While studying a module on education archives, I came upon a Select Committee Report on Education, published in 1841, which is extremely illuminating, not least because it draws attention to the surprisingly large number of schools which existed in Scotland at that time. In addition to the parochial schools which one might expect to find in each parish, there were sometimes 5 or 6 other schools, even in rural parishes. Occasionally these were short-lived 'adventure' schools, but in other cases they were established by charities such as the SSPCK, whose principles were broadly similar to those of the Church of Scotland. In the parish of Strathdon, for example, there were schools in Corgarff with 92 pupils, in Deskry-side with 57 pupils and Glenkindie, with 50 pupils. There was also a parochial school with 45 pupils. These were mainly children between the ages of 5 and 12, with boys consistently out-numbering girls, sometimes by 2 to 1. Attendance might nonetheless be restricted to seasons when children were not required to assist with agricultural work and by no means every pupil received the benefit of education throughout this timespan. At this period a fee was payable for each subject studied. While the curriculum in adventure schools was usually restricted to basic literacy (with the Bible as the main text book), parochial and charity schools offered a much broader range of subjects and were invariably taught by university graduates. The emphasis, however, was on English language and numeracy skills. >From the New Statistical Accounts for Aberdeenshire parishes it can be inferred that by 1840 Gaelic was confined to a small minority of the population in the Upper Deeside area. The situation in the Highlands & Islands was somewhat different and official attitudes towards Gaelic (on the part of those providing educational services) varied at different periods. A summary of relevant reports and legislation can be found at http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/haynin/haynin05.htm . The 1841 Select Commitee Report can be accessed on the House of Commons Parliamentary Papers website, although possibly only through an educational institution or a library. A useful published guide to education in Scotland is "The History of Scottish Education" by James Scotland (London, 1969). I can also recommend the online couse offered through Dundee University and will be pleased to forward details to anyone interested. Alison On Thu, Sep 5, 2013 at 6:43 PM, Gavin Bell <[email protected]> wrote: > On 05/09/2013 11:51, Janet wrote: > > ... > > Was the Gaelic language prevalent in certain areas across Scotland, viz > moreso in the > > Highlands and what of Aberdeen? > > Aberdeen belongs firmly in the Scots-speaking Lowlands. A few of the > more westerly parishes of Aberdeenshire would still have had some Gaelic > speakers into the later 19th century. > > > Did the schools teach English from 1871 or were some of them totally > Gaelic. > > Even in Gaelic-speaking areas, the school would be taught in English. > > > If the > > latter, then it is more likely some of them would place a cross where > they were required > > to sign their name? > > I don't see why that should be. > > > It seems possible that children could write their name even if they > could not read, or was > > it the other way round; they could read but not write anything, even > their name, without > > encouragement. Those like mine who were born to parents in the printing > industry may be > > better off than others perhaps. > > By the later 19th century, children would be taught both to read and to > write. Among my ancestors (who were all in fairly humble circumstances) > I have come across only who failed to produce a signature when required > for purposes of Registration, and I think that was probably fairly typical. > > > Gavin Bell > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >