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page-break-before: always; } - .ol_1 li {font-size: .9em; } - @media handheld {.ol_1 li {padding-left: 1em; text-indent: 0em; } } - body {font-family: serif, 'DejaVu Sans'; text-align: justify; } - table {font-size: .9em; margin-top: 1.5em; page-break-inside: avoid; clear: both; } - .footnote {font-size: .9em; } - div.footnote p {text-indent: 2em; margin-bottom: .5em; } - div.titlepage {text-align: center; page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; } - div.titlepage p {text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; margin-top: 3em; } - .ph1 { text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; font-size: xx-large; - margin: .67em auto; page-break-before: always; } - .ph2 { text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; - page-break-before: always; } - .ph3 { text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; font-size: large; margin: .83em auto; - page-break-before: always; } - </style> - </head> - <body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Renaissance of Girls' Education in -England, by Alice Zimmern - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Renaissance of Girls' Education in England - A Record of Fifty Years' Progress - -Author: Alice Zimmern - -Release Date: July 27, 2020 [EBook #62774] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GIRLS' EDUCATION IN ENGLAND *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Tonsing, MFR, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class='tnotes covernote'> - -<p class='c000'><b>Transcriber’s Note:</b></p> - -<p class='c000'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='section ph1'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div>RENAISSANCE OF GIRLS’ EDUCATION</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='titlepage'> - -<div> - <h1 class='c002'><span class='xlarge'>THE</span><br /> RENAISSANCE OF GIRLS’ EDUCATION IN ENGLAND<br /> <span class='large'>A Record of Fifty Years’ Progress</span></h1> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='large'>BY ALICE ZIMMERN</span></div> - <div class='c004'><span class='small'>(GIRTON COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE)</span></div> - <div class='c004'><span class='xsmall'>AUTHOR OF ‘METHODS OF EDUCATION IN AMERICA,’ ‘OLD TALES PROM GREECE,’ ETC.</span></div> - <div class='c003'>London</div> - <div class='c004'><span class='large'>A. D. Innes & Company</span></div> - <div class='c004'>Limited</div> - <div class='c004'>1898</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div><span class='small'>Edinburgh: T. and A. <span class='sc'>Constable</span>, Printers to Her Majesty</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_v'>v</span> - <h2 class='c005'>PREFACE</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>To all whom it may interest I dedicate this brief -summary of the events which have wrought a peaceful -revolution among us during the last fifty years. -Among the many changes of the half-century, the -great transformation in the education of women -surely deserves a record. The workers have been -many, the help given of various kinds, yet no event -is isolated, for all are links in one chain of progress. -Fifty years ago a few far-sighted men and women -gave the impetus; we who harvest where they sowed -may like to be reminded, in this season of retrospects, -of the great debt we owe them. What has touched -the lives of so many women is the concern of all, -and though I shall be proud indeed if my book prove -welcome to teachers, I should wish most of all to -address myself to that old and long-tried friend of -literature, the general reader. If he, or she, can be -persuaded, to spend an hour or two, learning the past -and present of the education of our girls, my purpose -will have been accomplished.</p> - -<p class='c007'>To thank for favours received is a pleasant task, -but the list of those who have helped me with this -<span class='pageno' id='Page_vi'>vi</span>book would prove too long for enumeration. I desire -to offer my heartiest thanks to all who have assisted -me with information, criticism, or in any other way; -especially to Miss Beale for valuable materials and -kind hospitality, to Mrs. Bryant and Miss A. A. M. -Rogers for much useful information, to Miss Mary -Gurney, Miss Ella Pycroft, Miss Mary Kennedy, and -Mr. W. Edwards for reading portions of the book, -and to Mrs. Edwards for her sympathy and kindness -during my stay in Wales. To the many headmistresses -who have allowed me to visit their schools -I offer most cordial thanks, and last, but not least, to -the officials of the Education Library, in particular -Mr. Sadler and Miss Beard, for their courtesy and -helpfulness.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>ALICE ZIMMERN.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='small'><em>September 1898.</em></span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_vii'>vii</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table class='table0' summary='CONTENTS'> - <tr> - <th class='c008'><span class='small'>CHAP.</span></th> - <th class='c009'> </th> - <th class='c010'><span class='small'>PAGE</span></th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>I.</td> - <td class='c009'>BEFORE 1848</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_1'>1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>II.</td> - <td class='c009'>THE FIRST COLLEGES</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_20'>20</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>III.</td> - <td class='c009'>LIGHT IN DARK PLACES</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_38'>38</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>IV.</td> - <td class='c009'>THE HIGH SCHOOLS</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_52'>52</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>V.</td> - <td class='c009'>ENDOWMENTS FOR GIRLS</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_78'>78</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>VI.</td> - <td class='c009'>THE WOMEN’S COLLEGES</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_103'>103</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>VII.</td> - <td class='c009'>ADMISSION TO THE UNIVERSITIES</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_126'>126</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>VIII.</td> - <td class='c009'>BOARDING AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_149'>149</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>IX.</td> - <td class='c009'>THE TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION ACTS</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_169'>169</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>X.</td> - <td class='c009'>STATE AID FOR GIRLS</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_195'>195</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XI.</td> - <td class='c009'>THE INTERMEDIATE SCHOOLS OF WALES</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_215'>215</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XII.</td> - <td class='c009'>1898</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_234'>234</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='section ph1'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>THE</span></div> - <div class='c004'>RENAISSANCE OF GIRLS’ EDUCATION</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_1'>1</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER I<br /> <span class='large'>BEFORE 1848</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Yes, strange though it may sound, it was in truth -a Renaissance—a revival of the past, and no new -experiment. Or perhaps we should more fitly describe -it as the realisation of an old dream, one that -has been dreamed many times in the course of the -ages, but has waited till the nineteenth century for -its complete fulfilment. Two thousand years ago it -was seen by Plato, that most practical of idealists, -who maintained that it was for the best interests -of the state that its men and women should be as -good as possible. Therefore the education of both -was a matter of public concern. In these latter days -this doctrine has won acceptance, with an even wider -significance, due to our democratic development. The -treasures of learning are no longer the property of an -exclusive few, and the privileges of class and sex are -breaking down simultaneously. Education for all, -boys and girls, rich and poor, is the modern demand, -which no party dare now refuse to consider. We -must cater not only for the ‘wives of the governors,’ -but also for the children of the slums. All the -daughters of all the households of all civilised -<span class='pageno' id='Page_2'>2</span>countries are to enter into their heritage. The -much-discussed ‘ladder’ from the elementary school -to the University is becoming a fact; and its rungs -are being widened, that the girls may ascend it side -by side with their brothers. <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">La carrière ouverte aux -talents</span></i>, with no distinction of class, sex, or creed, is -the demand of the nineteenth century.</p> - -<p class='c007'>From Plato’s Utopian ‘Republic’ to London of the -County Council is a far cry. Between the two, this -question of girls’ education has many times been -raised and temporarily solved. Socrates’ half-jesting -dictum, that women are capable of learning anything -which men are willing they should know, might -stand as the motto for nearly every attempt to improve -female education. The instruction given to -women at different epochs has varied directly with -the estimation in which they were held. When they -were regarded as slaves or toys it was expedient to -keep them in ignorance; when they were treated -honourably as equals, the best gifts of learning were -not thought too good for them.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It is not our place here to dwell on the bright -examples of antiquity, the Neo-Platonist women and -Hypatia, the beautiful mathematician of Alexandria, -but rather, turning to our own country, to see how -Christianity has touched the lives of women. Here, -as elsewhere, it was the Church alone that kept alive -the flame of knowledge during the Middle Ages. In -the seventh and eighth centuries, that ‘nadir of -learning,’ monks and nuns alike were occupied with -literary studies. They read theology and classics, -copied manuscripts, and corresponded in Latin. Their -activity was in accordance with their social position. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_3'>3</span>‘The heads of the great religious houses were necessarily -persons of importance, with privileges and -great responsibilities. They had considerable wealth -at their disposal, and in authority and influence they -ranked among the nobles of the land, to whom -they were often allied by birth.’<a id='r1' /><a href='#f1' class='c011'><sup>[1]</sup></a> The name that -naturally occurs first to our minds is that of the -Abbess Hilda, ‘whose counsel was sought even by -kings,’ and who ruled over a double monastery, which -became a seminary of bishops and priests. Hers is -no solitary instance. ‘In Anglo-Saxon England,’ -writes Miss Eckenstein, ‘men who attained to distinction -received their training in settlements governed -by women. Histories and a chronicle of unique value -were inspired by and drafted under the auspices of -Saxon abbesses.’ And ‘the curriculum of study in -the nunnery was as liberal as that accepted by the -monks, and embraced all available writings, whether -by Christian or profane authors.’ The convents were -the colleges of Anglo-Saxon times. The nuns, who -lived a life of seclusion and study, might be compared -with the fellows; the students were the successive -groups of girls who came there for education.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Among the many social changes brought about by -the Norman Conquest, the most far-reaching, the -introduction of feudalism, established a new centre -of education, which henceforth flourished side by side -with the cloister. The monks still taught the Trivium -and Quadrivium—Grammar, Dialectic, Rhetoric, -Music, Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy—though the -instruction given deserved these high-sounding names -little better than the so-called sciences taught in girls’ -<span class='pageno' id='Page_4'>4</span>schools at the beginning of our own century. The -castle could offer boys a more attractive programme. -The seven knightly accomplishments were to ride, -sing, shoot with the bow, box, hawk, play chess, and -write verses. It had something for girls as well. -While the young squires gained their training by -service done to their lord, the <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">châtelaine</span></i> would gather -about her a troop of gentle maidens, who learned to -weave, spin, brew, and distil, and do various kinds of -needlework. They learned a little reading and writing, -and in these arts were somewhat in advance of -their brothers, who were trained to look on books as -monkish and womanish, and not quite suited to a -knight and gentleman. The <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">châtelaine</span></i> herself held an -honourable position. In her lord’s absence she must -even take command of the castle, and the <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">damoiselles</span></i> -must be prepared for their own coming responsibilities.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The thirteenth century brought a change. The -political influence of the Church, which had been -lessened by the Conquest, was revived by the preaching -friars. They introduced a new ideal of monastic -life; the spirit of devotion and asceticism drove out -the old love of learning. New priories sprang up -throughout England, but their aims were different. -As the monasteries were more and more becoming -centres of devotion, learning was being driven -into the new universities, where the philosophy -of the schoolmen now reigned supreme. Already -some colleges with endowments for poor scholars -had been founded at Oxford and Cambridge, and it -was becoming the custom for the monasteries to send -their most promising pupils there. Why did the -nuns not follow this example? Probably the metaphysical -<span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span>disputations then in vogue had few attractions -for them; and the presence of large numbers of -men would be a sufficient reason for keeping aloof, -for though the studies of both sexes might be the -same, they were not pursued side by side. Whatever -the cause, it is certain that while masculine -learning showed an ever-growing tendency to leave -the cloister, female scholarship was still closely confined -to the convent. But it was degenerating for -want of new life; the nunneries were a survival, not -a living growth; their learning had become ‘poor in -substance, cramped in method, and insufficient in -application.’<a id='r2' /><a href='#f2' class='c011'><sup>[2]</sup></a> The old order was changing, but somehow -the nuns failed to perceive it. In Erasmus’ day, -we are told, the really learned woman was to be -found outside the convent walls, and he adds the -significant remark that her husband approved of her -studies. The wrong done to women by the dissolution -was not so much the closing of the convents as -the transference to men of their endowments. The -most flagrant instance is the transformation of St. -Radegund’s nunnery at Cambridge into Jesus College. -That this and other instances of spoliation were possible -shows how low the status of women had sunk, -and it is not strange, therefore, that a period of -neglected education should have ensued.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Whatever the cause, the Reformation does not -seem to have assisted the development of women. -Perhaps this was partly due to the removal of the -one career that had been open to them, thus forcing -all, married and unmarried, into a dependent position -in the household. Luther’s views on women were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span>not very elevated, and probably a good many of the -Reformers shared them. It may be due to this -Protestant influence that in England women profited -less intellectually by the Renaissance than men, or -at any rate in far smaller numbers. Thanks to the -new grammar schools, learning was being made accessible -to boys of all classes. When Sir Thomas -More’s dream was realised, and the middle classes, -from the squire to the petty tradesman, were brought -into contact with ancient literature, the daughters -were not as well provided as the sons. Some authorities -are of opinion that the original foundations were -meant for both sexes alike, but if so, very few girls -of the middle class profited by their advantages, -though some sort of education evidently came to all. -Among the upper classes large numbers of women -were carried away by the enthusiasm of the Renaissance, -and learned to read Latin and Greek. The -sixteenth century has always been celebrated for its -learned ladies, as witness Wotton’s oft quoted remark -thereon and his comment: ‘One would think by the -effects that it was a proper way of educating them, -since there are no accounts in history of so many -great women in any age as are to be found between -the years 1500 and 1600.’ Queen Elizabeth and Lady -Jane Grey are sometimes called exceptions, but this -is clearly an error. Learning was an expensive luxury -for women, since it involved the services of a private -tutor, but it had fashion and opinion on its side. -To be learned was accounted a privilege, which called -for neither arrogant boasting nor blushing concealment. -Those who did study, would naturally turn -to the best their age could offer them, <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">i.e.</span></i> the new -<span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>editions of the classics and the fashionable modern -literature. They set the fashion too as well as -followed it. The success of <cite>Euphues</cite> was established -by its lady readers, and in the domain of -polite literature it was generally acknowledged that -they created the standard. When Lyly wrote ‘Euphues -had rather lie shut in a lady’s casket than -open in a scholar’s study,’ he knew well enough that -it was not the ladies who would neglect his book. -He confessed as much in its dedication to the ‘Ladies -and Gentlewomen of England.’ Nor was there anything -new in this. The lady sat in her bower to -read Sidney’s <cite>Arcadia</cite> as in olden times she had -listened in the hall to the lay of the minstrel. -It was still her part to assign the prize of romance -as of valour. The leisure which made the enjoyment -of tale and song possible was essentially the lot of -the rich and noble lady, who neither toiled nor span, -but did a more useful work as guardian of art and -literature. The amazing discovery that ‘Books are -a part of man’s prerogative’<a id='r3' /><a href='#f3' class='c011'><sup>[3]</sup></a> had not yet been made; -there is certainly not a hint of it in Shakespeare. -Nor could such a doctrine possibly originate under -a queen, who, whatever her faults, cultivated learning -herself and honoured it in others. Our thoughts -linger lovingly over that noblest age of English story, -when romanticism and classicism joined their glories -for a brief space; when the courtier was both knight -and scholar, and the noble dame’s epitaph praised -her as ‘wise and fair and good.’ Seen through the -haze of the past, its splendours stand out in even -greater dimension, while all that was small and weak -<span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>is obscured to dimness. The very age that followed -served as a foil to throw into yet brighter relief ‘the -spacious days of great Elizabeth.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>It is significant of the rapid degeneration that -ensued, that though between the accession of Henry -<span class='fss'>VIII.</span> and the death of James <span class='fss'>I.</span>, 353 grammar schools -were founded in England, not one was added to the -number after 1625. The seventeenth century was -a gloomy period for England. If Elizabeth had given -her country peace and glory, the Stuarts were not -long in reversing the position. Disastrous civil wars, -political and theological quarrels, absorbed the best -energies of the nation. The Cavaliers were too frivolous, -the Roundheads too grimly earnest to spare -much leisure for learning. In times of war and -national peril woman’s influence is apt to wane, and -such power as they had at the Stuart court was not -of the kind to encourage intellectual pursuits. When -a scholar was hardly accounted a gentleman, a lady -might be pardoned for neglecting her intellectual -charms. It became the fashion among men to decry -female students, to bid them put away their books -and learn to wash and cook instead. ‘I like not a -female poetess at any hand,’ says one of these self-appointed -critics. This attitude was characteristic -of the decline of chivalry and the degradation of -woman’s position. ‘There is not so much as a Don -Quixote of the quill left,’ writes Mary Astell in 1694, -‘to succour the distressed damsels.’ The age of -courtesy being over, women must help themselves, -and she takes up the cudgels for her sex. ‘A man -ought no more to value himself on being wiser than -a woman,’ she remarks pertinently, ‘if he owes his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>advantage to a better education and greater means -of information, than he ought to boast of courage -for beating a man when his hands were bound.’<a id='r4' /><a href='#f4' class='c011'><sup>[4]</sup></a> -Hers is the old thesis, that women are quite capable -of learning if only men will not put hindrances in -their way. Even so the girls’ curriculum of her day -does not seem to have been as meagre as is often -assumed. She tells us that when the boys go to -grammar schools the girls are sent ‘to boarding-schools -or other places to learn needlework, dancing, -singing, music, drawing, painting, and other accomplishments ... and French, which is now very -fashionable.’ This description which would almost -have served at the beginning of our own century, -is not as gloomy as Defoe’s, written at about the -same time. Girls, he tells us, learned ‘to stitch -and sew and make baubles. They are taught to read -indeed, and perhaps to write their names or so, and -this is the height of a woman’s education.’<a id='r5' /><a href='#f5' class='c011'><sup>[5]</sup></a> Both -agree in condemning its narrowness. Defoe cannot -believe that ‘God Almighty ever made them such -glorious creatures, and furnished them with such -charms, so agreeable and delightful to mankind, with -souls capable of the same accomplishment with men, -and all to be only stewards of our houses, cooks, and -slaves.’ Mary Astell maintains that ‘according to the -rate that young women are educated, according to -the way their time is spent, they are destined to -folly and impertinence, to say no worse.’ She protests, -as Mrs. Makins had done before her,<a id='r6' /><a href='#f6' class='c011'><sup>[6]</sup></a> against -<span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>the new fashion of ignorant women, and implores -her sisters to help bring back the good old times, -and take a lesson from the ladies of the previous -century. Both Defoe and Mary Astell recommend -the same project, the establishment of women’s -colleges, thus anticipating our own times by more -than a century and a half. Defoe’s colleges would -have been superior boarding-schools, one in every -county and about ten for the city of London; Mary -Astell’s plan was to combine religious and intellectual -aims. She contemplated ‘a seminary to stock the -kingdom with pious and prudent ladies, whose good -example, it is to be hoped, will so influence the rest -of their sex, that women may no longer pass for those -little, useless, and impertinent animals which the ill -conduct of too many has caused them to be mistaken -for.’<a id='r7' /><a href='#f7' class='c011'><sup>[7]</sup></a> But it must also try to ‘expel that cloud of -ignorance which custom has involved us in, to furnish -our minds with a stock of solid and useful knowledge, -that the souls of women may no longer be the only -unadorned and neglected things.’ Nothing came of -either project; they belong to the domain of unfulfilled -dreams.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The new century brought little improvement. Anne -was not of a sufficiently independent character to -influence greatly the lives and pursuits of her subjects. -As was natural in the reign of a Queen, the position -and dignity of women were somewhat raised; and in -that ‘Augustan age’ there was one class of literature -specially addressed to the ladies, the newly invented -essay. Addison really wanted to elevate their position -and social influence, but his success was literary rather -<span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>than moral. If we may trust the novelists of the last -century, public morality was never at a lower ebb. -The men of that day worshipped idleness, and it was -not surprising that they did not care to see their wives -and mistresses at work. Show was the aim throughout, -and the ‘accomplishment’ reigned supreme. The -second half of the century witnessed a great increase -in the boarding-school system. Hitherto it had been -confined to the fashionable world; now tradesmen and -farmers who had made some money began to emulate -their ‘betters.’ Imitations of the fashionable schools -sprang up everywhere. ‘We have,’ says the heroine -of General Burgoyne’s play, <cite>The Heiress</cite>, “Young -ladies boarded and educated” upon blue boards in -gold letters in every village; with a strolling player -for a dancing-master, and a deserter from Dunkirk to -teach the French language.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>The eighteenth century, too, had its distinguished -women; indeed, the Blue-Stocking Club, so called, it -seems, from the dress of one of its masculine <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">habitués</span></i>, -is regarded as the representative group of learned -ladies. But Mrs. Montagu, Mrs. Chapone, and Hannah -More were exceptions, and themselves only too conscious -of their opposition to the rest of their sex. There -was a touch of the <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">précieuse</span></i> about some of them which -exposed them to a good deal of cheap satire, and they -were keenly alive to the antagonism with which the -other sex regarded them. Mrs. Chapone even advises -her niece to avoid the study of classics and science, -for fear of ‘exciting envy in one sex and jealousy in -the other.’ Lady Mary Wortley Montagu complains -bitterly that ‘there is hardly a creature in the world -more despicable and more liable to universal ridicule -<span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>than that of a learned woman,’ while ‘folly is reckoned -so much our proper sphere, we are sooner pardoned -any excesses of that than the least pretensions to -reading and good sense.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>Some of these last century women were practical -reformers, who realised the pernicious results of this -false opinion about their sex. Among these was -Hannah More, who entered a most earnest protest -against the excessive accomplishment craze. The -lower middle class were emulating the upper in their -endeavour to make their daughters ‘accomplished -young ladies,’ while they quite forgot that ‘the profession -of ladies to which the best of their education -should be turned is that of daughters, wives, mothers, -and mistresses of families.’<a id='r8' /><a href='#f8' class='c011'><sup>[8]</sup></a> She even ventured to fly -in the face of public opinion by asserting that ‘a young -lady may excel in speaking French and Italian, may -repeat a few passages from a volume of extracts, play -like a professor, and sing like a siren,’ and yet be very -badly educated, if her mind remains untrained. ‘The -kind of knowledge that they commonly do acquire is -easily attained,’ they learn everything in a superficial -question-and-answer way, or through abridgments, -beauties, and compendiums, instead of reading books -that require thought and attention. As we read her -<cite>Strictures on Female Education</cite> we rub our eyes and -look at the date once more. Is this, indeed, Hannah -More writing a hundred years ago, or have we stumbled -upon a stray extract from Mr. Bryce’s report to the -Schools’ Inquiry Commission in 1867? ‘She should -pursue every kind of study which will teach her to -elicit truth, which will lead her to be intent upon -<span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>realities; will give precision to her ideas; will make -an exact mind.’ She quotes Dr. Johnson’s opinion -that ‘a woman cannot have too much arithmetic.’ -Had the worthy doctor a prevision of a High School -time-table?</p> - -<p class='c007'>Hannah More’s influence does not seem to have -been very lasting. Her contemptuous remark, that -we might as well talk about the rights of children as -the rights of women, shows that she had not much -real grasp of the educational problem. Both should, -in her opinion, be relegated to their proper subordinate -places. She was right in despising the frivolity of her -day, and condemning the constant round of pleasure -in which fashionable women spent their lives, but she -was almost too severe to be helpful. Far more valuable -was Miss Edgeworth’s work, which was constructive -as well as critical. Her educational romances, in which -she contrasts the good and bad governess, the sensible -and frivolous girl, are thoroughly readable even at the -present day, and must have proved useful to many -readers who lighted unawares on the powder in the -jam. <cite>Practical Education</cite>, written in conjunction -with her father, throws valuable light on contemporary -conditions, and advances theories that are still worthy -of our notice. The ‘practical toy shop,’ provided with -all manner of carpenter’s tools, with wood properly -prepared for the young workman, and with screws, -nails, glue, emery-paper, etc., is still to seek; her -remarks on the two schools, the one teaching ‘by dint -of reiterated pain and terror,’ the other ‘with the help -of counters and coaxing and gingerbread,’ are not altogether -out of date. Nor have we yet learned to pay a -good governess £300 a year, on the ground that her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>working days are few, and she ought to lay by for a comfortable -old age. Her severest strictures, like Hannah -More’s, are reserved for ‘female accomplishments.’ -Their chief use is that ‘they are supposed to increase -a young lady’s chance of a prize in the matrimonial -lottery.’ Hence, when the end is achieved, they are -thrown aside. ‘As soon as a young lady is married, -does she not frequently discover that she really has -no leisure to cultivate talents which take up so much -time?’ Nor is it quite certain that they are as efficacious -as is generally supposed. The market is becoming -overstocked, for ‘every young lady, and every young -woman is now a young lady, has some pretension to -accomplishments. She draws a little; or she plays a -little; or she speaks French a little.’ Accomplishments -are becoming so general ‘that they cannot be -considered as the distinguishing characteristics of even -a gentlewoman’s education.’ Since they are no longer -‘exclusive,’ she hopes they may be cast aside for -something better. Her indictment against the female -education of her day is that ‘sentiment and ridicule -have conspired to represent reason, knowledge, and -science as unsuitable and dangerous to women; yet, -at the same time, wit and superficial acquirements in -literature have been the object of admiration in society; -so that this dangerous inference has been drawn, -almost without our perceiving its fallacy, that superficial -knowledge is more desirable in women than -accurate knowledge.’ It is interesting to find this -complaint repeated in 1826 by an anonymous writer,<a id='r9' /><a href='#f9' class='c011'><sup>[9]</sup></a> -who maintains the old dictum that ‘females are not -<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>behind males in capacity, and excel them in diligence -and docility,’ but they are handicapped by ‘an education -of mere externals and of show.’ There is a want -of stamina in girls’ education, and as for their school-books, -they are mere combinations of words used as -‘substitutes or apologies for ideas.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>Maria Edgeworth’s influence should have been -considerable, but turning from her works to her -contemporaries and immediate successors, it seems -doubtful whether they even understood her. Her -stories, whose most useful lessons were addressed to -parents, were turned into children’s books; and the -demand for a more solid education simply led to an -increase of the memory and book-work in schools. -In spite of her strictures on the uselessness of a -knowledge of isolated facts, and the attempts of Mrs. -Barbauld and others to supply something better, the -catechism system continued to grow and flourish. -Large amounts of memory work were added to the -piano and drawing, which still held their own, and -the results were not merely negative as regards -intellectual value, but positive in their injurious -effects on health. Miss Frances Power Cobbe in her -description of the fashionable boarding-school to -which she was sent in 1836, speaks of the pages of -prose the girls were expected to learn by heart, amid -the din of constant practising. ‘Not that which was -good in itself or useful to the community, or even -that which would be delightful to ourselves, but that -which would make us admired in society was the -<i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">raison-d’être</span></i> of each requirement. Everything was -taught in the inverse ratio of its true importance. -At the bottom of the scale were Morals and Religion, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>and at the top were Music and Dancing, miserably -poor music too, of the Italian school then in vogue, -and generally performed in a showy and tasteless -manner on harp or piano.’<a id='r10' /><a href='#f10' class='c011'><sup>[10]</sup></a> Miss Cobbe thinks this -education far worse than that received by her mother -in 1790, when much less was attempted, and there -was no ‘packing the brains of girls with facts.’ -Besides ‘grammar and geography, and a very fair -share of history’ (ancient from Rollin, and sacred from -Mrs. Trimmer), they ‘learned to speak and read French -with a very good accent, and to play the harpsichord -with taste.’ Clearly things were on the downward -course, and in the first half of this century the -education of both sexes was in some respects in a -worse condition in England than at any time before -or since. Mere ignorance would have been comparatively -harmless, but there never was a time when -educational theories were more fashionable or more -perverse. Miss Catherine Sinclair, who wrote in the -forties and fifties, lifted up her voice, in <cite>Modern -Accomplishments</cite>, against the system of cram and -display then prevailing. ‘Lady Howard’s utmost -ingenuity was exercised in devising plans of study for -her daughter, each of which required to be tried -under the dynasty of a different governess, so that by -the time Matilda Howard attained the age of sixteen, -she had been successively taught by eight, all of -whom were instructed in the last method that had -been invented for making young ladies accomplished -on the newest pattern.’ All these governesses were -foreign, according to the fashion of the day; at last -an English lady of Edgworthian type was discovered, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>who trained the mind instead of overloading the -memory, and all ended happily. Precocity and display -were what parents demanded, and schools and -governesses contrived to supply the requirements. -Miss Sinclair’s accounts of premature death and lifelong -ill-health may have been overdrawn, but doubtless -she put her finger on the weak spot when she -wrote: ‘Nothing is popular now that requires thought -in young people, who are constantly devouring books, -but never digesting them, and are allowed no time -to think.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>The better the school, in the acceptation of that -day, the worse probably the result; and those girls -whose parents could not afford the expensive governess -or the ‘finishing-school,’ often had the best of it, -so long as they were not sent to one of the cheap and -inefficient imitations. By a curious irony the one -attempt made early in the century to give a good -education at a small expense, was that which through -Charlotte Brontë’s genius has been held up to everlasting -contumely. The Clergy Daughters’ School at -Cowen Bridge undertook, for the small sum of £14 a -year, to clothe, feed, lodge, and educate the daughters -of clergymen. In 1825, the year when Charlotte -Brontë was there, the Rev. W. Carus Wilson (too -well known as Mr. Brocklehurst), appealing for -additional funds, stated that an annual income of -£250, together with the fees, would be sufficient to -meet current expenses. A comparison of this modest -demand with the sums raised in our own day for -women’s colleges, helps us to realise the revolution -that has taken place in public opinion. Even so most -of the subscribers seem to have been Mr. Wilson’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>relations, and it was only as a charity for the poor -clergy, with a side-thought of getting better governesses -at low terms, that it awakened any interest at -all. Still it was considered a remarkable achievement. -In 1833, Mr. Venn Elliott, who had visited -the school in its new premises at Casterton, and been -present at the consecration of the church built in its -neighbourhood, wrote: ‘I would rather have built -this school and church than Blenheim and Burleigh. -So Dr. Watts said he would rather have written -Baxter’s <cite>Call to the Unconverted</cite> than Milton’s -<cite>Paradise Lost</cite>.’ The result of this visit was the -foundation of St. Mary’s Hall at Brighton. It still -exists, and gives a really first-class education at a low -fee. Other schools were founded in imitation; and -in spite of the sordid economy of those early days, -and the suffering it entailed on the weakly, they -deserve full recognition as almost the only institutions -which attempted in the early part of the century -to provide a good and cheap education for girls. -The tradition of sound study survived, and in 1867 -the Casterton institution came in for a word of praise -from the Royal Commissioners, amid their almost -universal condemnation of existing girls’ schools.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The benefits which a woman’s reign always confers -on women have been experienced to the full during -the long and peaceful reign of our present Queen. -The interest taken by her and the Prince Consort in -arts and letters, and in the general improvement of -the people, set an example that was readily followed. -Ladies of the upper and middle classes began to take -a keener interest in the lives of the poor, and in dealing -with the problems they thus encountered were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>often brought to realise their own want of education. -There was a stir and a movement towards something -better. The views of men were gradually changing, -as the ideal of womanhood set by a purer Court -became more elevated. Sixty years of a woman’s wise -and beneficent rule have done much to restore the -glories of Elizabeth’s day. Like the revival of letters, -which communicated to the whole world the learning -which had once belonged to one small people, this -other renaissance brought knowledge, not only to the -convent pupil and the lady of leisure, but to all the -daughters of the nation. This widening has helped -to fix the roots more firmly, and we may hope and -believe that the gains of this century are not to be -lost, but, enriched by all the wealth of the future, to -continue for many a generation to come.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER II<br /> <span class='large'>THE FIRST COLLEGES</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>The revival of women’s education in England has -now a record of fifty years behind it. On the 1st of -May this year Queen’s College in Harley Street -celebrated its Jubilee with manifold rejoicings, a -celebration in which all Englishwomen may claim -the right to join. Though Girton and Holloway and -other newer institutions have arisen since to throw -the glories of Queen’s into the shade, none can -deprive it of its proud title—the first women’s college -in England.</p> - -<p class='c007'>An occasion of this kind provokes reminiscence -and the drawing of contrasts between 1848 and 1898; -while the question that naturally occurs to us is: How -did it all begin? Many answers have been suggested. -Some have pressed the significance of 1848 as the -year of Revolution, and hinted that the women’s -share in revolt was an attempt to throw off the -shackles of ignorance. This may not be altogether -fanciful. Such social upheavals symbolise the workings -of intellectual forces, nor can we doubt that the -attempt to win for women privileges from which -they had hitherto been jealously excluded is a part -of the democratic demand for universal equal -opportunity.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>Along with the general ferment of ideas and the -cry for reform must be counted the growing influence -on the lives of the upper classes exercised by the -Queen and Prince Consort. Following the lead of the -Court the ideals of the nation were changing. A -more serious view of life and its responsibilities was -developing, and the time seemed a propitious one for -organised effort. But though various schemes had -been discussed, the immediate impetus to action was -an actual and crying need. In those days girls of -the upper classes were, for the most part, educated -at home by governesses, usually foreigners, because -Englishwomen, though glad enough to obtain such -posts, when suddenly thrown upon the world by the -death of a parent or other untoward circumstance, -were seldom properly qualified to fill them. Some of -course there were who, by foreign travel or private -study, had reached a fair standard of attainment; -but how distinguish these from the herd, when they -lacked even the teacher’s diploma with which their -Swiss or German rivals were equipped? In this -dilemma the Governesses’ Benevolent Institution -came to the rescue.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This Institution had been founded in 1843 with a -threefold aim:—(1) To afford temporary relief in cases -of great suffering, (2) To cultivate provident habits in -those who could afford to save; (3) To raise annuities -for those past work. This programme seemed to distinguish -governesses as a class specially in need of -pity and relief. To attempt to help them by increasing -their competency, and thus indirectly their -wage-earning capacity, was a bold new departure. -The first proposal was to hold examinations for a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>teacher’s diploma, but it soon appeared that an -attempt to examine the untaught was a useless inversion -of the natural order. To make the undertaking -really helpful it became necessary to institute a -system of classes. This scheme was first discussed -in 1846, and a sum of money collected by Miss -Murray, one of the Queen’s Maids of Honour, handed -over to the Institution for this purpose. In 1847 the -first certificates were conferred, and arrangements -made for opening classes. Here some of the most -distinguished professors of King’s College stepped in -with help. Among them were Maurice, Trench, and -Kingsley, and others no less noted. It was a new -and astounding departure for men of their standing -to be willing to lecture to women. They began with -evening classes, but soon added others in the day for -ladies of no special occupation. This led to the -taking of 67 Harley Street, for the purpose of holding -classes in ‘all branches of female learning,’ and permission -was received to name the new institution -Queen’s College.</p> - -<p class='c007'>On March 29, 1848, Professor F. D. Maurice, who -has been called the ‘parent and founder of the -College,’ delivered an inaugural address on ‘Queen’s -College, London, its objects and methods.’ After -apologising for the word ‘college’ as somewhat too -ambitious for the project in hand, he thought well to -answer in advance the objections of those who might -use Pope’s hackneyed line about ‘a little learning’ as -a means of discrediting the new classes. Even he -did not anticipate very deep draughts from the -spring of knowledge. ‘We are aware that our pupils -are not likely to advance far in mathematics, but we -<span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>believe that if they learn really what they do learn, -they will not have got what is dangerous but what is -safe.... I cannot conceive that a young lady can -feel her mind in a more dangerous state than it was, -because she has gained a truer glimpse into the conditions -under which the world in which it has pleased -God to place her actually exists.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>Each of the first courses was preceded by a preliminary -lecture, in which the professor introduced, -and almost apologised for his subject. Latin was to -win toleration as ‘one road, and perhaps the shortest, -to a thorough study of English’; in each case it was -shown that the evils anticipated from that particular -subject were fanciful. These explanations strike us -quaintly now; it is hard to realise how great was the -terror of learned ladies which in those days it was -fashionable to assume.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Still, in spite of prejudice, the College flourished. -There were no less than two hundred entries the first -term. In 1853 it had grown sufficiently independent -to stand on its own feet, and breaking away from the -parent institution, it was incorporated by Royal -Charter. Its objects were declared to be the general -education of ladies, and the granting of certificates of -knowledge. Professor Maurice became Chairman of -Committee and Principal; and Queen’s, which loves -its old traditions, has continued the practice of -appointing a male Principal, therein differing from -every other women’s college in the United Kingdom. -It feels so keenly the debt it owes its founders, that -it cherishes the idea—mistaken surely—that it can -best do them honour by maintaining the college such -as it was in their day. Thus the fate of many a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>pioneer has overtaken Queen’s. The vanguard have -become the laggards, and useful and admirable as is -its work, it has been outstripped by younger institutions, -and no longer stands in the forefront of the -battle. This is the common fate; it is easier to improve -than to originate, but the debt of gratitude we -all owe to Queen’s is none the less because so many -others have harvested where she sowed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Since Queen’s takes pride in its conservatism and -adherence to its original methods, the latest calendar -gives a very fair idea of its work even in early days. -It states that ‘the College provides for the higher -education of women, in the first place by a liberal -school training, and, subsequently, by a four years’ -course of College education. The College education -leads to the grade of Associate ... and after a -further course of study to the higher grade of Fellow -of the College.’ The school was not part of the -original scheme, but became necessary when the first -generation of students, thoughtful women who had -already been trying to improve themselves, and -eagerly welcomed the advantages then for the first -time offered them, gave way to a younger generation. -Among the applicants for admission were mere -schoolgirls, and instead of turning them away to seek -inefficient preparation elsewhere, it was resolved to -start a preparatory department for their benefit. -This developed into a small school for girls under -fourteen, the age at which pupils are admitted into -the College. Here the students belong to two -categories: those who follow a prescribed course laid -down by the authorities, and those who enter for -single classes, and arrange their work themselves. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>The former class are known as ‘compounders,’ and -pay a composition fee of £8 to £10 per term. They -must attend eighteen hours a week of regular class -teaching. The regulations fix the subjects for twelve -hours; parents or guardians for the other six. The -prescribed work includes—(<em>a</em>) two languages: English, -two hours, and French, German, Latin, or Greek, two -hours; (<em>b</em>) two sciences: Mathematics and Arithmetic, -four hours; Geography, one hour, Natural Philosophy, -one hour, when exemption is granted in Mathematics; -(<em>c</em>) English History, one hour, Ancient or Modern -History, one hour; (<em>d</em>) Holy Scripture, one hour.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Candidates for the Fellowship must have passed -the examination for the Associateship at least one -academical year previously to entering for the Fellowship -examination. For this, one principal subject of -study must be chosen, with not fewer than two additional -subjects. Since only three students had, in 1897, -concluded this additional course, the Associateship -may be regarded as the ordinary goal of Queen’s -College students. The course for this is excellent, -doubtless, for girls from fourteen to eighteen; but -studies of so miscellaneous a character, leading to a -‘grade’ which can be attained at the age of eighteen, -belong properly to the domain of school work. -Queen’s differs, however, in its organisation from the -upper department of a modern High School. Most -of the teaching is given in the form of lectures. -This lecture-system marks a distinct stage in the -progress of girls’ education. In the schools of the -early part of the century the various ‘professors’ who -came to lecture occupied an important place in the -prospectus. They ranged freely over the sciences in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>a manner that amused and interested their hearers, -without making any undue demand upon their intelligence -or powers of thought. Hence, the lecture-system -seems to have established itself as a first -step towards attracting female pupils to the higher -branches of knowledge. The High Schools, too, were -to pass through that stage, and emerge from it. -Queen’s still keeps up the tradition of lectures, and -as its discipline and general arrangements differ from -those of a school, without resembling those of a -college, it must be regarded as an institution apart, -self-contained, and unconnected. As such it is of -the greatest value in supplementing the home-teaching -of girls, or undertaking the complete -education of those who do not desire to enter the -University, or take up any distinct profession. These -would probably get a better practical preparation at -a good high school. Still the others are likely to -remain the majority, and there will always be an -important function for an institution that supplies -good teaching without any compulsion to enter for -outside examination. Such, at any rate, is the view -of the Council, who have commemorated their Jubilee -by a renewal of the lease, and the general improvement -and partial reconstruction of the premises. In -its old home, with unbroken traditions, gathering in -the children and grandchildren of its earliest students, -it is continuing the work with which, fifty years ago, -it inaugurated the revival of women’s education.