including the school run by Llanthony Priory in the Middle Ages, the Crypt school founded by Joan Cooke and entrusted to the city corporation in 1540, and the College school run by the dean and chapter of Gloucester from the 1540s, will be found in another volume. (fn. 1) The brief account of Sir Thomas Rich's school included there is amplified here, and details are given of the history of the Crypt school buildings.

The original schoolhouse of the Crypt school, built in 1539, (fn. 2) stands in Southgate Street adjoining St. Mary de Crypt church on the south and incorporating a gateway over the entrance to St. Mary's Lane on the north. Above the schoolroom with its two tiers of windows were cocklofts, used as accommodation for the schoolmaster. (fn. 3) In the late 18th century or the early 19th the upper row of windows on the street front was replaced by sash windows, (fn. 4) but later, possibly at a restoration of the building in 1880, (fn. 5) Tudor-style windows, to match the originals, replaced the sashes. A site for a new school, on the south side of inner Barton Street, was acquired by the municipal charity trustees in 1858 but building was delayed because parishioners of St. Mary de Crypt opposed the removal of the school from their parish. The new school, a brick building designed by Medland and Maberly, (fn. 6) was opened in 1862. The old school, sold the same year, became the Sunday schoolroom for St. Mary de Crypt parish. (fn. 7)

SIR THOMAS RICH'S SCHOOL (OR THE BLUECOAT HOSPITAL) TO 1882.

The school was founded by Sir Thomas Rich, Bt., of Sonning (Berks.), a native of Gloucester who became a wealthy London merchant engaged in trade with Turkey. (fn. 8) By his will dated 1666 he gave the city corporation a house on the north side of Eastgate Street for the use of the school and £6,000 to be laid out on land. As well as supporting other charities, the endowment was to provide annual payments of £160 for lodging and maintaining 20 poor boys, £20 for the salary of a schoolmaster to teach the boys reading and writing, and £60 for apprenticing and clothing six of the boys each year. The boys, who were to be dressed in the blue uniform of Christ's Hospital, London, were to stay in the school between the ages of 10 and 16; the corporation decided to admit only sons of freemen. The endowment was received in 1668 and laid out on several farms in Awre and Lydney, and the school was started the same year. (fn. 9) Until 1804, when a separate management committee of council members was appointed, (fn. 10) the school was under the management of the full common council, which appointed the master and the 'motherwoman', or matron, who received the maintenance allowance, and admitted, and occasionally expelled, boys. A rent gatherer, who from 1738 was the city treasurer, submitted annual accounts. (fn. 11)

Until the mid 18th century the estates, which extended to 626 a. in 1731, (fn. 12) were on long leases and brought in a rental of c. £320. That sum was barely sufficient to meet the expenses of the charity, (fn. 13) and the school was aided on several occasions from the corporation's own funds or by interest-free loans from well-wishers. (fn. 14) There were some additional endowments. Amity Clutterbuck by will dated 1721 gave £1,000 in stock, received in 1729, and Thomas Browne, a former alderman, gave £400, which was received and invested in stock in 1731. In 1749 £1,000 of the stock was sold (fn. 15) and the proceeds used to buy another farm in Awre. (fn. 16) Richard Elly by will dated 1754 gave £500 to be applied according to the wishes of the schoolmaster Luke Hook; Hook decided that the interest on £170 should be used each year to buy shoes and stockings for the boys and the interest on the remainder used to repair the school building. (fn. 17) In 1766 another farm was added to the endowment, (fn. 18) £2,000 of the purchase price being raised by loans from two aldermen and the remaining £700 by the sale of stock. (fn. 19)

The new purchases raised the total rental of the school's lands to £452. Tenures were later changed to rack rent, and the rental increased to £975 by 1800 and £1,560 by 1815. (fn. 20) In spite of cost of living increases in the matron's allowance, (fn. 21) the school enjoyed a considerable surplus of funds during that period. The school was rebuilt between 1806 and 1808 at a cost of £4,000, the sum including the principal of the Elly bequest. The new building, designed by John Wheeler, (fn. 22) had an ashlar front with a rusticated ground floor and an upper floor with Ionic pilasters and balustraded parapet. (fn. 23) In 1815 part of a substantial balance in funds was used to pay £2,380, for principal and interest, to the city treasury, under the mistaken impression that the £700 used in the 1766 purchase had come from the corporation's own funds. (fn. 24) Later a falling rental, which stood at £1,072 in 1825, (fn. 25) and expenditure on the farm buildings produced an annual deficit of c. £300. Economies introduced in 1831 included reducing the cost of an annual dinner for the corporation and the recipients of the charity; Sir Thomas Rich had assigned £6 13s. 4d. for that purpose but c. £40 was usually spent. (fn. 26)

In the early 19th century the boys were kept in the school for three years and taught reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, and the elements of religion. (fn. 27) There were frequent disciplinary problems: boys often went absent without leave, and in 1827 an inquiry revealed that older boys had been forcing younger ones to steal for them. Feuding between the master and the matron, which was disrupting the running of the school in 1818, (fn. 28) led to the appointment of a married couple in 1820. (fn. 29)

In 1836 Sir Thomas Rich's school was transferred from the corporation to the new municipal charity trustees. The two bodies later went to law over the mistaken repayment made in 1815, and in 1847 the corporation was directed to pay the trustees £4,778 in respect of it. (fn. 30) In 1851 the school was regulated by a Scheme under which 30 boys, sons of city residents, were to be taught and subsequently apprenticed; the annual rental of the estates was then £1,217. (fn. 31) The curriculum remained an elementary one in the mid 19th century, though some new subjects were introduced and from c. 1849 examinations by outside examiners were held. (fn. 32)

SECONDARY EDUCATION 1882–1984.

Under a Scheme of 1882 the Crypt school and Sir Thomas Rich's school with their ancient endowments were made part of one foundation, the Gloucester United Endowed Schools. The governing body, comprising an equal representation of city councillors, municipal charity trustees, and co-opted members, was empowered to build two new girls' high schools and provide scholarships and exhibitions. Several city charities administered by the charity trustees were annexed to the foundation, together with a charity of William Bond, (fn. 33) who by will dated 1823 had given £40 a year to be divided among four Bluecoat boys on completion of their apprenticeships. (fn. 34) The Girls' Lower school was opened in 1883 and the two boys' schools were provided with new accommodation in 1889, but the fall in rents caused by the agricultural depression led to the postponement of the building of the fourth school and to a reduction in the scholarships provided under the Scheme of 1882. (fn. 35) The King's school (formerly the College school) remained entirely independent of that and all later plans for secondary education in the city. The factors that had thwarted a connexion with the other schools in the early 1870s, opposition by the dean and chapter to any dilution of their control and their determination to preserve it principally as a choir school, continued to limit opportunities for the school's expansion for many years. (fn. 36)

In 1906 a Scheme amalgamated the United Schools governors with the governors of the Gloucester municipal schools, who ran the Schools of Science and Art under the city education committee. The new body, comprising 18 city councillors, 3 county councillors, and 6 coopted members, carried on the Crypt, Sir Thomas Rich's, and the girls' school (renamed the Girls' High) as public secondary schools for 8 to 18 year olds, (fn. 37) with an income drawn from the old endowments, local education authority and Board of Education grants, and tuition fees. In 1907 some land was sold to pay for a new building for the Girls' High school, opened in 1909, and further sales were made in 1921 to finance the establishment of a second high school, Ribston Hall. Ribston Hall, though managed by the United Schools governors, was later maintained entirely by the city education committee. (fn. 38)

The movement to provide schooling of a more vocational nature led the United Schools governors in 1919 to open a Junior Technical school, in which boys aged from 13 to 15 were taught by the staff of the Technical College. In 1920 the city education committee opened a Girls' Junior Technical school in Brunswick Square, and in 1925 it opened Central schools in Derby Road, providing education with a commercial and industrial bias for children selected from the elementary schools at the age of 11. The Girls' Central school absorbed the Girls' Junior Technical school in 1928. (fn. 39)

By the early 1930s the education provided by the Crypt school and Sir Thomas Rich's school, which had adopted a curriculum on the grammar school model, was thought by many to be inappropriate to the needs of their pupils, many of whom joined local engineering firms when they left. Plans for reorganizing secondary education, involving the transformation of Sir Thomas Rich's into a school with a technical and commercial bias, met strong opposition and were abandoned in 1933. The plans had also included measures to bring the United schools under more direct control by the city, which was by then supplying a fairly large share of their costs; (fn. 40) in the year 1932–3 government grants provided £11,449, city rates £7,785, and county rates (paid in respect of the considerable number of children from outside the city who attended the schools) £3,664, while tuition fees provided £8,710 and the ancient endowments £3,014. (fn. 41) In 1937 the endowments of the United schools were transferred to the direct control of the education committee and the governors were reconstituted as 21 appointees of the city council (including 15 councillors) and 7 appointees of the county. (fn. 42) The governors managed the schools until 1945 when a new governing body for all the city's secondary schools was appointed. (fn. 43)

At a reorganization under the 1944 Education Act, not completed until 1949, the four United schools lost their preparatory departments and their intake of children from outside the city and became secondary grammar schools; five senior departments of city elementary schools became secondary modern schools; and the two Central schools became secondary technical schools. (fn. 44) Between 1957 and 1967 five of the schools and the aided Roman Catholic secondary school were rehoused in new buildings in the outer parts of the city. Under the boundary extension of 1967 two county secondary schools, at Longlevens and Hucclecote, came under the city authority. From 1965 various schemes for a comprehensive system for the city's secondary schools were discussed, (fn. 45) and that system was introduced on a limited scale in the early 1970s when a new comprehensive school was built and two other schools were reorganized on comprehensive lines. The county council, which became responsible for education in the city in 1974, decided in 1984 on a comprehensive scheme involving all the schools; it was to take effect in 1987. (fn. 46)

The King's school in the late 19th century and the early 20th remained a small, academically undistinguished school of 50–60 boys, run by the dean and chapter principally as a choir school. It was housed mainly in the schoolroom built on the north side of the cathedral in 1849 and, from 1891, in Paddock House, in Pitt Street, which was acquired as a headmaster's and boarding house. Frequent applications for aid from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, under the terms of the Endowed Schools Act of 1869, were unsuccessful; after the 1902 Education Act such aid was likely to involve the inclusion of city councillors on the governing body, an innovation strongly opposed by the dean and chapter. In 1928 a grant was acquired, leading to some expansion and an improvement in standards. New buildings in Pitt Street were opened in 1929, and in the following year there were 150 boys in the school. In 1950 the Ministry of Education's refusal to grant the school official recognition led, following a public appeal, to a major expansion and reorganization. Laymen joined the dean and chapter as governors, and additional accommodation, notably the former bishop's palace acquired in 1954, was found in and around the cathedral close. (fn. 47) Several new buildings were added to those on the Pitt Street site in the early 1980s. In 1984 the King's school was classed as an independent cathedral school and was supported almost entirely by fees. There were then c. 500 children on the roll, including boys of preparatory and secondary age and some girls of secondary age. (fn. 48)

The Crypt school became one of the United schools in 1882, the governors being required to maintain it as a boys' grammar school for 120 day and 40 boarding pupils aged from 8 to 17. (fn. 49) In 1889 it moved from Barton Street to Friars Orchard, where it was housed in a new building, designed by Medland and Son, and in the former Bowling Green House which became the headmaster's residence and boarding house. (fn. 50) The falling attendance evident before 1882 continued for some years, but in the early 20th century the school expanded (fn. 51) and had 401 on its roll in 1932. (fn. 52) It moved to new premises on part of the Podsmead estate in 1943, though the buildings there were not completed until several years later. (fn. 53) Reorganized as a secondary grammar school under the 1944 Act, it had 508 boys on the roll in 1984. (fn. 54)

Sir Thomas Rich's school became one of the United schools in 1882 for 200 boys aged from 8 to 15. (fn. 55) In 1889 it moved from the old Bluecoat Hospital building in Eastgate Street to the former Crypt school in Barton Street, where new classrooms were added; the old building was sold to the city council and replaced by the Guildhall. (fn. 56) The school expanded in the early 20th century, taking many boys from outside the city; the buildings were enlarged in 1911–12 and the former British school nearby was taken over in 1932. (fn. 57) There were 340 boys on the roll in 1932. (fn. 58) It became a secondary grammar school under the 1944 Act, and moved to new buildings at Elmbridge in 1964. (fn. 59) There were 562 boys on the roll in 1984. Parts of the old buildings in Barton Street were then in use as a youth centre and for adult education purposes.

Denmark Road High school originated as the Girls' Lower school, opened by the United Schools governors in 1883 for girls aged from 8 to 16. Drawing pupils from a wide area of the county, it had 220 by 1894. It was renamed the Girls' High school in 1906. Housed at first in Mynd House, Barton Street, it moved in 1904 to Bearland House and in 1909 to a new building in Denmark Road, designed in Queen Anne style by Walter B. Wood. Numbers rose to 488 by 1919, but were reduced after Ribston Hall opened (fn. 60) and there were 449 on the roll in 1932. (fn. 61) The school became a secondary grammar school under the 1944 Act. The buildings were enlarged in the late 1950s, (fn. 62) and there were 533 girls on the roll in 1984.

Ribston Hall High school was opened by the United Schools governors in 1921 as a second girls' high school. It was housed in Ribston Hall, Spa Road, and later expanded into other houses in the area. (fn. 63) There were 259 on the roll in 1932. (fn. 64) It became a secondary grammar school under the 1944 Act, and moved to new buildings in Stroud Road in 1961. (fn. 65) There were 534 girls on the roll in 1984.

Derby Road Central schools were opened by the city education authority in 1925 in former council elementary school buildings. Separate boys' and girls' schools provided education with a commercial bias for children of 11 and over. (fn. 66) In 1932 there were 267 boys and 276 girls on the rolls. (fn. 67) The schools became secondary technical schools under the 1944 Act. The Boys' Central school moved to new buildings at Saintbridge in 1957 and was renamed Saintbridge school in 1969. It was reorganized as a comprehensive school in 1972 (fn. 68) and had 987 boys on the roll in 1984. The Girls' Central school remained at Derby Road, where the buildings were extended and modernized c. 1970. (fn. 69) In 1974 it was reorganized as a grammar school and renamed Colwell School for Girls; (fn. 70) there were 492 on the roll in 1984.

Linden Road schools. The former senior boys' and girls' departments at the council elementary school became separate secondary modern schools under the 1944 Act. They were united as a single mixed school in 1973, (fn. 71) and had 556 on the roll in 1984.

Hatherley Road schools. The former senior boys' and girls' departments at the council elementary school became separate secondary modern schools under the 1944 Act. The boys' school moved to new buildings at Estcourt Close in 1967 and was later renamed Oxstalls Boys' Secondary school; (fn. 72) there were 408 on the roll there in 1984. The girls' school remained at Hatherley Road and was closed in 1981. (fn. 73) In 1984 the buildings were being converted as a day centre for physically handicapped people.

Kingsholm school, a former council senior elementary school in Worcester Street, became a mixed secondary modern school under the 1944 Act. In 1957 the girls were moved to new buildings at Barnwood as the Winifred Cullis school. In January 1984 it had 460 girls on its roll. Kingsholm remained as a boys' school until it was closed in 1973. (fn. 74) The building became the county record office in 1979.

Longlevens school, a former county council senior elementary school in Church Road, Longlevens, became a mixed secondary modern school in 1945 under the 1944 Act. (fn. 75) It moved to new buildings in Paygrove Lane in 1963, (fn. 76) and in 1967 was transferred to the city education authority. (fn. 77) In 1984 there were 520 on the roll.

St. Peter's Roman Catholic school. In 1957 the buildings of the former Roman Catholic all-age school in London Road became a mixed aided secondary modern school. The school moved to new buildings at Tuffley in 1964 and its catchment area was widened to include Stroud, Woodchester, and Nympsfield. (fn. 78) In 1973 the comprehensive system was introduced and the school was renamed St. Peter's R.C. High school. (fn. 79) In 1984 there were 1,013 on the roll.

Hucclecote school, a new county council mixed secondary modern school, was opened in 1960. (fn. 80) It was transferred to the city education authority in 1967. (fn. 81) In 1984 there were 559 on the roll.

Beaufort school, a new mixed comprehensive school at Tuffley, was opened by the city education authority in 1971. (fn. 82) In 1984 there were 1,008 on the roll.

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION.

Apart from the 20 boarding places at Sir Thomas Rich's school, the earliest provision of free elementary education was in the Poor's school founded in 1700 and later carried on by the governors and guardians of the poor. More significant were the Sunday schools started in 1780 by Robert Raikes and the Revd. Thomas Stock, curate of St. John's parish. Through the publicity that Raikes gave to the venture, mainly through his newspaper, the Gloucester Journal, those Schools provided the impetus for the national Sunday School movement, but they were not, as was sometimes claimed, the first such schools in the country; in Gloucester itself one was recorded in 1777. Raikes and Stock employed women to teach four small schools in poor areas of the city, including the northern suburb in St. Catherine's parish, where the poverty of many families had first prompted the idea. Children aged between 5 and 14 were admitted, attending both in the morning and in the afternoon, when they were taken to church. The schools taught reading and spelling as well as giving religious instruction. (fn. 83) Most of the city parishes ran their own Sunday schools from the early 19th century. Three parishes had them by 1818 (fn. 84) and five by 1833. (fn. 85) Among the nonconformists the earliest Sunday schools were those run by the Countess of Hungtindon's chapel in St. Mary's Square from 1810 and by the Wesleyans of Northgate Street from 1814. Sunday schools in outlying areas included those run by the Wesleyans at Longford, Twigworth, and Barton End from the 1820s. (fn. 86)

The provision of weekday education for the poor was much increased by the reorganization of the Poor's school in 1813 and the opening of a National school for the city in 1817. Otherwise the demand was met in the early 19th century by small dame schools, of which there were 14 in the city and the hamlets in 1818. (fn. 87) From the 1830s parish National schools were established. Between 1833 and 1848 in at least seven parishes, including the newly populated outer areas of St. Mark's, St. Luke's, and St. James's, school buildings were provided, usually with the help of government and National Society grants. (fn. 88) The most ambitious project, which the bishop of Gloucester at the opening in 1844 is said to have described as too elaborate and costly for its surroundings, (fn. 89) was the St. James's school; it cost £2,345, of which the government provided £565 and the National Society £400, while the remainder was raised locally. That school had separate departments for boys, girls, and infants; (fn. 90) most of the other parish schools built at the period took only infants or girls and infants, the boys attending the city National school in London Road. British, Wesleyan, and Roman Catholic schools were opened at the same period, and, among the outlying villages Hempsted, Twigworth, and Hucclecote built new National schools in the early 1850s. A more unusual venture was the Ragged school begun in 1852 to provide free education for children in one of the poorest areas of the city.

The parish schools, drawing their income from annual subscriptions and other contributions, from school pence, and, after the 1850s, in most cases from capitation grants, were chronically short of funds. They were usually dependent on the energy and fund-raising abilities of the local incumbents, who in most cases supplied a deficiency in funds from their own resources. (fn. 91) Between 1868 and 1876, however, six city parishes were able to raise the funds to build larger school premises. The total cost of the six schools was £8,824, of which £5,868 was raised locally, while £1,616 was supplied by government grants, £730 by diocesan grants, £590 by National Society grants, and £20 by the S.P.C.K. (fn. 92) The increased accommodation provided in the city still fell far short of what was required under the 1870 Education Act. Following the Act the city council proposed the formation of a school board, possibly to cover areas outside the city boundary, but the scheme was postponed after causing much controversy. (fn. 93) By October 1875 the shortage of school places had become critical: some schools had been forced to close departments because of lack of funds and the accommodation at others was no longer recognized by the Education Department, while the city by then included the populous lower Barton Street area. The Department's final notice, giving the six-month time limit for making good the deficiency before a board was formed, recognized that places existed in the city for 3,780 children with another 1,715 being needed. (fn. 94) A total of 19 voluntary schools then served the city: they were 12 National schools, 2 Wesleyan, a British, a Baptist, a Roman Catholic, and, soon to be merged, the Endowed Free and Ragged schools. The two largest schools were then those serving the outer areas of St. Luke's and St. James's; some of the parish schools in the inner city were very small. (fn. 95)

The school board, formed in 1876, (fn. 96) began to supply some of the shortage of school places in the lower Barton Street area by opening a temporary school in a former church school at Tredworth in 1877, and in 1878 it opened its first new school building in Widden Street. The board and the Education Department later disagreed strongly about the needs of the eastern part of the city and also debated over which of the city's private schools could be counted in the total accommodation figures. After several years of pressure by the Department, the board agreed to provide a new school at Tredworth, (fn. 97) opened in 1887. Later the growth of the Bristol Road area and the raising of the school-leaving age in 1891, was met by a new school at Linden Road, opened in 1895. Irregular attendance was a major preoccupation of the board in its early years. (fn. 98) Its original attendance officer was joined by a second in 1878 and a third in 1883, from which time the city was divided into three districts each supervised by a separate attendance committee of the board. (fn. 99) In 1891 the board, in association with the voluntary schools, opened classes for training pupil teachers. (fn. 100)

In the years after the board was formed a few of the smaller voluntary schools closed, and some of the others only narrowly survived financial crises. (fn. 101) The voluntary schools continued, however, to provide the bulk of the school places in the city until the beginning of the 20th century. In 1891 the total average attendance at the voluntary schools was 3,953 and at the board schools 1,201. (fn. 102) By 1900 average attendance at the 13 voluntary schools was 4,130 and at the 5 board schools 2,582; the recognized accommodation at the former was then 5,191 and at the latter 2,784. (fn. 103) A joint association of the managers of the voluntary schools met from c. 1891. (fn. 104)

At the boundary extension of 1900 the city school board assumed responsibility for an area on the south that since 1876 had been the responsibility of the Barton St. Mary United District school board, which had maintained a school at Tuffley. (fn. 105) Two city schools, the Endowed Free in 1899 and the British in 1900, were also taken over by the city board, and in 1901, when the Widden Street and Tredworth schools were much overcrowded, it opened another school for the Tredworth area, at Hatherley Road.

In 1903, under the 1902 Act, responsibility for elementary education in the city passed to the city council (fn. 106) and in the outlying areas, of which Hucclecote had had a board from 1880, (fn. 107) to the county council. The city education committee took over the two former Wesleyan schools in 1904 and in the next few years it completed two building projects that had been started by the board. In 1907 the Board of Education placed a time limit on its recognition of three old inner city schools, leading to the opening of some new temporary and permanent buildings in the following years. (fn. 108) In 1931, in accordance with the recommendations of the Hadow Committee of 1926, (fn. 109) the city's schools were reorganized to provide separate senior departments for children over 11 at four of the schools. All the nonprovided schools except the Roman Catholic were included in the scheme, under which c. 2,000 children changed their schools. (fn. 110) At the same period schools were built for the new estates in the Finlay Road and Coney Hill areas, and under the 1935 boundary extension schools at Matson and Tuffley came under the city education authority. In 1938 within the city there were 12 council elementary schools and 9 non-provided schools; the schools had a total average attendance of 6,510. (fn. 111) In the outlying areas county council schools at Longlevens (which some city children attended) and Hucclecote and church schools at Twigworth, Barnwood, and Hempsted had a total average attendance of 784. (fn. 112)

Between the late 1950s and early 1970s the city and county authorities provided new schools, sometimes separate infant and junior schools on adjoining sites, for the new estates at Tuffley, Matson, Hucclecote, and Innsworth. Under the boundary extension of 1967 schools at Longlevens and Hucclecote passed from county to city, and in 1974 the county council assumed responsibility for all primary education in the area. In the inner city area the main development was the closure of the remaining church schools to be replaced by a new C. of E. school at Kingsholm. In January 1984 the primary schools in the city with Twigworth and Innsworth were 32 county council schools, 6 aided or controlled C. of E. schools, and 2 aided Roman Catholic schools; the total number of children on the rolls was then 8,100. (fn. 113)

Note.

