This is a brief guide to researching schools. The National Archives holds the administrative and policy files of the government departments concerned with education, but is not the best source of information about individual schools. Where these survive, they are most likely to be held by local archives.
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What records can I see online?
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Inspection reports (19th century)
Search the Parliamentary Papers (institutional subscription required) for précis of 19th century inspection reports.
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What records can I find at The National Archives at Kew?
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Secondary education endowment files (1850-1945) and building grant applications (1833-1870)
Search the Catalogue by name of school or town for secondary education endowment files in ED 27 and building grant applications in ED 103.
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Elementary school files (1854-1984) and secondary school files (1818-1946)
Search the Catalogue by name of school or town for records of elementary and secondary schools in ED 21, ED 35 and ED 161.
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To access these records you will either need to visit us, commission research (£there will be a charge) or, where you can identify a specific record referencea unique set of letters and numbers identifying a document in The National Archives, order a copy (£there will be a charge).
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What records can I find in other archives and organisations?
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Records held locally
Search The National Register of Archives (NRA) or Access to Archives (A2A) databases by name of town or school to find what records are held locally.
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What other resources will help me find information?
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Books
Read Education and the State from 1833, Ann Morton (PRO 1997).
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In-depth research guides
Teachers and pupils