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Although Queen’s was the first college actually -opened, other similar schemes were being projected -at the same time. The foundation in 1826 of -University College had given an impetus to advanced -<span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>studies in London, and as a perfectly undenominational -institution it served as the model for Bedford -Ladies’ College. The foundress and benefactor of -Bedford was Mrs. Reid. Her wish to help girls took -effect in 1847 in the establishment of classes at her -own house. Two years later she took a house in -Bedford Square and gave £1500 towards the initial -expenses. Mrs. Reid and her friends were ambitious. -They meant to found a real place of higher education -for women, and in doing so they did not hesitate -to break with the past. Mrs. Reid felt convinced -that women could best understand the needs of girls, -and though a committee consisting chiefly of men -might at that time have included more distinguished -names, she probably kept in mind the time to come -when the college would be able to invite its own old -pupils on to its committee. The co-operation of -ladies was in the first instance secured by the institution -of lady-visitors, to be present in turn at lectures—a -plan at that time considered indispensable, and -adopted also at Queen’s. It was arranged that the -College Board should include the forty lady-visitors -and six gentlemen. This Board annually appointed -the Council of Management, and the Council elected -the professors and all the officers of the college. This -plan seemed to answer, and the college, which was -fortunate enough to secure the services of such able -men as De Morgan, F. W. Newman, and Dr. Carpenter, -entered on a successful career. After a while pupils -came in from a distance. Provision had to be made -for these, and in 1861 a second house was taken and -the upper floors adapted as a residence, while the -lower ones were used for class-rooms. For a few -<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>years Bedford too had to maintain a school, but this -was not part of the promoters’ scheme, and they -hailed the first signs of improved school teaching as -a pretext for closing it. This happened in 1868, -at a time when circumstances made a complete reorganisation -of the college necessary with a distinct -declaration of policy.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The change had been hastened by the death of -Mrs. Reid. She left a considerable part of her fortune -in the charge of three trustees, Miss Bostock, Miss -J. Martineau, and Miss E. E. Smith, to be utilised -for ‘purposes of higher education.’ This seemed a -suitable moment to seek incorporation, and in 1869 -Bedford College received its charter. Its objects -were thus described:</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘1. To continue with an improved constitution the -College for women which has been carried on since -1849 in Bedford Square, London, and has been known -since the year 1860 as Bedford College.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘2. To provide thereby a liberal education for -women, such education not to extend beyond secular -subjects.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>Henceforth the management was vested in members -of the college, with a Council elected from the -number and a President, to be called the Visitor. -This office has been held successively by Erasmus -Darwin, Mark Pattison, and Miss Anna Swanwick.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Bedford, like Queen’s, was happy in its founders, -but to none does it owe more than to Miss Bostock. -After Mrs. Reid’s death she took over the care of the -college as a sacred trust, devoting to it the greater -part of her time, and helping it with money and good -counsel. Happily she lived to see the fruit of her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>labours, and to know that Bedford College had won -an assured position through its connection with the -London University.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Its beginnings, like that of most women’s institutions, -had to be tentative. The first lectures probably -had a more popular character than those now given; -and since they aimed rather at general culture than -a systematic course of study, Literature, History, and -Language would draw the largest audiences. But -from the very first Latin, Science, and Mathematics -were taught, and the college remembers with due -pride that George Eliot was a member of its earliest -Latin class. At any rate the promoters were quite -sure of their aims. The daring words, ‘a liberal -education for women,’ had been uttered without -extenuation or apology. But in those days Bedford -College stood alone, with no academic body to test its -work and direct its curriculum. Nor was public -opinion yet fully ripe for a real University education -for women. Bedford had to wait another ten years -before the opening of the London degrees came to -fix its position and define its studies. They were not -wasted years. The college was giving numbers of -intelligent and eager girls their first insight into real -knowledge, and teaching them to be dissatisfied with -narrow, cramping instruction. Many of them have -gone out into the world to hand on the impulse and -inspiration gained here, and help to influence that -public opinion which alone has made admission to -the Universities possible. In 1874 the college was -helped by a move to better premises. When in 1879 -London opened its degrees to women, the opportunity -of Bedford had come, and it was ready to use it. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>From this date onward its history belongs to that of -Women’s University Education.</p> - -<p class='c007'>These two earliest colleges may be regarded as not -only pioneers but also parent institutions. They drew -within the sphere of their influence many of those -women who were to train up the next generation. -Among the earliest pupils of the Queen’s College -evening classes was Miss Buss, who was already -teaching in her mother’s private school, and was -destined to found the first public school for girls. -She was one of the first to win the governess diploma. -Another was Miss Dorothea Beale, so well known for -her work at Cheltenham. She remained at Queen’s -from 1849 to 1856, first teaching Mathematics, then -Latin, and afterwards in charge of the school. In -1858 she became Principal of the Cheltenham Ladies’ -College, which had already been at work for five -years.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The Cheltenham College differed in its original -idea from Queen’s and Bedford. Both these had been -founded with the purpose of giving women such -advanced education as they were at that time capable -of receiving, and had gradually been compelled by -the exigencies of the case to provide for girls as well. -Cheltenham, though called a college in imitation of -the boys’ college in that town and some other public -schools, really aimed in the first instance at providing -for girls similar educational advantages to those -which their brothers enjoyed in the same town. As -King’s College had suggested Queen’s, the boys’ -college at Cheltenham suggested the girls’. Twelve -years elapsed between the foundation of the two; -and Queen’s and Bedford were already pointing the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>way when a small committee of enthusiasts met at -the house of Mr. Bellairs, one of H.M. Inspectors, and -drew up a prospectus, inviting the public to take -shares in the new undertaking. A day-school was -all that was at first contemplated, and the subjects to -be taught there were described as Holy Scripture -and the Liturgy, history, geography, grammar, arithmetic, -French, music, drawing, needlework. German, -Italian, and dancing to be extras. The proposal -found favour. Shares to the amount of about £2000 -were taken up, a house hired, and the new venture -started with good auspices, 88 pupils entering -the first term, and the numbers soon going up to -120. It is not quite easy to understand why this -prosperous beginning was not followed up. After -a while the numbers went down, and the college -seemed to be losing favour. Probably it was ahead -of local public opinion, not yet abreast of North -London, where Miss Buss was already successfully at -work. The first years were times of struggle, and -even the appointment of Miss Beale in 1858 did not -at once turn the scale. After forty years of successful -work in the college, Miss Beale can enjoy the pleasure -of contrasting then and now. Some of her reminiscences -throw a curious light on public opinion in -the early fifties. The curriculum, unpretentious as it -seems, proved too advanced. Parents objected to -the thoroughness of the teaching, and the time given -to arithmetic and similar subjects. Some disliked -the annual examination, which was held to be -unfeminine, and the difficulty of obtaining good -teachers was almost insuperable. In regard to these -Miss Beale suffered through being ahead of her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>times. She desired especially two things: that the -teachers should be women, for, to quote her own -words, ‘we think it essential to the right moral -training of girls that the whole internal discipline -and much of the moral training should be in the -hands of ladies’; and that they should be to some -extent specialists, the only way to abolish the textbook -cram and unintelligent memory work then in -vogue in girls’ schools. How she set out again and -again to seek for teachers, and how many a time -she was disappointed, she has herself recorded in -her history of the college. Her efforts show how -hard it was to found a school before the reformation -of the higher education had given the necessary -impetus from above. It was a case of making bricks -without straw.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Perhaps the practical difficulties in the way of -finance were really the most hampering, for the -founders had too little experience of these matters; -and a Mr. Brancker, who as treasurer, by readjusting -the whole system of fees, put the College on a sound -financial basis, may almost count as its second -founder.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In 1863, five years after Miss Beale took office, -some Oxford examiners were invited to inspect and -report on the school. This was a new departure; it -meant an acknowledgment of the connection which -should exist between girls’ schools and the Universities. -A small thing in itself, but typical of the -many changes that the next five-and-twenty years -were to bring.</p> - -<p class='c007'>From this time onward the College was brought -into close connection with every educational reform -<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>in England; and its history, like that of the North -London Collegiate, presents in miniature the various -changes of this busy quarter of a century. In 1863 -an informal examination was held for girls in the -papers of the Cambridge Local Examination. This -was the beginning of a new departure, and from -that time forth preparation for one or other of the -local University examinations formed part of the -work of both schools. In 1866, Miss Beale and Miss -Buss were called upon to give evidence before the -Royal Commission, and the plan of these two schools -was thus brought before the notice of the general -public. The interest that resulted in all questions -concerning the education of girls reacted on these -first schools. For Miss Buss it won an endowment, -for Cheltenham that recognition which means success. -It became possible to raise the standard and -enlarge the curriculum. Mathematics, Science, Latin -and Greek, were added to the prospectus. Applications -from pupils outside the town necessitated the -opening of a boarding-house in 1864. The College -was fast outgrowing its first home; then came a fresh -obstacle to overcome. Building had become essential, -but prejudice stood in the way. Although good -premises and beautiful surroundings have long been -regarded as essential for boys’ schools and colleges -and a really important factor in the training given -there, the prejudice that any makeshift was good -enough for girls has died hard, if indeed it can even -now be called dead. Miss Beale naturally desired to -see the now flourishing College in adequate and -beautiful buildings. This seemed to some of the -governors too daring a departure. However, after -<span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>many struggles and defeats, the party of progress -carried the day. The new premises, the nucleus of -the present beautiful College buildings, were opened -in 1873. Of course they had the effect of attracting -additional numbers; and when three years later, -further extension became necessary, it appeared that -the College had not merely outgrown its premises, -but also its constitution. The time had come to put -it on a more lasting basis. At a meeting of shareholders -it was decided to renounce all claim on a -profit, and accept instead a right of nomination on -each share, as is done at several boys’ proprietary -schools. The whole income became available for the -payment of teachers, the maintenance and improvement -of the buildings, school furniture and apparatus. -The government was placed in the hands of a council -of twenty-four persons, six being representative -members chosen by the Bishop of the Diocese, the -Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and London, the -Lady Principal and the staff of teachers, while the -remaining eighteen were elected by the shareholders. -The inclusion of women on this body has proved -specially beneficial to the College.</p> - -<p class='c007'>By this time there were 500 girls in the school, and -ten licensed boarding-houses. Many internal changes -had taken place, corresponding to the changes in the -world without. The Cambridge Local Examinations -had proved helpful in the early days, and the establishment -in 1868 of the Cambridge Higher Local -supplied a definite aim for the work of the senior -classes. It has always been popular at Cheltenham, -and over 500 girls have passed it from the College. -Another impetus was given to work by the institution -<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>of the special women’s examination of the University -of London; during the nine years of its existence, -one-third of the successful candidates came from -Cheltenham. But it was the formal opening of the -London degrees that led to the present complete -organisation of the College with its system of departments, -leading respectively to the Oxford Senior, -Cambridge Higher, and London University Examinations. -By this time Girton, Newnham, and other -women’s colleges had come into existence. Cheltenham -could send its pupils to continue their studies -at the older Universities, and the specialist teachers, -for whom Miss Beale had sighed in vain in the early -days, were now forthcoming. Fashion too was beginning -to smile on those more serious studies which -the College had so long pursued in the face of prejudice. -The time of struggle was over. Cheltenham -was no longer in advance of the tide, but moving -harmoniously with it, giving help and receiving it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Cheltenham College, as it now exists, has certain -peculiarities which distinguish it from most of the -girls’ schools of the present day. Firstly, it does not -receive all comers, but is distinctly intended for the -‘daughters of gentlemen,’ and references in regard -to social standing are required before admission. -Secondly, it combines the functions of a day and -boarding-school, by a system of boarding-houses -which belong to the Council, and are under the -general control and supervision of the Principal. -Thirdly, it is not one large school, but a system of -departments under separate heads, all under the -direction of the Principal. Division I. is under Miss -Beale herself. The work is directed towards: (1) the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>London Degrees; (2) the Cambridge Higher Local; -(3) the Oxford Senior and Higher Local Examinations. -This division is the College proper, and is organised to -some extent on college lines. Division II. has about -200 pupils between twelve and sixteen. Division III., -the juvenile department, has about 70 pupils between -seven and twelve. Below this comes the Kindergarten. -By-students may attend single courses of -lectures as at Queen’s and Bedford.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Cheltenham College is thus enabled from its own -resources to take a child straight from the nursery, -and after many years send her forth as a full-fledged -graduate of London University. It is neither to be -expected nor desired that many girls should thus -receive the whole of their education under one roof, -but while some attend one department and some -another, the College does in itself comprise the three -stages of education: primary, secondary, higher. It -has gone even further, for it takes an important part -in the work of training teachers, which has been so -largely developed of late years. The training department -has three distinct divisions, in which teachers -are prepared for Kindergarten, Secondary, and Public -Elementary Schools. The ‘Hall of Residence,’ which -is growing so much in favour now, is also represented -at Cheltenham by St. Hilda’s, a residential college for -students over eighteen, and in particular the twenty -foundationers who are intending teachers and are -received at reduced fees. Finally, the Old Girls’ -Guild with its eleven hundred members all over the -world, its College Settlement in the East End of -London, and its biennial meetings at Cheltenham, -keeps the College in constant touch with the work, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>social, philanthropic, and professional, that is being -done by women at the present day.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The Cheltenham College has become a little world -of itself. It presents in miniature each of the developments -in women’s education which has taken place -in the last fifty years. The dignity of its beautiful -buildings, the ideals which take visible form in the -statues of representative women, and the stained-glass -presentations of Scripture characters and female -virtues, seem to link it to the past; the energy and -enthusiasm of its Principal, and the full tide of life -that pulses through the whole, assure its place in the -future of girls’ education.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER III<br /> <span class='large'>LIGHT IN DARK PLACES</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>The fifties had witnessed the rise of these earliest -colleges, and given hope to a little band of reformers -whose efforts on behalf of light and progress were the -chief feature of the sixties. Never was a reform -happier in its advocates. Frances Buss, dreaming, -while yet in her teens, of giving to future generations -of girls that public school life which had been denied -to her; Anne Clough, recording in her early diary -the longing to do her country some great service; -Emily Davies, devoting all her thought and energy -to making that dream of a women’s college a reality; -Dorothea Beale, struggling against opposition and -prejudice to build up the wonderful organisation at -Cheltenham—these were some of the pioneers whose -names have become as household words, whose portraits -hang in many a home even beyond the seas, the -patron saints of our girl students.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Side by side with these worked others, both men -and women, who had come to realise the deplorable -condition of girls’ education. On the one hand, complaints -were heard of their incompetence in domestic -matters. ‘They cannot keep house accounts,’ says -one writer; ‘they neither can make puddings nor -direct servants in making them; they cannot make -<span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>or mend their clothes; in a sick-room they are -either so nervous or so senseless that their presence -is worse than useless.’ On the other, we hear of the -terrible strain consequent on what was by curious -irony called over-education—girls sitting at their -books or piano from morning to night, loading their -memories with undigested facts. Both evils proceeded -from the same cause. ‘Everything that is -taught is taught dogmatically, and consequently the -powers of research, inquiry, analysis, and reason either -are altogether crushed out or rust from want of use.’<a id='r11' /><a href='#f11' class='c011'><sup>[11]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c007'>At this time public schools for girls were practically -unknown. Teaching was no profession for women—it -was the acknowledged resource of the middle-aged -spinster left penniless by her father, or the widow -whose husband had made ducks and drakes of the -money. It was the one thing that anybody could do, -since it required neither knowledge nor experience. -All that was necessary was to hire a house, with a -little saved or borrowed capital, and put up a brass -plate on the door, announcing the existence of a -select establishment for young ladies. Each schoolmistress -did what seemed good in her own eyes or -those of her pupils’ parents, and though, when the -principal was herself a cultivated woman, she often -inspired her pupils with a love of books that remained -with them in after years, these cases were the exceptions. -The condition of the great mass of cheap -day-schools was deplorable.</p> - -<p class='c007'>An attempt to penetrate beyond these brass-plated -doors was made by Madame Bodichon, who as Barbara -Leigh Smith had attended some of the earliest -<span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>classes at Bedford College. The results of her inquiry -were given to the Social Science Congress at Glasgow -in 1860. She strongly denounced the little cheap -private day-schools, academies, and such like, ‘often -conducted by broken-down trades-people, who failing -in gaining a livelihood in a good trade, take in despair -to what is justly considered, in consequence of the -competition of the schools assisted by government, -as a very bad business.’ Happily, times have changed, -and we can afford to smile at the picture of these -‘genteel’ establishments, with their ‘insufficient room -and ventilation,’ where the young ladies were taught -about the ‘four elements, earth, air, fire, and water,’ -and, shutting their eyes and their windows, studied -the wonders of nature in little cheap catechisms.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Some test for distinguishing good schools from bad -ones seemed desirable in the best interests of teachers -and pupils. In 1857 and 1858 Oxford and Cambridge -had instituted local examinations for young persons -not members of the Universities. These had proved -useful in raising the standard of middle-class education, -giving an aim and a stimulus to small schools. -Why not do the same for girls? It was decided to -make the attempt. In October 1862 a small committee -was formed in London, with Miss Emily -Davies as secretary. Permission was asked and given -to conduct an informal examination for girls with the -same papers as were set to the boys. The examiners -looked over the answers and reported on them. The -results were somewhat startling. Out of forty senior -candidates thirty-four failed in preliminary arithmetic. -The juniors did a little better. The average work in -English was pronounced fair, and in grammar very -<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>good. French did not compare unfavourably with -the boys. In German only twelve candidates presented -themselves; all passed—three with distinction. -Not such a bad record after all, but of course it was only -the progressive schools that were represented. These -learned that they must look to their arithmetic, and -they did so with excellent results. Both the successes -and the failures showed the value of the experiment, -and it was resolved to repeat it. A memorial was -sent to the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, signed by -more than a thousand persons engaged in teaching -or interested in education. The result was the formal -admission of girls to these examinations. In 1865 -they were held at six places: Brighton, Bristol, -Cambridge, Manchester, London, and Sheffield. A -hundred and twenty-six candidates entered; ninety -passed. A great advance had been made in two years. -Arithmetic was no longer a stumbling-block. Out of -the whole number of candidates only three failed in it. -English history came in for a share of praise. ‘The -examiners thought the style of the girls’ replies better -than that of the boys.’ ‘The answers of the senior -and junior girls were orderly and methodical, and the -writing and expression good. The papers of many -gave proof of care and ability on the part of both -teacher and scholar,’ and more to the same effect. -In 1866 there were two hundred and two girls at -ten centres. This time the report was even more -satisfactory.</p> - -<p class='c007'>These results were most valuable. They proved -that there must be many good schools in the country, -and some teachers who could learn from the success -and failure of their pupils. No time could have been -<span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>more opportune for this experiment, for just then -a Royal Commission was making an inquiry into all -the schools that had not been included in the Popular -Education Commission, or that which examined into -the nine great public schools. This really meant a -general survey of boys’ secondary education; and to -boys it would have been confined, had it not been for -those same energetic women who had inaugurated -the reform of girls’ education. Here was an opportunity -not to be missed. Once more signatures were -collected for a memorial, this time to beg for the -inclusion of girls’ schools in the scope of the inquiry. -This was granted, and consent given to the admission -of a few ladies to give evidence. Some trepidation -was felt at so novel a proceeding. Thirty years later, -when another such Commission was appointed, and -women were included among the Commissioners, their -appointment caused less remark than the invitation -given in 1865 to a few ladies to give information on a -subject on which none were better qualified to speak. -So quickly has public opinion changed!</p> - -<p class='c007'>Nine ladies gave evidence before the Commission. -The most valuable testimony came from Miss Buss, -at that time head of a large private school, Miss -Beale, Principal of Cheltenham College, and Miss -Emily Davies, who was taking so active a part in -all reforms that concerned girls. Eight Assistant Commissioners -were requested to make special inquiries -as to the girls’ schools in selected districts. Their -task proved no easy one. The request to be allowed -to inspect schools or procure information about them -by other means was met sometimes by indignant -refusal, at others by a silence as eloquent. However, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>in spite of difficulties, it proved possible to obtain -returns from a good number and examine some more -or less thoroughly. Since the assumption seems fair -that it was the superior schools which were most ready -for inspection, the reports must be read with the -mental addition of an even worse state of things -behind that remained unrevealed. At any rate, there -was enough to make out a case for action.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The report which was issued in 1867 summarised -the impression formed by the Assistant Commissioners. -‘It cannot be denied that the picture brought before -us of the state of middle-class female education is, on -the whole, unfavourable. The general deficiency in -girls’ education is stated with the utmost confidence, -and with entire agreement, with whatever difference -of words, by many witnesses of authority. Want of -thoroughness and foundation; want of system; slovenliness -and showy superficiality; inattention to rudiments; -undue time given to accomplishments, and -those not taught intelligently or in any scientific -manner; want of organisation—these may sufficiently -indicate the character of the complaints we have -received in their most general aspect. It is needless -to observe that the same complaints apply to a great -extent to boys’ education. But, on the whole, the -evidence is clear that, not as they might be but as -they are, the girls’ schools are inferior in this view to -the boys’ schools.’ Mr. Norris, one of the Assistant -Commissioners, says: ‘We find, as a rule, a very small -amount of professional skill, an inferior set of school-books, -a vast deal of dry, uninteresting task-work, -rules put into the memory with no explanation of -their principles, no system of examination worthy of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>the name, a very false estimate of the relative value -of the several kinds of acquirement, a reference to -effect rather than to solid worth, a tendency to fill or -adorn rather than strengthen the mind.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>There is unanimous testimony as to the undue -amount of time given to accomplishments, music in -particular. There are some elaborate calculations as -to the total number of hours spent on acquiring a -mechanical skill on the piano, though about a third -of the pupils never make the slightest use of it after -they have left school. The music played is bad; -there is little training for the taste and none for the -mind in this study to which girls devote almost as -much time as their brothers do to classics. Next to -music modern languages absorbed most of the time -and energies of the pupils, and yet the Commissioners -unanimously report with severity on the results -attained. Very few girls could compose a French -sentence correctly; slipshod grammar and bad pronunciation -are noted, and set down to the habit of -speaking French out of school hours, by which a sort -of jargon was developed incomprehensible to an -outsider, and not even up to the standard of Stratford-atte-Bowe. -On the subject of Science Mr. Fitch -wrote: ‘Few things are sadder than to see how the -sublimest of all physical sciences is vulgarised in -ladies’ schools. No subject, if properly taught, is -better calculated to exalt the imagination and to -kindle large thoughts in a pupils mind. Yet all the -grandeur and vastness are eliminated from the study -of Astronomy as commonly pursued; and the pupils -whose attention has never been directed to any one -of the great laws by which the universe is governed, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>think they are learning astronomy when they are -twisting a globe round and round, and solving a few -problems in latitude and longitude.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>Arithmetic comes in for the worst censure. It is -spoken of as ‘the weak point in women teachers.’ -‘It would be an affectation of politeness,’ says Mr. -Hammond, to say a word on behalf of the arithmetic -taught by ladies. It is always meagre and almost -always unintelligent.’ The school-books receive -almost unqualified abuse, in particular <cite>Mangnall’s -Questions</cite> and ‘all the noxious brood of catechisms.’ -History and ‘miscellaneous subjects’ are too often -taught from these, geography and grammar from -wretched little text-books, all the sciences in the -course of a few lectures. Now and then a word of -praise is given to English literature and composition, -<i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">e.g.</span></i>, ‘English literature occupies a more prominent -position in the education of girls than of boys.... -The object of the lessons is to exercise the memory -and to cultivate the imagination of the scholars; -their most beneficial result is observable in the style -of composition acquired by girls at a comparatively -early age. Whereas a boy of fifteen hardly ever -succeeds in putting together half a dozen readable -sentences, a girl of the same age often writes with -much freedom and fluency.... A bundle of letters -written by girls of seventeen or eighteen afforded me -real pleasure; many of these were well conceived and -well expressed, and they presented a variety of style -and subject which proved that they were not manufactured -to order or cast in any stereotyped mould.’<a id='r12' /><a href='#f12' class='c011'><sup>[12]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c007'>One of the most serious defects is the lack of all -<span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>physical training, while attempts are made to combine -exercise and instruction, <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">e.g.</span></i> by repeating French -verbs when out walking, thus achieving neither result -satisfactorily.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Not only were the Commissioners of one mind in -their strictures, but there is a striking unanimity -about their recommendations. Mr. Giffard’s lucid -summary may be taken as also representing the -views of his colleagues: ‘If I were to sum up the -impression I derived from my visits to girls’ schools, -I should say, (1) that the mental training of the best -girls’ schools is unmistakably inferior to that of the -best boys’ schools; (2) that there is no natural -inaptitude in girls to deal with any of the subjects -which form the staple of a boy’s education; (3) that -there is no disinclination on the part of the majority -of teachers to assimilate the studies of girls to those -of boys; (4) that the present inferiority of girls’ -training is due to the despotism of fashion, or, in -other words, the despotism of parents or guardians.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>There is a general consensus of opinion on the -following points:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>1. Most girls’ schools are too small.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘There is little life, no collective instruction, and -nothing to call forth the best powers of either teacher -or learner in a school where each class consists of -two or three pupils only.’—(Mr. Fitch.)</p> - -<p class='c007'>2. They lack proper organisation.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘There is a certain number of classes or of girls -learning particular things, but there is neither any -definite course of studies nor any grouping of classes, -so as to play into one another.’—(Mr. Bryce.)</p> - -<p class='c007'>3. Want of proper proportion in arranging subjects.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>4. Poor quality of the teaching, due to the inferior -education of the teachers themselves.</p> - -<p class='c007'>5. Lack of an external standard to act as a stimulus -to the learner and help to the teacher.