For sites of defunct schools in the following accounts, see Causton, Map of Glouc. (1843); Bd. of Health Map (1852); O.S. Maps 1/2,500, Glos. XXV. 14–15; XXXIII. 3, 7 (1886 edn.). For the reorganization of city schools in 1931, see Glouc. Educ. Week Handbk. (1933), 23–5: copy in Glos. Colln. N 17.4.

Sources for the attendance figures are as follows:

The Poor's, later the Endowed Free school. In 1700 a group of subscribers opened a charity school, known as the Poor's school, in the city bridewell at the east gate. (fn. 114) Considerable numbers of children were being taught in 1703 when the school was placed under the newly constituted governor and guardians of the poor. It continued after the failure of the first workhouse scheme and in 1711 85 children were being taught and given clothes at Christmas. (fn. 115) Alderman John Hyett (d. 1711) left legacies totalling £1,500 to support the school and build a new schoolroom; most of the sum was contingent on the death before 21 of his son Joseph, (fn. 116) but Joseph, who died in 1714 having reached that age, redirected the full sum for the school. (fn. 117) The guardians received £1,004 for the legacies in 1733 (fn. 118) and used part to buy an estate at Miserden. (fn. 119) Dorothy Cocks by will dated 1711 left land at Taynton to support poor children at the school and at a school in Dumbleton. (fn. 120) Under the new workhouse Act of 1727 it was assumed that the Hyett and Cocks endowments were to support the general functions of the guardians, (fn. 121) who later applied the proceeds indiscriminately. In 1727 the school was transferred to the new workhouse. In 1737 the guardians were employing a schoolmaster and schoolmistress, (fn. 122) and the school seems to have had a continuous existence. At the beginning of the 19th century it was teaching only 20 children (fn. 123) and it was later said to have been only the shadow of a school, taught by an illiterate pauper. (fn. 124)

In 1810 the misdirection of the Hyett and Cocks legacies became evident and it was decided to apply the rents of the Miserden and Taynton estates to support an enlarged Poor's school on the British system. It was opened in 1813 with accommodation for 200 boys in a building in lower Northgate Street, built by the Revd. Richard Raikes and leased by him to the guardians. The master was paid an annual salary of £63, (fn. 125) a sum thought substantial enough to make it unnecessary for him to take private pupils; (fn. 126) the first master, Thomas Holmes, remained in the post for 57 years. (fn. 127) The pupils, aged between 6 and 15, benefited from a clothing scheme, under which the guardians matched parents' contributions. (fn. 128) Later usually known as the Free school, the school had an average attendance of 115 in 1843 (fn. 129) and c. 140 in 1877. (fn. 130) In 1874 the inadequacy of the building prompted plans for a new one, and in 1877 the Education Department refused to recognize the school. In the latter year, however, the guardians were offered the Ragged school building in Archdeacon Street. (fn. 131)

The school reopened at Archdeacon Street in 1878, as the Endowed Free school, with c. 100 boys, the numbers rising to c. 140 by 1881. Most of the pupils came from the old Free school, but some who were not from the poorest class were debarred under the terms of the Ragged school trust deed. In 1891 an 'industrial training school' was opened in a new building adjoining the schoolroom, where boys were employed in chopping and tying bundles of wood. A government grant was received from 1879, (fn. 132) but the school was in financial difficulties in 1891 through the fall in the rents of the guardians' estates, and the introduction of fees was planned. (fn. 133) The institution of fee-grants in 1891, under the Act abolishing fees, enabled the school to recover and a new infants' classroom was added. (fn. 134) In 1899 further difficulties led the guardians to transfer the school to the Gloucester school board (fn. 135) and the building later housed a board school. The corporation of the governor and guardians of the poor was dissolved in 1907 and the income from the Miserden and Taynton estates applied to exhibitions at the United schools. (fn. 136)

The Industrial Ragged school. In 1851 subscriptions were raised to provide free education for the children of the poorest part of the city, the streets around St. Mary's Square and the Island. The school, known as the Industrial Ragged school, was begun in 1852 in a granary at the quay, (fn. 137) moving the next year to a building in Archdeacon Street by the entrance to Clare Street. The site was given by the dean and chapter and vested in the city corporation as trustees, and building was aided by a government grant. (fn. 138) The trust deed specified that the school should teach reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, and undenominational bible study, to the most destitute class of children. (fn. 139) A field in Stroud Road, given by the corporation, was used for vegetable gardening, and a house for the schoolmaster was built on part of it. (fn. 140)

The Ragged school had an average attendance of 85 boys in 1853; a plan to take girls also was never realized. (fn. 141) The master Edward Perry, who gained a high reputation for his work at the school, (fn. 142) described his first pupils as 'perfect strangers to discipline, and…determined to dispute all authority'. (fn. 143) In 1857 he reported that he gave some boys three meals a day simply to keep them at school; otherwise they would have to resort to begging or stealing. (fn. 144) Annual subscriptions were at first supplemented by a government grant, which was reduced gradually and in 1862, when the Revised Code made grants dependent on examinations, ended altogether; (fn. 145) additional subscriptions were then found. The school had an average attendance of 200 in 1866. (fn. 146) A scheme to charge fees to those children who could afford them was unsuccessful in 1872, (fn. 147) and in 1876 the school's financial position led to a move to close it and transfer the building to the new school board. The board was, however, unwilling to be bound by the terms of the trust deed, (fn. 148) and in 1877 the school was accepted instead by the governor and guardians of the poor, (fn. 149) who carried it on as the Endowed Free school.

Voluntary schools.

Alington school, an additional school for St. James's parish, named after the curate J. W. Alington, opened in 1869 in a new building in Millbrook Street. The building, also used for general parish purposes, had accommodation for c. 130 children, (fn. 150) and in 1877 there was a mixed attendance of 120. The school closed c. 1878. (fn. 151)

Baptist.

By 1868 the Baptists of the Brunswick Road church held a day school in a mission room in Barton Terrace (later part of Tredworth High Street). (fn. 152) The accommodation was not recognized by the Education Department in 1875. (fn. 153) In 1877 there was a mixed attendance of 70. The school closed at the end of that year. (fn. 154)

Barnwood National, see below, Barnwood, educ.

British.

A British school with boys' and girls' departments opened in 1841 in a new building in Wellington Street (then Hampden Place). (fn. 155) In 1843 it had an average attendance of 320, (fn. 156) and in 1877 the attendance was 380. The building was enlarged in 1883. (fn. 157) In 1900 the managers, unable to finance additional accommodation required by the Education Department, handed it over to the school board. (fn. 158) In 1904 attendance was 342. The school was renamed Wellington Street Council school in 1905. (fn. 159) After the accommodation had been condemned, it was reorganized as a mixed school in 1908, and it became a boys' school in 1915. (fn. 160) It closed at the reorganization of schools in 1931. (fn. 161)

Christ Church National school was opened as a girls' school before 1842 in a new building at the corner of Park Road and Brunswick Road. It was then managed by the perpetual curate Robert Holmes, whose wife is said to have supported it as a private charity and clothed the girls in uniform. (fn. 162) In 1847, when there was an attendance of 60 girls, Holmes transferred the site to the parish. (fn. 163) In 1877, when there was probably also an infants' department, the attendance was 162. A new infants' room was added in 1893–4. (fn. 164) Attendance was 112 girls and infants in 1904. In 1931 it became an infants' school only, and in 1938, as Christ Church C.E. school, had an attendance of 86. It closed in 1958. (fn. 165)

Hempsted National, see below, Hempsted, educ.

Hucclecote National (later Hucclecote Council, later Larkhay), see below, Hucclecote, educ.

Independent.

In 1833 Independents ran a day and boarding school for boys in the west part of the city. (fn. 166) It was perhaps continued as the infants' day school run by that sect in a room built c. 1844 at Levy's Yard in the Island. In 1871 it had an attendance of 94. (fn. 167) It closed soon afterwards, probably before 1877. (fn. 168)

Kingsholm C.E. school, a controlled junior school, was opened in new buildings in Guinea Street in 1962, taking the junior children from four old church schools. (fn. 169) In 1973 it was enlarged to take infants also, with a total accommodation of c. 600. (fn. 170) In 1984 it had 335 children on the roll.