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Mr. Bryce’s recommendations are of special interest, -since they mark out the lines on which the chief -reforms have proceeded. They are these:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>1. The establishment of schools for girls under -proper authority and supervision. ‘It would be at -all events most desirable to provide in every town -large enough to be worthy of a grammar school a -day school for girls, under public management, where -a plain, sound education should be offered at the -lowest prices (from £5 per annum or upwards) compatible -with the provision of good salaries for -teachers, and which should be regularly examined by -competent persons thereto appointed.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>2. Considerable changes in the course of instruction -for girls of all classes. ‘It would be proper to lay -more stress upon arithmetic, to introduce mathematics -everywhere, and Latin where there is a fair -prospect of a girl’s being able to spend four hours a -week upon it for three years.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>3. The foundation of institutions which should -give to women the same opportunity of obtaining -higher education which the Universities give to boys. -The lack of this higher training injures the school -education by lowering its tone, and opening up no -wider field of knowledge to the more studious and -eager scholars. An even worse result is ‘the low -standard of education and of knowledge about education -among schoolmistresses and governesses.’... -‘It is from the advent of more highly educated -<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>teachers that the first improvement in the education -of girls is to be hoped for.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>Such was the verdict of this famous Commission, -whose ‘revelations’ have figured in so many prizegiving -speeches. The report filled twenty stout -volumes, which were duly relegated to their place on -official shelves, to accumulate dust; and there, thirty -years after, they have been joined by the nine -volumes drawn up by our latest educational Commission. -Truly has it been said that the best way to -shelve a question in England is to let a Royal -Commission sit upon it. But even a Royal Commission -and a twenty-volume report could not shelve -the subject of girls’ education; the reformers were -too much in earnest. Miss Beale extracted from -these ponderous blue tomes all that related to girls, -and reprinted it in a compact little volume. Even -before its appearance action had been taken. The -Cambridge Local Examinations had drawn schoolmistresses -together and given them a common -interest. They now began to form associations in -different parts of the country. One was started in -London, with Miss Buss as President and Miss Davies -as Secretary. The North of England proved a -specially congenial sphere for this form of union. -The Ladies’ Honorary Council of the Yorkshire -Board of Education was an outcome of the introduction -into that county of the Local Examinations, but -it soon extended its operations over wider fields, <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">e.g.</span></i> -domestic economy and sanitary science, as well as -the extension of endowments to girls.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Even more far-reaching in its results was the North -of England Council. This too originated in Schoolmistresses’ -<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>associations, among which Miss A. J. Clough -was a moving spirit. In 1865 she contributed to -<cite>Macmillan’s Magazine</cite> an article setting forth certain -schemes for improving girls’ education. One of these -was to establish in other large towns courses of lectures -similar to those given at Queen’s and Bedford -Colleges, to be attended by the older pupils from -schools and by teachers. Co-operation between -several towns would make it possible to engage -really able lecturers from Oxford and Cambridge. -The experiment was first tried at Liverpool, and -spread to Manchester, Leeds, and Sheffield. Associations -were formed in these four towns, and by the -election of two representatives from each, the ‘North -of England Council for Promoting the Higher Education -of Women’ was constituted in 1867, with Miss -Clough as secretary and Mrs. Butler as president. -The lectures proved a phenomenal success. In the -autumn of 1868 the numbers of the combined -audiences in nine towns amounted to 1500, and Mr. -F. Myers writing of them in <cite>Macmillan</cite>, enumerated -their advantages thus:</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘1. They contain within themselves the germ of -university extension.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘2. They confront young women in a reasonable -manner with reasonable men.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘3. They encourage and help governesses, who attend -in large numbers, and are glad to have good teaching -and to know of the best books.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘4. They form a nucleus for educational libraries -and for the friendships of fellow-students.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘5. They pay.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>These lectures were in actual fact the beginning of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>University Extension, but the work of the North of -England Council did not stop here. A further aim -for study was needed, and some more advanced -examination than those for girls under eighteen, if -women were to be qualified to instruct girls in anything -but elementary subjects. A petition was drawn -up and sent to Cambridge with the signatures of over -600 ladies engaged in teaching, 300 interested in it, -and six members of the late Schools’ Inquiry Commission. -They pointed out ‘the great want which -is felt by women of the upper and middle classes, -particularly by those engaged in teaching, of higher -examinations suitable to their own needs.’ The petition -was granted, and the first Women’s Examination -held in 1869.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Looking back on these past days now that it is the -fashion to decry examination as the death of education, -it is interesting to realise what this much abused -system really did to give it fresh life. The Cambridge -Senior and Junior Locals were the first link established -between girls’ schools and the university, and it would -be difficult to over-estimate their value in this period -of chaos. Their utility was recognised at once. They -spread all over the country and to the colonies; and -they are widely used by schools, both public and -private, and by children working with governesses -at home. Edinburgh and Durham soon followed -suit in the admission of girls, and in 1870 Oxford -too relented. London did its part by instituting a -special Women’s Examination on the lines of Matriculation, -and in 1869 that of Cambridge was held for -the first time. These were the germs of future -developments. At London the way was paved for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>opening the degrees to women; the Cambridge -Women’s Examination led to the foundation of -Newnham.</p> - -<p class='c007'>To some extent the work of these examinations -is done. Conditions have changed; and the establishment -of the Oxford and Cambridge Joint Board, -and the opening of the universities to women have -removed the necessity for this kind of examination -in schools of the first grade. But in small private, -and in middle-grade schools, and for children working -with governesses at home, they are still of distinct -use, and their popularity does not seem to diminish, -if numbers are any test. Should they ever become -needless, owing to a more perfect school organisation, -we must still hold their memory in respect, for they -can show a good record. It is their merit that at -a time when no schoolmistress had a College training -and no University examiner ever entered a girls’ -school, they supplied a slender link between the -school and the university, and when there was no -standard for girls’ education, and often neither organisation -nor curriculum, they did afford an aim -and a stimulus, which, if not absolutely the best, -proved at any rate trustworthy guides. If examination -is not education it has often led to it, and never -more successfully than in the case of girls and -women.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER IV<br /> <span class='large'>THE HIGH SCHOOLS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>The Report of the Schools’ Inquiry Commission in -1867 served as a revelation, for it brought home to -the general public the exceedingly unsatisfactory -condition of middle-class education for both boys -and girls. Its immediate outcome was an examination -and redistribution of endowments, in which for -the first time the claims of girls were considered. -But it was evident that even the most judicious -application of existing endowments could not suffice -to fill all the educational gaps in the country. The -Commissioners had therefore included among their -recommendations the following:—1. To offer proprietary -and private schools the same inspection -and examination as were required in public schools, -and to make their position more assured by a system -of school registration. 2. To give power to towns -and parishes to rate themselves for the establishment -of new schools. These suggestions remained a pious -opinion, for no action was officially taken, but (as -so often happens in England) private enterprise -stepped in, and compensated for public laxness. -The inquiry had done good service in throwing -light on the inefficient condition of small and cheap -private schools for girls, of which there were such -<span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>large numbers in the country. Clearly what was -wanted was a system of schools large enough to -permit of low fees and satisfactory grading. Much -of the evidence had been negative, and showed what -to avoid. Happily there were a few schools in existence -which could serve as beacon lights. Of these -the North London Collegiate and the Cheltenham -Ladies’ College took the first rank. The former, -though really a large private school, had been organised -by Miss Buss on public lines, with a view -to being ultimately placed on a sound and permanent -footing. The latter was a large proprietary school, -so planned as to be in no need of public money. -Both Miss Buss and Miss Beale were unanimous in -urging the establishment of large public schools for -girls. Speaking of London, Miss Buss had said, ‘I -think, in the first place, there are scarcely any good -schools; in the next place, there are very few good -teachers; and in the third place, there is no motive -offered to the girls for study nor to their parents -to keep them at school.’ Miss Beale considered that -schools were preferable to private teaching at home, -because one person could not be mistress of all the -subjects to be taught, ‘and a good teacher can -scarcely continue so when condemned to the monotony -of the ordinary private school-room.’ Small -schools could not be properly graded except when -very high fees permitted of small classes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Large day-schools with low fees for girls were -called for. This much was agreed on, but where -was the necessary capital to be found? Among the -public-spirited men and women who set themselves -to answer this question, the foremost place belongs -<span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>to Mrs. William Grey. She had for some time been -working to get a share of educational endowments -for girls. ‘Let me remind you,’ she wrote at this -time, ‘that while there are in or near London alone -the magnificent first-grade endowed schools for boys -of the Charterhouse, Merchant Taylors, St. Paul’s, -Harrow, and Eton, besides King’s College and University -College schools, there is not in the whole of -London an endowed school of a similar class for girls, -and that while the proportion of educational endowments -for girls to those for boys is as 1:92, the -proportion of women supporting themselves is to -men as 1:7.19; that is, to quote the words of Mr. -William Brook, “seven times as many men are employed -as women, but men have ninety-two times -as much money as women, to arm, equip, and qualify -themselves for the battle of life.”’</p> - -<p class='c007'>Failing endowments, or even side by side with them, -capital must be obtained from other sources: this was -the problem which had now to be faced. On May 31st, -1871, Mrs. Grey read a paper before the Society of -Arts on the Education of Women. She described its -extremely unsatisfactory condition, and suggested -three remedies. (1) The creation of a sounder public -opinion respecting the need and obligation of educating -women. (2) The redistribution of educational -endowments so as to give a fair share of them to -girls. (3) The improvement of female teachers by -their examination and registration according to fixed -standards.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the following October, at the Social Science -Congress at Leeds, she proposed the establishment of -a national Union for the improvement of the education -<span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>of women of all classes. Its objects should be—(1) To -enlighten the public mind, through meetings and -lectures throughout the country, on the present state -of female education, on the national importance of -improving it, and on the measures required for that -end. (2) To collect and disseminate information -respecting the best methods of education, the comparative -advantages of large and small schools, the -influence of endowments, and generally all questions -connected with the training of girls. (3) To promote -measures for the better training of female teachers, -and especially for their examination and registration -by fixed standards, so as to secure a measure of competency. -(4) To assist the formation of councils similar -to the North of England Council for the Education of -Women in other divisions of the country, and, while -endeavouring to multiply local centres of activity, to -afford all workers in the same cause a common bond -of union, and a means of intercommunication and -combined action.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The proposal was favourably received; 300 names -were at once given in for membership, and a provisional -committee formed. Individual subscriptions -were fixed at five shillings; and an affiliation fee of -not less than a guinea annually entitled corporate -associations to be represented on the annual general -council, and to all the privileges of membership. This -National Union supplied a real need. Members poured -in fast. The Princess Louise consented to become -president, and the roll of vice-presidents was a distinguished -one. Branch unions were formed, and -associations already existing at Belfast, Dublin, Birmingham, -Cambridge, Clifton, Falmouth, Guernsey, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>Huddersfield, Norwich, Plymouth, Northampton, -Wakefield, Winchester, and Windsor were brought -into membership with the Union. Many of the -Schoolmistresses’ Associations sought affiliation: the -Ladies’ Council of the Yorkshire Board of Education, -and the North of England Council also joined the -Union, and consented to appoint representatives to -the central committee. With admirably organised -machinery directed by knowledge and enthusiasm, -great reforms seemed possible, and in 1872 the Union -proceeded to its first piece of constructive work, -the establishment of the Girls’ Public Day School -Company.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Proceedings were inaugurated at a meeting at the -Albert Hall, with Lord Lyttelton in the chair. Proposals -were brought forward for starting a shareholding -company ‘for the purpose of establishing and maintaining -in London and the provinces superior day-schools, -at a moderate cost, for girls of all classes -above those provided for by the Elementary Education -Act.’ A capital of £12,000 was to be raised in 2400 -shares of £5 each. The proposal found favour, prospectuses -were sent out, accompanied by a letter from -Princess Louise; 800 shares were at once taken up, and -the company was floated. Among the earliest members -of its council were the Marquis of Lorne, the Dowager -Lady Stanley of Alderley, Sir J. K. Shuttleworth, -Mrs. William Grey, Miss Mary Gurney, and Miss -Shirreff, Sir Douglas Galton, K.C.B., and Mr. C. S. -Roundell.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The next step was to open schools, and Chelsea was -chosen as the scene of the first experiment. Miss Porter -was appointed head-mistress, and a suitable house -<span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>was hired. The school began with twenty-five girls, -and rapidly increased. A few months later a second -one was opened at Notting Hill with Miss Jones as -head. For these first experimental schools no shares -were specially taken up in the neighbourhood. In -future, any place that wished for a high school was -usually required to take up a certain number, as a -definite assurance of local interest. Croydon was -opened on these conditions in 1874, with twenty -pupils. Then followed, in 1875, Clapham, Hackney, -Bath, Oxford, and Nottingham; in 1876, Brighton, -Gateshead, and St. John’s Wood; in 1878, Dulwich, -Ipswich, Maida Vale, Sheffield. At present the schools -number thirty-four. They are at Bath, Blackheath, -Brighton, Bromley, Carlisle, Clapham (High and -Modern), Clapton, Croydon, Dover, Dulwich, Gateshead, -Highbury, Ipswich, Kensington, Liverpool, East -Liverpool, Maida Vale, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, -Notting Hill, Oxford, Portsmouth, East Putney, -Sheffield, Shrewsbury, South Hampstead, Streatham -Hill, Sutton, Sydenham, Tunbridge Wells, Wimbledon, -York.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The fees are: for pupils under ten years of age, -£10, 10s. a year; entering the school between ten and -thirteen, or remaining after ten, £13, 10s. a year; -entering after thirteen, £16, 10s. a year. The company -is on a sound financial basis, since the larger -and more flourishing schools make up for the deficiencies -of the smaller ones. Until 1896 a dividend of -five per cent. was paid, now limited by resolution of -the shareholders to four per cent. The capital has -been increased to £150,000.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Meantime similar schools were springing up all -<span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>over the country. At Plymouth one was started by -a local branch of the National Union, at Huddersfield -by a local company, at Southampton by the Hampshire -Association, at Manchester by private subscription, -at Bradford by an endowment. The impulse -given by the Union and its pioneer schools was felt -everywhere, and it seemed as though before long every -large town in England would have a proprietary or -public school for girls. A rival company was founded -in 1883. The Church Schools Company differed from -the Girls’ Public Day School Company in making -definite Church teaching one of its objects, while the -religious instruction of the Girls’ Public Day School -Company had always aimed at being, as far as possible, -undenominational. The promoters of the Church -Schools thought that as there was room for voluntary -schools side by side with board schools, so there might -also be scope for Church High Schools in spite of the -existence of the Girls’ Public Day School Company. -Their original proposal was to start schools of various -grades for boys and girls above the class attending -elementary schools, where a general education should -be given, in accordance with the principles of the -Church of England, at a moderate cost.</p> - -<p class='c007'>A beginning was made with day-schools for girls, -and hitherto little else has been done. It is probable -that this Church Company did, to some extent, meet -a need, but it was not a very large one. The majority -of the Church of England parents are perfectly satisfied -with the religious instruction of the Girls’ Public -Day School Company schools, and the new schools -drew their pupils, not so much by an appeal to those -who disapproved on principle of the existing high -<span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>schools, as by establishing themselves in towns which -the other company had not entered. Naturally they -appealed to a smaller class, and can never expect to -attain the numbers of the undenominational high -schools. Hence they have always been, to some extent, -hampered, for though the company is financially -sound, and gives a small dividend to shareholders, it -has had to economise very severely in the matter of -salaries and buildings. This must always re-act to -some extent on the education, and it is probably for -this reason that these Church Schools have never -attained the high position of their rivals. The fees -paid vary according to the locality, some being as low -as £4, 4s., others as high as £18, 18s.; £9, 9s. to -£12, 12s. seems the commonest fee. Many of the -schools are very small. At present the number is -twenty-six, and they are situated at Bournemouth, -Brighton, Bury St. Edmunds, Derby, Dewsbury, Durham, -Gloucester, Guildford, Hull, Kendal, Kensington, -Leicester, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Northampton, Reading, -Reigate, Richmond, St. Albans, Streatham, Stroud -Green, Sunderland, Surbiton, Wigan, Woolwich, Great -Yarmouth, York.</p> - -<p class='c007'>High Schools can now trace back their history for -a quarter of a century. In that time more than a -hundred have been founded in England. They have -become the typical girls’ schools of this country, private -schools have been organised on the same lines, and -the scheme of large day schools with no distinction -of class, giving a good education at a low fee, has -been almost universally accepted. It seems so simple -and natural, that it is hard to realise that twenty-five -years ago it was a strange and therefore a dangerous -<span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>innovation. After all what do we mean by a High -School? There is a general impression of the meaning -of the term, though it would not be easy to define -it. In the United States, a High School is an -advanced school, which can only be entered by pupils -who have already passed through the Primary and -Grammar Schools; that is, do not enter before the -age of fourteen or fifteen. It is thus a Secondary -School, forming the link between the primary institutions -and the University. Our English High Schools -provide both elementary and secondary instruction, -and the ages of the pupils range from seven to nineteen. -Hence, although there is a natural division -between the Lower and Upper School, the work is -closely connected; the same mistresses teach in both, -and subjects such as Latin and French are usually -carried down into the lower classes. The lower part -of a High School is not exactly parallel to an -Elementary School; the pupils have begun more -subjects, they have been taught in smaller classes, -and by different, less rigid methods. The High -School cannot therefore at present be regarded as the -middle rung of the educational ladder. In England -there is a gap between it and the Elementary School, -which is sometimes successfully bridged by special -means, but the existence of which cannot be disregarded -in any general scheme of English education. -As the need of secondary education is more generally -felt, a system of schools leading upward in direct line -from the elementary school is being naturally evolved, -and connection between the two lines is being provided -by scholarships and other means. But if we -disregard a few exceptional cases, it seems best to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>look on the High School as an organic whole, taking -the child from the nursery to the university, and -sometimes even helping out the nursery by means of -the kindergarten.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It is not uncommon to hear people talk of the -High School system, but this is misleading. In so -far as the High Schools have a special system, it is -the natural outcome of the scheme of large classes -and careful gradation. Hence it resembles in many -respects that which has long prevailed in Germany -and the United States. There is no High School -Code, and even under the same management, <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">e.g.</span></i> in the -Girls’ Public Day-School Company Schools, considerable -latitude is left to the individual head-mistress; but -there are certain arrangements which are found convenient -in the organisation of large day schools, and -which prevail with modifications in all the High -Schools, as well as in many large private institutions.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The morning hours are given to class teaching; -from 9 to 1, or 9.15 to 1.15, being the usual times. -Subjects requiring individual instruction (which are -usually extras), <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">e.g.</span></i> piano, solo singing, advanced -drawing, and painting, are taught in the afternoons, -also Greek in some schools, special coaching in -advanced Latin or Science, and so forth. The -principle underlying this arrangement is that of -giving the best working hours to serious mental -work, and reserving accomplishments which are -rather the ornament than the essentials of education, -for the latter part, thus assigning to the subjects of -instruction their proper relative importance, and -keeping the real work of the school undisturbed. -This arrangement seems so easy and natural that it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>would be hardly necessary to dwell on it, were it not -that until very lately the opposite system prevailed -in some schools that otherwise aimed at thoroughness, -and it was not unusual for a girl to be called -away in the middle of an important lesson in history -or arithmetic, and sent to her music. Under the -present plan, the greater part of the girls have -finished their school work by one o’clock, and have -the afternoon and evening free to divide between -preparation of lessons (two to three hours), exercise, -and home duties. For the benefit of those who -require help in their lessons, or cannot get a quiet -room at home, a system of afternoon preparation at -school is organised. This generally lasts an hour -and a half to two hours—most schools provide a -dinner for girls who come from a distance. A whole -holiday on Saturday seems the rule everywhere.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Some schools have a kindergarten department attached, -where little boys are taught along with the girls, -and a transition class where the children learn to read -before passing into the school proper. The division -is into forms, I. being the lowest, and VI. the highest. -Large schools divide the forms into Upper and Lower. -Where a school is fully organised, it is usual for a -whole class to move up together. Backward girls -may remain in the form another year. Unfortunately -many high schools are too small to be fully organised, -and in these the gaps between the classes are -too large, and general promotion impossible. Clever -girls spend one year in a class, slower ones two, and -the disadvantage for the latter is very serious, since -there is a weariness about going over the same -ground twice, which is the reverse of stimulating. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span>Large classes can progress as quickly as smaller ones -when they are very carefully grouped. Where the -pupils are at different stages there is much waste of -time, and either the weak go to the wall, or the -strong get less than their due. It is, therefore, the -first essential of a high school that the numbers -should be large, not much under two hundred.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Even when the school is large and the classes work -smoothly together, the girls do not all work evenly in -every subject. To prevent waste, it is usual to let -certain subjects, perhaps Arithmetic and English, -determine promotion, and to teach the others in -divisions. Two or three forms may take French at -the same time, and be rearranged for that lesson, -returning to their own rooms when it is over. This -moving about affords a pleasant change, and is quite -easy when the building is a convenient one. Indeed, -suitable premises are almost as important for the -harmonious working of a school as large numbers and -careful classification. Long narrow corridors and -awkward staircases are fatal to order. Ordinary -dwelling-rooms adapted for school purposes can -seldom be properly ventilated, and according to their -position in the room, the pupils suffer from draught -or heat, the light falls the wrong way upon their -work, the classes have to be graded to suit the size of -the rooms rather than the abilities of the pupils. In -fact nothing can be more unsatisfactory than the -adaptation as a school of an ordinary dwelling-house.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The arrangement that seems to answer best is that -of a large central hall used for prayers and general -gatherings, out of which some of the form-rooms -open, whilst the rest, with extra rooms for small -<span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>divisions, are upstairs. Of this construction the -Blackheath and Sheffield High Schools are good -examples. The finest girls’ buildings are naturally -found where there is an endowment, as at the North -London Collegiate, the Bedford, and Manchester High -Schools. Few, if any of the Church schools have -specially constructed buildings, and several of the -Girls’ Public Day School Company’s Schools are -carried on in adapted premises. Some grant of -public money for buildings to really efficient proprietary -schools would probably be the cheapest and -most effective way of helping girls’ education in -many of our large towns.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The North London Collegiate, both in point of -time and in importance, claims precedence as the -pioneer high school. It was in working order when -the Girls’ Public Day School Company started, and -was doubtless the model set before its promoters. -The following account written in 1883 by Mrs. -Bryant, who is now head-mistress, is in many ways -typical, and applies <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">mutatis mutandis</span></i> to the general -routine of all fully equipped high schools.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘Entering the school with the girls in the morning, -we should proceed first through the entrance hall -down to the basement, and into the cloak-rooms. -Here each girl has a numbered place provided with -hooks for cloak and hat, umbrella-stand, boot-rack, -and bag for the house-boots, which she always wears -while in school. There are also shelves for books -while dressing is going on, and forms for use in -changing boots. Since the space allotted is ample, -and the girls come in relays, both before and after -school, crowding is avoided.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>‘When ready, each girl goes upstairs with her -books to the great hall, where the rule of silence is -strictly enforced. At 9.15, all are assembled for -prayers, each form in its place, while the prefects, -who are members of the sixth form, and are elected -by it and the teachers of the upper division of the -school, are scattered among the other forms, as -guardians of public order, during the interval of waiting. -After prayers, each form marches out with its -mistress to its own room. Five class-rooms open out -of the hall on the ground floor; these are used by the -upper division of the school, including the sixth -form, and four sub-divisions of the fifth form. Five -more open out of the hall gallery, used by all the -sub-divisions of the fourth form, which constitute the -middle division of the school. Above these two tiers, -there is a third set of rooms, three class-rooms and -the drawing school. The lower divisions of the -school use these four rooms, besides one of the -irregularly placed rooms. Of the latter there are -several, lying with the laboratories, lecture-room, -libraries, and music-rooms, on the side of the great -stone staircase, opposite the Clothworkers’ hall.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘Each class room contains 5600 cubic feet, and is -fitted for thirty-two girls. All have Swedish desks, -except the elder girls, who have separate desks with -chairs. There is a raised platform for the teacher, -with a chair and table. All the rooms are fitted with -cupboards, and in most there is a small circulating -library, which the girls can use on payment of a -small subscription. The pine wainscot, brick walls, -and tiled fire-places of the class-rooms, make a good -background for the decorations of the Kyrle societies, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span>which exist in each class; and all the rooms have -pictures on the walls, as well as notice-boards and -time-tables. Another institution of the decorative -kind is the window garden, with which many of the -rooms are provided, and in which the girls take, for -the most part, great pride.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘In these rooms the hard work of the day goes on -till 1.30, with an interval, as near the middle as -possible, of twenty-five minutes, for a light lunch and -drill. In five separate relays, the girls proceed to the -dining-hall, which, with the kitchens and housekeeper’s -room, lies under the great hall. Here they -can buy buns, biscuits, bread and butter, fruit, coffee, -milk, and lemonade, and, while talking as loudly and -as much as they please, they are required to take -their stand in orderly lines across the room. From -the dining-hall the girls proceed to the gymnasium, -a very fine room, 100 feet long by 30 feet broad, -where they have musical drill for a quarter of an -hour. Monday and Thursday, however, are days for -special calisthenic exercise, lasting half-an-hour each -day. Then work is resumed till 1.30, when the -school is dismissed in relays, as before stated.