Matson National, see below, Matson, educ.

National (London Road). A National school, situated in St. Catherine's parish but intended to serve the whole city, was opened in 1817, with c. 300 boys and girls on the roll, in a new building in London Road. (fn. 171) It was promoted and managed by a diocesan society for church education, led by the bishop, Henry Ryder, (fn. 172) who, with the National Society, the city corporation, the Revd. Richard Raikes, and Mary Pitt, was a chief subscriber to the building fund. (fn. 173) The school later took boys only, probably from c. 1835, (fn. 174) and in 1847 had an attendance of 173. As other National schools opened in the city numbers fell, reaching 40 in 1872, (fn. 175) but there was a revival to 184 by 1877. Enlarged in 1879 and 1895, (fn. 176) the school had an attendance of 289 in 1904. After 1931 it took only junior boys and in 1938, as London Road C.E. school, had an attendance of 221. It became a controlled school in 1956 and closed in 1962, when the children were transferred to the new Kingsholm C.E. school. (fn. 177)

Northgate Street Wesleyan.

In 1863 the Wesleyans of Northgate Street opened a school in a new building on the site of the 'round house' in Worcester Street. (fn. 178) It had a mixed attendance of 392 in 1877. In 1878 it moved to a building adjoining the new Northgate Street chapel. (fn. 179) In 1904, when the attendance was 366 in mixed and infants' departments, the school was handed over to the city education authority and became Northgate Council school. (fn. 180) The building was judged to be below standard by the Board of Education in 1907, (fn. 181) but the school remained open until 1926, when 216 children were transferred to the new Kingsholm council school. (fn. 182)

Quaker.

A 'ragged' Sunday school opened by Quakers in White Swan (or Dockham) Lane c. 1846 also gave secular teaching. A weekday evening school was started in conjunction with it in 1847. (fn. 183) The school probably closed c. 1852 when the Industrial Ragged school opened. (fn. 184)

Ryecroft Wesleyan.

In 1847 the Wesleyans opened an infants' day school in a new building in Victoria Street. (fn. 185) In 1871 a new school was opened in the former Wesleyan chapel in Ryecroft Street, (fn. 186) where there was a mixed attendance of 295 in 1877. In 1904, when it had an attendance of 410 in mixed and infants' departments, the school was handed over to the city education authority and became Ryecroft Council school. (fn. 187) It was closed in 1908 after the accommodation was condemned by the Board of Education. (fn. 188)

St. Aldate's National.

St. John's National school, established in 1847, also served St. Aldate's parish, (fn. 189) but by 1868 an infants' school for St. Aldate's was being held in a cottage in St. Aldate Square. (fn. 190) A National school, established through the efforts of the rector H. M. Bowles, opened in 1869 in a new building on the west side of the square; it had accommodation for c. 120 girls and infants. (fn. 191) Attendance was 97 in 1877. The school closed between 1885 and 1888. (fn. 192)

St. Catherine's National school opened in 1835 or 1836 in a new building in Water Street (later part of Priory Road), north of the remains of St. Catherine's church. It seems originally to have been run as the girls' department of the London Road school and to have been under the same management, but later it served only St. Catherine's and, until 1868, St. Mary de Lode parishes. In 1847 130 girls attended. (fn. 193) In 1876 a new parish National school, designed by Medland and Son, opened on a site west of the new St. Catherine's church given by Charles Walker, of Hillfield House; it had accommodation for 195 girls and infants, (fn. 194) and in 1877 the attendance was 145. A new infants' room was added in 1887, and the school was again enlarged in 1901 when it amalgamated with St. Mary de Lode school, from which the older girls were transferred. (fn. 195) In 1904 the enlarged school had an attendance of 347 girls and infants. It ceased to take infants in 1910 when Mount Street Temporary school opened, (fn. 196) and in 1931 it became a junior girls' school. In 1938, as St. Catherine's C.E. school, it had an attendance of 207. From 1921 it was managed by St. Mary de Lode parish alone, ecclesiastical boundary changes of 1916 having placed the building in that parish. (fn. 197) The school took infants again from 1955 when Mount Street school closed. (fn. 198) The junior girls left for the new Kingsholm C.E. school in 1962 (fn. 199) and the infants followed in 1973 when the St. Catherine's school closed. (fn. 200)

St. James's National school opened in 1844 in a new building in the later St. James's Street at Barton End with accommodation for 486 children in boys', girls', and infants' departments. It was built through the efforts of the perpetual curate Thomas Hedley, who took responsibility for a considerable deficit in the finance. (fn. 201) In 1852 he gave two houses as an endowment. (fn. 202) Attendance was 244 in 1847, 493 in 1877, and 469 in 1904. The building was enlarged in 1894, (fn. 203) and again in 1909. (fn. 204) From 1931 the school had junior mixed and infants' departments, and from 1935 junior mixed alone. (fn. 205) In 1938, as St. James's C.E. school, it had an attendance of 324. It became a controlled school in 1949, (fn. 206) and in 1984 had 103 children on the roll.

St. John's National school was opened in 1847 by the rector F.T. Bayley in a converted nonconformist chapel on the west side of Worcester Street; (fn. 207) it began with an attendance of 120 girls and infants. In 1877 the attendance was 63. By 1870 the parish also ran a National boys' school in Black Dog yard; (fn. 208) that was presumably the building at the Worcester Street end of the yard that was marked as a school for boys and girls in 1883, when the original school may have closed. (fn. 209) There was apparently no school for St. John's parish in existence by 1885. (fn. 210)

St. Luke's National school was opened by the perpetual curate Samuel Lysons in 1843 in a new building in Bristol Road by the Sud brook. (fn. 211) In 1847 it was attended by 93 boys and girls. In 1870 it was replaced by a new school in New Street, designed by A. W. Maberly, with accommodation for 580 in boys', girls', and infants' departments; Daniel Higford Burr, owner of the Llanthony manor estate, was a chief subscriber to the building fund. (fn. 212) The attendance in 1877 was 662 and in 1904, after the addition of a new classroom in 1888, (fn. 213) 746. In 1931 the school was reorganized with junior mixed and infants' departments. In 1934, when St. Luke's church closed, the management was transferred to St. Paul's parish, (fn. 214) and in 1938, as St. Paul's C.E. school, it had an attendance of 318. In 1984, as a controlled primary school, it had 205 children on the roll.

St. Mark's National.

An infants' school opened in Columbia Street c. 1841 was by 1853 being run as a parish school. (fn. 215) Later it also took older girls. It was replaced in 1873 by a new school in Sweetbriar Street, designed by Medland and Son, with accommodation for 500 in boys', girls', and infants' departments. (fn. 216) The boys' and girls' departments had closed through lack of funds by 1875 but reopened in 1877. (fn. 217) The attendance in 1904 was 519, and in 1938, after being reorganized in 1931 as junior mixed and infants' departments, St. Mark's C.E. school had an attendance of 327. By 1952 it was organized as separate junior and infants' schools. (fn. 218) The juniors were transferred to the new Kingsholm C.E. school in 1962 (fn. 219) and the infants followed in 1973 when the St. Mark's school closed. (fn. 220)

St. Mary de Lode National.

Children of the parish attended the National schools in London Road and St. Catherine's churchyard (fn. 221) before 1868 when a new school for 120 girls and infants opened at the corner of Mount Street and Priory Road (later part of St. Oswald's Road). Originally called the Sydney Reynolds Memorial school, it was built largely at the cost of Joseph Reynolds in memory of his son. (fn. 222) Attendance in 1877 was 74. After amalgamation with St. Catherine's school in 1901 it housed only infants. (fn. 223) After being condemned by the Board of Education the building was leased to the city education authority and used from 1910 by Mount Street Temporary school. (fn. 224)

St. Michael's National school was opened in 1848 in a new building in Russell Street, designed by S. W. Daukes. It had girls' and infants' departments, (fn. 225) attended by 144 children in 1877 and by 159 in 1904. From 1931 it took junior girls and infants and in 1938, as St. Michael's C.E. school, had an attendance of 86. The school closed in 1962 when the older children were transferred to the new Kingsholm C.E. school. (fn. 226)

St. Nicholas's National.

In 1830 the vicar John Davies started an infants' school and in 1833 a new National schoolroom was built for it on the corner of Castle Lane and Bearland; (fn. 227) 80 children attended in 1847. In 1872 it was replaced by a new school on the corner of Quay Street and Upper Quay Lane. It had accommodation for 380 in boys', girls', and infants' departments, (fn. 228) but lack of funds had forced the boys' department to close by 1875. It was reopened in 1877, (fn. 229) when the school had an attendance of 322. The boys' department closed through lack of funds in 1898, the boys transferring to Archdeacon Street board school the following year, (fn. 230) and 247 girls and infants attended in 1904. The school took only infants from 1931 and closed in 1933. (fn. 231)

St. Paul's C.E., see above, St. Luke's National.

St. Peter's Roman Catholic.

In 1835 the parish priest Abbé Josse opened a school in a loft over the sacristy of the Catholic church in London Road. Later the school occupied other premises near the church and in 1864 it moved to a new building by the north end of the church, built through the efforts of the priest Leonard Calderbank. The school, which for a few years in the mid 1860s, was taught by the nuns of the London Road convent, (fn. 232) had a mixed attendance of 95 in 1877. In 1893 it was enlarged and reorganized as mixed and infants' departments. (fn. 233) Attendance was 144 in 1904 and 143 in 1938. Various adjoining properties were acquired in the mid 1930s and four new classrooms were opened in 1939. St. Peter's remained an all-age school until the early 1950s when it was attended by over 400 children. In 1953 the infants moved to a new school in Horton Road and in 1957 the juniors moved to a new school on an adjoining site, the London Road building becoming a secondary school. St. Peter's R.C. junior and infants' schools, which served Gloucester, Churchdown, Brockworth, and Innsworth, (fn. 234) had respectively 294 and 204 children on the rolls in 1984.

Sydney Reynolds Memorial school, see above, St. Mary de Lode National.

Tredworth.

A former Wesleyan chapel in Tredworth High Street was acquired by St. James's parish in 1866 as an additional day school and for other parish purposes. (fn. 235) The school closed through lack of funds in 1875 (fn. 236) and the building was later used by the school board and the city education authority.

Twigworth National.

A church school was held at Twigworth from soon after the opening of the new church in 1842, (fn. 237) and in 1847 had an attendance of 56 boys and girls. In 1854 a new National school was built on the main road between Twigworth and Longford, which it also served. The chief promoters, the perpetual curate Benjamin Claxson and Mrs. Clarence Saunders, gave a small endowment. The school had an average attendance of 60 in 1885, (fn. 238) and in 1904, after the completion of a new infants' classroom the previous year, (fn. 239) 103 children attended in mixed and infants' departments. In 1938, as Twigworth C.E. school, it had an attendance of 74, and in 1984, when it was a controlled primary school, it had 72 children on the roll.

BOARD AND COUNCIL SCHOOLS.

Archdeacon (Deacon) Street.

The former Endowed Free school was taken over by the school board in 1899 and enlarged to accommodate a board school for boys. (fn. 240) In 1904 it had an attendance of 209. After the old building had been condemned by the Board of Education, a new building, designed by Fletcher Trew, was opened in 1911. (fn. 241) From 1931 it took only senior boys and in 1938 had an attendance of 171. The school closed in 1939 when the boys were transferred to Kingsholm school. (fn. 242)

Calton Road school was planned by the board in 1903 (fn. 243) and opened by the city education authority in 1906; designed by Walter B. Wood, the building had accommodation for 810 children in mixed and infants' departments. (fn. 244) From 1931 it had junior mixed and infants' departments. Attendance in 1938 was 226. By 1952 the two departments had become separate schools, (fn. 245) and in 1984 the junior school had 366 children on the roll and the infants' school 184.

Coney Hill.

In 1933 the city education authority planned to re-erect a temporary school building from Finlay Road on the new housing estate at Coney Hill. (fn. 246) It opened an infants' school in a new building at Coney Hill in 1935; (fn. 247) it had an attendance of 156 in 1938. In 1952 a junior school was opened on an adjoining site with 291 children on the roll. (fn. 248) In 1984 the junior school had 270 children on the roll and the infants' school 197.

Derby Road school was planned by the board in 1903 (fn. 249) and opened by the city education authority in 1907; designed by Fletcher Trew, the building had accommodation for 1,100 children in boys', girls', and infants' departments. (fn. 250) In 1925 the boys' and girls' departments were replaced in the building by the Central schools and the infants' department continued as a separate school, (fn. 251) having an attendance of 121 in 1938. It closed in 1957. (fn. 252)

Dinglewell school at Hucclecote was opened as a primary school by the county education authority in 1966, passing to the city in 1967. In 1970, after the addition of new buildings, it was reorganized as separate junior and infants' schools. (fn. 253) In 1984 the junior school had 242 children on the roll and the infants' school 163.

Elmbridge school, in Elmbridge Road, originated in 1947 with the children of presecondary age removed from Denmark Road High school. The school, which had 200 children in 1948, was at first housed in temporary buildings. (fn. 254) With the provision of more permanent buildings in 1952 separate junior and infants' schools were created. (fn. 255) In 1984 the junior school had 300 children on the roll and the infants' school 196.

Finlay Road school was opened with junior mixed and infants' departments in temporary timber buildings at the reorganization of city schools in 1931. It was transferred to new buildings in 1933. (fn. 256) There was an attendance of 656 in 1938. By 1952 the school was organized as separate junior and infants' schools. (fn. 257) In 1984 the junior school had 257 children on the roll and the infants' school 184.

Grange schools, see below, Lower Tuffley.

Harewood infants' school, at Lower Tuffley, was opened by the city education authority in 1966, and Harewood junior school was opened on an adjoining site the following year. (fn. 258) In 1984 the junior school had 296 children on the roll and the infants' school 176.

Hatherley Road school was opened by the board in 1901; the building designed by Alfred Dunn, had accommodation for 890 in mixed and infants' departments. (fn. 259) The attendance in 1904 was 803. In 1905 the school was reorganized as senior mixed, junior mixed, and infants' departments and the accommodation increased to 1,028; (fn. 260) in 1915 it was reorganized as boys', girls', and infants' departments; (fn. 261) and in 1931 it was enlarged and reorganized as senior boys', senior girls', and infants' departments. The attendance in 1938 was 724. After the senior departments became secondary schools under the 1944 Act the infants' department continued as a separate school. In 1984 it had 92 children on the roll.

Heron school, a primary school on the Heron Park estate at Saintbridge, was opened by the education authority in 1977. (fn. 262) In 1984 it had 234 children on the roll.

Hillview school, at Hucclecote, was opened by the county education authority in 1957, (fn. 263) taking the junior children from the old Hucclecote (later Larkhay) school. It passed to the city in 1967, and in 1982 became a primary school, taking the infants from Larkhay school. (fn. 264) In 1984 it had 253 children on the roll.

Innsworth primary school, in Rookery Road, was opened by the county education authority in 1958. (fn. 265) In 1984, when it took only juniors, it had 139 children on the roll. Innsworth infants' school, in Mottershead Drive, was opened in 1974, (fn. 266) and in 1984, recently renamed Larkfield school, had 97 children on the roll.

Kingsholm school was planned by the city education authority from c. 1908 as a replacement for Northgate Council school, (fn. 267) and the site, east of Worcester Street, was bought in 1914, (fn. 268) but the school was not completed and opened until 1926. Designed by Walter B. Wood, (fn. 269) the school had accommodation for 564. Originally a mixed and infants' school, (fn. 270) it became a senior girls' and infants' school in 1931, and in 1938 it had an attendance of 335. In 1939, when the boys from Archdeacon Street school were transferred there, it became a senior mixed and infants' school. (fn. 271) After the senior department became a secondary school under the 1944 Act the infants' department continued as a separate school, closing in 1962. (fn. 272)

Larkfield school, see above, Innsworth.

Linden Road school was opened by the board in 1895 in buildings, designed by Medland and Son, with accommodation for 813 in mixed and infants' departments. (fn. 273) From 1901 until 1906, when the opening of Calton Road school eased the overcrowding, some pupils were housed in the nearby St. Luke's mission hall. (fn. 274) In 1903 the school was reorganized as senior mixed, junior mixed, and infants' departments and a new building for the infants was opened. (fn. 275) The attendance in 1904 was 937 and the recognized accommodation 1,210. In 1931, when the building was enlarged, the school was reorganized as senior boys', senior girls', and infants' departments. The attendance in 1938 was 760. After the two senior departments became secondary schools under the 1944 Act the infants' department continued as a separate school. It had 109 children on the roll in 1984.

Longlevens.

In 1930 the county education authority opened an all-age elementary school under the official title of Wotton St. Mary (Without) Council school; sited in Church Road (then Longlevens Lane), the building had accommodation for 312. (fn. 276) After the boundary extension of 1935 the school took considerable numbers of city children and there was later much discussion between the two authorities on the provision of an additional school for the area. (fn. 277) Longlevens school had an attendance of 389 in mixed and infants' departments in 1938. Later that year it became a senior school when the county opened a new school for juniors and infants in Paygrove Lane; the city authority was represented on the managing bodies of the two schools. (fn. 278) In 1945 the senior school became a secondary modern school. The primary school, transferred to the city authority in 1967, (fn. 279) was reorganized in 1969 as separate junior and infants' schools, (fn. 280) the former in the Church Road building (vacated by the secondary school) and the latter in the Paygrove Lane building. In 1984 Longlevens junior school had 388 children on the roll and Longlevens infants' school had 248.

Lower Tuffley infants' school, in Grange Road, was opened by the city education authority in 1951, (fn. 281) and Lower Tuffley junior school was opened nearby, in Holmleigh Road, in 1953. (fn. 282) The names of the schools were changed before 1972 to Grange junior and infants. (fn. 283) In 1984 the junior school had 285 children on the roll and the infants' school 171.

Moat junior school, in Juniper Avenue, Matson, was opened by the city education authority in 1959, and Moat infants' school was opened on an adjoining site in 1960, replacing the old Matson C.E. school. (fn. 284) In 1984 the junior school had 317 children on the roll and the infants' school 207.

Mount Street Temporary school was opened by the city education authority in 1910 in the former St. Mary de Lode school; it took 108 infants from St. Catherine's school. (fn. 285) In spite of the intended temporary nature and the limited recognition given to the building by the Board of Education, (fn. 286) the school survived for many years. It had an attendance of 83 in 1938. In 1948, still an infants' school, it moved to part of the Archdeacon Street school buildings. (fn. 287) It closed in 1955 when the children were transferred to St. Catherine's school. (fn. 288)

Northgate Council, see above, voluntary sch., Northgate Street Wesleyan.

Robinswood junior and infants' schools, on adjoining sites in Matson Avenue, Matson, were opened by the city education authority in 1955. (fn. 289) In 1984 the junior school had 224 children on the roll and the infants' school 168.

Ryecroft Council, see above, voluntary sch., Ryecroft Wesleyan.

Tredworth (High Street). The mission hall and former church school in Tredworth High Street was reopened as a board school in 1877, (fn. 290) when it had an attendance of 120. After the opening of Widden Street school in 1878 it took only infants (fn. 291) and it closed c. 1887. (fn. 292) It was again used by the board for a few years after 1898 to ease overcrowding at Widden Street and Tredworth schools, (fn. 293) and the city education authority used it for a few years after 1904 as an overflow school for Hatherley Road. (fn. 294)

Tredworth school, at the corner of Tredworth Road and Tredworth High Street, was opened by the board in 1887; the building, designed by Medland and Son, had accommodation for 684 in boys', girls', and infants' departments. (fn. 295) By 1891 attendance in two departments was in excess of the recognized accommodation and the school was still severely overcrowded in 1896. (fn. 296) Attendance in 1904 was 770. The buildings were enlarged in 1911. (fn. 297) After 1931 the school took junior boys, junior girls, and infants, and in 1938 attendance was 621. In 1952 it was reorganized as separate junior and infants' schools (fn. 298) and in 1970 the infants' school moved to a new building in Victory Road. (fn. 299) In 1984 the junior school had 184 children on the roll and the infants' school 201.

Tuffley.

The Barton St. Mary United District school board formed in 1876 (fn. 300) opened a school that year in the mission chapel at Tuffley. (fn. 301) The building was unsafe by 1881 and the school moved out to temporary accommodation. (fn. 302) In 1882 the board opened a new school, also used as a mission chapel, on the Stroud road south of the railway; it had accommodation for 90. (fn. 303) The school passed to the city board in 1900, (fn. 304) and in 1904 had an attendance of 109 in mixed and infants' departments. It closed in 1906. (fn. 305)

Wellington Street Council, see above, voluntary sch., British.

Whaddon school was opened by the county education authority in temporary premises in 1905 and moved into a new building in 1908. Sited by the Stroud road just within the former boundary of Tuffley, the school was apparently intended to serve Whaddon village and the part of Tuffley transferred to Whaddon parish in 1900. (fn. 306) It passed to the city authority in 1935 and had an attendance of 79 in junior mixed and infants' departments in 1938. A separate infants' school, to serve Lower Tuffley east of the railway line, was opened on an adjoining site in 1958. (fn. 307) In 1984 Whaddon junior school had 156 children on the roll and Whaddon infants' school 87.

Widden Street school was opened by the board in 1878 in a new building, designed by Medland and Son, with accommodation for 660. In June 1879 it was attended by 466 children in boys', girls', and infants' departments. (fn. 308) The school was enlarged in 1892 (fn. 309) but it was overcrowded in the late 1890s with the attendance more than the recognized accommodation. (fn. 310) In 1904 778 children attended. From 1931 it was organized as junior mixed and infants' departments, and attendance in 1938 was 392. The school was reorganized as separate junior and infants' schools before 1952. (fn. 311) In 1984 the junior school had 120 children on the roll and the infants' school 106. (fn. 312)

Wotton St. Mary (Without) Council, see above, Longlevens.

Special schools.

The Open Air school, at Oak Bank house in Tuffley, was opened by the city education authority in 1936, having been planned in 1930. Originally for delicate children, needing fresh air, (fn. 313) it later took physically handicapped children. It was renamed Oak Bank school in 1957, (fn. 314) and in 1976 it moved to a new building in Longford Lane and was renamed Chamwell school. (fn. 315) In 1984 it had 72 children, aged from 2 to 16, on the roll.

Archdeacon junior school for educationally subnormal children was opened by the city authority in the Archdeacon Street buildings in 1949. (fn. 316) It closed in 1963 when the children were transferred to Longford school. (fn. 317)

Longford school, for educationally subnormal children of secondary age, was opened by the city authority in Longford Lane in 1957. (fn. 318) It also took children of junior age from 1963. In 1984 there were 122 children, aged from 7 to 16, on the roll. A department of the school moved in 1983 to an adjoining site as a separate school called The Hawthorns; (fn. 319) in 1984 it had 63 children, aged from 2 to 16, on the roll.

HIGHER EDUCATION.

In 1859 a committee of subscribers opened a School of Art at Bearland House; its leading promoter was Thomas Gambier Parry, of Highnam Court, (fn. 320) who remained its chairman until his death in 1888. (fn. 321) Evening classes in science were begun in the city in 1867 and later moved (fn. 322) with the art classes to the new Schools of Science and Art opened in Brunswick Road in 1872. (fn. 323) In 1881 262 students were attending the Schools. Later there was a fall in numbers as evening classes in science and art were started at some of the city elementary schools, (fn. 324) notably at the National school, in London Road, in 1884. (fn. 325) Following the Technical Instruction Act of 1889 and the grant of surplus excise duties, known as the 'whisky money', to local authorities in aid of technical education, the city council made grants in support of the Schools and the London Road classes in 1892, and in 1896 it took over the management of both ventures. (fn. 326) In 1906 the Schools became the responsibility of the reconstituted United Schools governors, (fn. 327) under whom they remained until 1933 when the education committee assumed direct control. (fn. 328)

The curriculum at the Science School included from the 1870s building, machine construction, and agricultural science, and c. 1900 new courses, including telegraphy and plumbing, were introduced, to be followed in the next few years by an expansion of commercial and clerical training. The School, known successively as the Technical School and Technical College, cooperated with local firms, some of which gave day release to their apprentices from 1920. Aeronautical engineering and industrial drawing were among new courses introduced in the 1930s. (fn. 329) At the Art School courses in industrial design were developed in the 1920s and 1930s, and following the 1944 Education Act its activities took on a strong industrial bias. (fn. 330)

In 1941 the Technical College moved to a new building on the part of the Friars Orchard site that fronted Brunswick Road. Extensions to the building were opened in 1967 and 1974, temporary accommodation having been used meanwhile. (fn. 331) The Art School, carried on in the original building and other temporary accommodation, was renamed the College of Art in 1952. (fn. 332) In 1968 it moved into new buildings on the east side of Brunswick Road, (fn. 333) and in the same year it was amalgamated with the art college at Cheltenham to form the Gloucestershire College of Art and Design. (fn. 334) In 1981 the Art and Technical Colleges were amalgamated with the North Gloucestershire College of Technology at Cheltenham to form the Gloucestershire College of Arts and Technology, housed in the Brunswick Road buildings, the former College of Education buildings in Oxstalls Lane, and buildings at the Park and Pittville in Cheltenham. (fn. 335)

A college for training teachers of domestic science, the Gloucestershire School of Cookery and Domestic Economy (renamed in 1900 the Gloucestershire School of Domestic Science), (fn. 336) was opened at Gloucester in 1891, largely through the efforts of Mary Playne of Longfords, Minchinhampton, a daughter of Richard Potter and sister of Beatrice Webb. It was opened with the aid of a grant from the 'whisky money', and Gloucestershire county council agreed to pay the salary of its organizing secretary, who was also to have general responsibility for domestic science teaching in the county. From 1903 it was run by a domestic economy sub-committee of the county education committee, which had a majority of co-opted members and Mrs. Playne as its first chairman; in 1920 the education committee took more direct control. The school was at first housed in part of the old gas company offices in Quay Street, moving in 1894 to the nearby barracks, to which additional buildings were added in the early 20th century. Under its first organizing secretary, Florence Baddeley (d. 1923), the school grew to become one of the largest domestic science schools in the provinces. The students were housed in a number of hostels in the city. Wotton House was bought for that purpose in 1925 and a large new building was completed there in 1931, (fn. 337)

The school was renamed the Gloucestershire Training College of Domestic Science in 1925. Degree courses were introduced in association with Bristol University in 1926, and from 1947 the college was affiliated to the university's Institute of Education. A new curriculum, including general subjects as well as domestic science, was introduced in 1950. Plans for new premises were discussed from the late 1930s, (fn. 338) but were not realized until 1958 when the college moved to extensive new buildings at the junction of Cheltenham Road and Oxstalls Lane. (fn. 339) From 1962 the college provided general teacher training and it was renamed the Gloucestershire College of Education in 1967. It was closed in 1980. (fn. 340)

A school of dairying was established at Gloucester in 1889 by Dr. F. T. Bond in association with the Bath and West of England Society. Held at first in a building in Station Road, (fn. 341) it moved by 1899 to the barracks. (fn. 342) The county council, which aided the school from 1891, (fn. 343) took it over before 1906 and ran it, as the Gloucestershire County Council Diary School, until the late 1920s. (fn. 344)

From the mid 1850s or earlier some of the city's elementary schools, including St. Luke's and St. Mark's, ran evening classes. (fn. 345) The chaplain of the mariners' chapel was organizing classes for dock workers in the late 1860s. (fn. 346) An evening school for boys of over school age, started by the headmaster of Widden Street board school in 1879, (fn. 347) was apparently short lived. In the 1890s, however, evening classes were started at all the city's board schools; the board provided the rooms, fuel, and grant aid, leaving the teachers to organize the classes and take the fees (and the government grants for students aged under 21). (fn. 348) Evening classes at the council schools were continued by the city education committee after 1903. (fn. 349) After the Second World War they were organized as the Gloucester Evening Institute, which held classes at the secondary schools and prepared students for specific examinations, and the Gloucester Adult Institute, which was open to people of all ages and where the work was not directed to any particular qualifications. From the late 1960s the Evening Institute (renamed the Adult College in (1968) also held classes in outlying areas, such as Hucclecote and Longlevens. Other bodies organizing courses in adult education in the mid 20th century were the Gloucester branch of the W.E.A., which received grant aid from the education committee, and Bristol University's extramural department. (fn. 350) The education committee opened a language centre for immigrants in 1970. (fn. 351)

More short-lived establishments recorded in the city included a Domestic Training Institution opened in 1868, which trained girls from the poorer classes in domestic science, (fn. 352) and a Gloucester Commercial College founded at the custom house c. 1930 to provide training for careers in business and the civil service. (fn. 353)

PRIVATE SCHOOLS.

From the earlier 18th century Gloucester had a number of private schools, most of them boarding academies for young ladies. (fn. 354) Typical was one kept at a house in College Green from 1743 by Ann Counsel; the girls were taught needlework, music, and dancing and a writing master attended. (fn. 355) There were four such establishments in the city in 1791. (fn. 356) Private schools for boys included a nonconformist academy of considerable reputation held in the city by Samuel Jones between 1708 and 1712. (fn. 357) Another boys' school was kept from 1748 by Thomas Rudge, writing master and accountant, in a house in St. Mary's Square, the curriculum including book keeping and accounting. (fn. 358) The Revd. Thomas Rudge, who was later master of the Crypt school, (fn. 359) was offering private tutition for up to six boys at his house in Kingsholm in 1778. (fn. 360)

During the 19th century private schools proliferated in the city. There were at least 11 in 1823 (fn. 361) and at least 26 in 1842; (fn. 362) In 1881 there were 44, teaching a total of 994 pupils. (fn. 363) Schools providing education of a sectarian nature included an academy at Longford run by William Barber, a Wesleyan, in 1822 (fn. 364) and a Roman Catholic convent school for girls opened in London Road in 1862. (fn. 365) Many of the large houses in the city were used for private schools at some time, those at former monastic sites being found particularly suitable for the purpose. Priory House at St. Oswald's (fn. 366) and part of Blackfriars (fn. 367) housed schools in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Suffolk House at Greyfriars housed a succession of schools for some 65 years from c. 1825, (fn. 368) and in the mid 19th century a girls' school, called Abbot's Hall, was held in one of the houses in the ruins of the priory church (fn. 369) and another in Bowling Green House, briefly renamed Brunswick House. (fn. 370) Also used for many years by girls' schools was the former Spa hotel in Spa Road, which was renamed Ribston Hall when a school moved there from Suffolk House in 1867. (fn. 371)

The most ambitious venture in private education was begun in 1886, prompted by the depressed state of the King's school and the feeling that the city should have a first-class independent school, such as existed in Cheltenham and Malvern. The chief promoter was the Revd. Joseph Brereton who had been involved in setting up 'county schools' in Norfolk and Devon. (fn. 372) An association of subscribers opened three schools in 1887, a boys' school under Brereton's headmastership at Hempsted Court and girls' schools at Suffolk House and Ribston Hall. (fn. 373) A company to carry on the schools was floated in 1888 as the Gloucestershire County Schools Association, (fn. 374) but the enterprise was unsuccessful and was wound up in 1891. (fn. 375)

In the 20th century, with the development of the grammar and high schools run by the United Schools governors, private education played a dwindling role. There were c. 8 private schools in the city and suburbs in 1931 (fn. 376) and c. 5 in 1966. (fn. 377) There were usually two or three private preparatory schools; the proximity of Cheltenham, supporting a large number of such establishments, probably helped to restrict their number. A convent school was opened in Denmark Road in 1951, (fn. 378) and in 1958 Selwyn school, an Anglican foundation, opened at Matson House. The latter, which for some purposes was regarded as a 'sister school' of the King's school but was under quite separate management, took boarders from 1962, and in 1984 had c. 280 girls of primary and secondary age on the roll. (fn. 379)