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>Even more important than the routine of a school -is its curriculum; and here the need of the reformer’s -hand is still felt acutely. The subjects included in the -Girls’ Public Day School Company prospectuses are -the following—Religious Instruction, Reading, Writing, -Arithmetic, Mathematics, Book-keeping, English -grammar, composition, and literature, History, -Geography, French, German, Latin, the elements -of Physical Science, Social Economy, Drawing, Class-singing -and Harmony, Gymnastic Exercises, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span>Needlework. To these Greek must now be added, -since it is taught in every school that prepares -for college. The prospectus says ‘any or all of -these may be taught,’ which means that the head-mistress -has, within certain limits, a right of selection. -Hence the tendency of schools, even under the same -management, to vary greatly. Not only is there as -yet no consensus of opinion in England as to the best -curriculum for girls’ schools, but even the general -aim to be kept in view seems by no means determined. -Mrs. Bryant lays down the incontrovertible -dictum that ‘the ideal of the curriculum is a balance -of subjects so that all normal faculties and interests -may be cultivated.’ But there is another side which -cannot be neglected, and the claims of the ideal -vanish into insignificance before the demands of -practical life and outside examination. In spite of -the repeated promises that examination is to be -servant and not master we must not hope to escape -from its dominion as long as it is the ‘open sesame’ -of colleges and professions. A rough test, it is still -the best hitherto devised, and serves on the whole to -separate the sheep from the goats. Since we must, -therefore, acknowledge its sovereignty, it behoves us -to see that it exercises a wise and benevolent tyranny. -However much we may protest, the curriculum of a -school will always be largely determined by the -nature of its leaving examination, since this regulates -the work of the upper forms, and these more -or less mould the lower. Some schools reduce this -examination work to a minimum, reserving it entirely -for the highest form, while others use the machinery -of outside examinations to determine the whole of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span>their work. The North London Collegiate belongs -to this latter class. The upper part is organised -according to two parallel courses. Of these <em>A.</em> leads -to the London degree examinations, that is to Matriculation -or in some cases Intermediate Arts, and -Course <em>B.</em> to the Cambridge Senior and Higher -Locals. All these examinations under certain conditions -admit to the Women’s Colleges at Oxford -and Cambridge, and hence act the double part of a -leaving and entrance examination, but this school -also makes use of the lower examinations, <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">e.g.</span></i>, the -Preliminary and Junior Locals. Hence the work -of these classes must be directed to the set subjects -required for these examinations, and must include -the particular periods of history, works in literature, -and French and German books that are laid down by -the examiners, even though they may not seem the -most suitable in other respects. Many educationalists -think this disadvantageous to the general plan of a -girls’ school, which should proceed on stated harmonious -lines from the lowest to the highest class. -Mrs. Bryant, however, thinks that the advantages -outweigh the disadvantages, since ‘by their means -the more advanced body of opinion can be brought -to bear on the inert or prejudiced mass, which lags -behind in the movement of educational progress.’ -In spite of this valuable testimony the consensus of -opinion is rather on the other side. The schools of -the Girls’ Public Day School Company have almost -entirely abandoned the miscellaneous junior examinations, -which lead to nothing, in favour of those conducted -by the Joint Board of Oxford and Cambridge. -This is the test applied to the leading boys’ public -<span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span>schools since 1873, and it is the nearest approach in -England to an <i><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Abiturienten</span></i> examination, since the -higher certificate, if taken in the required subjects, -exempts its holder from the first public examination -at Oxford and Cambridge. The Board awards higher -and lower certificates, and undertakes a general examination -of the schools. The papers are sent to the -school, and the examination is conducted there under -the supervision of the head-mistress. The lower forms -are also examined <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">viva voce</span></i> by a delegate of the Board, -and reports on the general condition of the school and -on the paper work are sent to the governing bodies. -In this way the progress of different schools can be -compared, and a general control kept, while there -is little disturbance to the school course, since the -questions are set on the work actually done. The -Council of the Girls’ Public Day School Company -itself awards certificates to girls who gain sixty per -cent. of the marks in five papers.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The subjects of the higher certificate examination -are arranged in four groups:—</p> - -<div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='sc'>Group I.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>(1) Latin.</div> - <div class='line'>(2) Greek.</div> - <div class='line'>(3) French.</div> - <div class='line'>(4) German.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='sc'>Group II.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>(1) Mathematics (elementary).</div> - <div class='line'>(2) Mathematics (additional).</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='sc'>Group III.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>(1) Scripture Knowledge.</div> - <div class='line'>(2) English.</div> - <div class='line'>(3) History.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span><span class='sc'>Group IV.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>(1) Natural Philosophy (Mechanical Division).</div> - <div class='line'>(2) Natural Philosophy (Physical Division).</div> - <div class='line'>(3) Natural Philosophy (Chemical Division).</div> - <div class='line'>(4) Physical Geography and Elementary Geology.</div> - <div class='line'>(5) Biology.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c007'>All candidates for a higher certificate must satisfy -the examiners in at least four subjects taken from not -less than three different groups, unless they take one -subject in II. or IV., in which case they can choose -three from I. No one may offer more than six -subjects. The examination is so arranged as to -hamper the school work as little as possible. Thus -in languages great stress is laid on grammar, composition, -and unprepared translation, while the set -books can be selected from a long list; or (to give -even greater freedom) it is allowed to ‘substitute with -the consent of the Board other portions or periods -which are at least equivalent to those specified in the -prescribed list, provided that the extra expense involved -be defrayed by the school authorities.’ This -privilege of choice is extended also to Scripture, -English and History.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The subjects for the lower certificate are:—</p> - -<div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='sc'>Group I.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>(1) Latin.</div> - <div class='line'>(2) Greek.</div> - <div class='line'>(3) French.</div> - <div class='line'>(4) German.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='sc'>Group II.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>(1) Arithmetic.</div> - <div class='line'>(2) Additional Mathematics.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span><span class='sc'>Group III.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>(1) Scripture Knowledge.</div> - <div class='line'>(2) English.</div> - <div class='line'>(3) English History.</div> - <div class='line'>(4) Geography.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='sc'>Group IV.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>(1) Mechanics and Physics.</div> - <div class='line'>(2) Physics and Chemistry.</div> - <div class='line'>(3) Chemistry and Mechanics.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c007'>The higher certificate is often taken by girls in -Form Lower VI., and they are then free in their last -year to prepare for university scholarships or do -other special work. The lower certificate is less -popular, but it is sometimes taken in Form V.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Unquestionably the real problem before our girls’ -schools is to plan a curriculum which, while keeping -in view the harmonious development of mind and -body, and the preparation for a girl’s future life, shall -yet give the necessary preparation for these final examinations. -The reformers see hope in a more careful -grouping of studies which shall break down the -barriers between them, so that the subjects learnt at -the same time should be allies rather than rivals. -If fewer were taken up simultaneously, more time -and interest might be given to each new requirement -when it first appears on the scenes. After a couple -of years, when considerable advance had been made, -it might be relegated to a less important place and a -fresh central study chosen. In the higher forms the -threads would be once more drawn together, for then -a pupil must be prepared to marshal all her forces for -one great occasion. Experiments of this kind have -been tried with much success in America, and there -<span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>is a scheme for doing something of the kind in -England. There is a plentiful field for experiments, -and no doubt the curriculum question will be discussed -at many a teachers’ meeting before the -problem is solved. The High Schools will contribute -their share to the work if they are to remain in -the van as they have hitherto done.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Since the very establishment of the High Schools -was a protest against the superficiality and showiness -condemned by the Royal Commission, their main -endeavour was to avoid the mistakes of their predecessors. -Accomplishments were relegated to the -background. Arithmetic and mathematics were -taught for their mental training and the development -of accuracy. ‘The noxious brood of catechisms’ -was abandoned in favour of a system of oral -teaching: object lessons were introduced into the -lower forms to induce observation, and in the -science lessons facts were taught first-hand and not -through the medium of books. The slipshod French -chatter of the boarding-schools gave way to stricter -grammatical training; parsing and analysis took the -place of rote repetition of the parts of speech. Accuracy -and thoroughness were the aim everywhere. At -first the instruction was attended with many difficulties. -There were few well-educated and no trained -teachers, and very little agreement as to the really -best methods. Hence it was natural that the revolt -against the abuses of the past should produce some -fresh faults. The reaction against the old text-books -caused the introduction of a lecture-system; -an excessive amount of note-taking, writing out, and -correction by the teacher seemed to afford both parties -<span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span>the maximum of effort with the minimum of result: -books were shunned as though the printed word were -in itself hurtful, and much matter was laboriously -dictated that might have been taken from any -intelligent hand-book. The girls spoiled their handwriting, -instead of straining their memories; that was -the chief difference. Happily this plan has given -way to more intelligent inductive methods, though -even now there is a tendency in some schools to rely -too much on written notes and too little on training -the attention and memory. High School girls still -need to learn how to use a book intelligently, and to -appreciate knowledge that comes to them in an unaccustomed -fashion. They have learnt the use of -writing, to make ‘an exact man,’ but reading as a -means of producing the ‘full’ woman has hardly as -yet touched the High School system. This defect is -now being realised and efforts will doubtless be made -to remove it. Already the improvement in the -teachers has produced a beneficent revolution in -girls’ schools. To their inadequate education the -Royal Commissioners largely attributed the unsatisfactory -state of things they found. Side by side -with the growth of the high schools went the movement -for admitting women to the universities, both -acting and re-acting on each other, since the high -schools sent up their best pupils to college and the -college sent them back to teach and train future -students. A great proportion of the mistresses are -now university women, while a smaller number have -been trained at the Cambridge Teachers’ College or -the Maria Grey or other Training Colleges—Kindergarten -Colleges provide teachers for the little ones.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span>While the High School puts intellectual subjects -first, it does not disregard accomplishments, though -it seldom uses that word. Music is taught to all in -the form of class-singing; piano and violin and solo -singing are ‘extras,’ and do not belong to the general -school work. Drawing has really won a more important -place than before, because it is used as an -educational factor, and not merely for purposes of -show. The scheme of the Royal Drawing Society, -organised by Mr. Ablett, is in use at nearly all the -high schools. It is essentially a class system, and -aims at training the eye, hand, and memory, rather -than producing mere technical skill. The little ones -in the first form are taught to present graphically -objects interesting to themselves, by means of simple -ruling, memory, and brush-work exercises. Special -features are judgment at sight, memory and dictated -work, the early introduction of drawing from objects -and simple geometrical design. The schools are -examined once a year. The examination takes place -in the school itself under the superintendence of the -head-mistress and drawing teacher, the work is sent -up to London, and promotion to the next division -depends upon the pass. Pupils who pass all the six -divisions with honours are entitled to a full Drawing -Certificate which has a commercial value for teaching -purposes. Drawing, a little modelling, and needlework -in the lower forms, represent at present the -manual side of High School teaching. Cookery, -dressmaking, etc. though popular in a different class -of school, have hardly as yet been able to effect an -entrance, nor does it seem altogether desirable that -they should. That every school cannot teach everything -<span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>is an axiom long ago accepted for boys’ education, -and it must be realised for girls too, if the outcry -against overstrain is to cease. Differentiation is the -only safe course. It is partly the strength and partly -the weakness of the High School that it represents, -in fact, two schools: the first grade for girls who are -to proceed to the university, and whose life at home -makes a certain amount of literary and linguistic attainment -desirable, and the second grade for those who -must leave at fifteen or sixteen, and look forward to a -career in business or to practical utility at home. -In the lower forms the need of both is the same: a -good general education; afterwards bifurcation seems -desirable. When a school is not large enough to -allow of this, it is the early-leaving girls who go to -the wall. For these an entirely different scheme of -education might be best—this too is a problem that -will have to be faced. Physical training is also considered -at most of the High Schools. Generally, -fifteen minutes in the middle of the morning is given -to some form of drill. In a few large schools, <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">e.g.</span></i>, -the North London Collegiate, this daily drill is undertaken -by a specialist. Usually it falls to one of the -assistants, though it is very common for a special -teacher of Swedish drill to visit the school once or -twice a week, and take all the girls in divisions. -The North London Collegiate and the Sheffield High -School have gymnasiums, and take this side of the -work very seriously. A physical-record book is kept, -and every child on entering is examined by a lady -doctor attached to the school. Particulars of sight, -hearing, throat, breathing, lungs, heart, chest, and -waist measurement are recorded, with any observations -<span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>considered necessary. Suitable gymnastic -exercises are then prescribed, and the examination -repeated from time to time, and note made of any -changed condition. Some such plan might be tried -in all High Schools, were the parents willing to pay -for it. The low fees charged cannot be expected to -include medical supervision as well as all the other -advantages. At present Sheffield and the Camden -Schools are almost the only day-schools that consider -the physical training as systematically as the intellectual. -Still, the Girls’ Public Day School -Company has now appointed a qualified lady -inspector of physical training. Exercise doubtless -plays an important part in every high school, but -it is sometimes pursued with more zeal than knowledge. -Just now athletics are taking a very prominent -place. School playgrounds and playing fields have -become a necessity. Girls have learned to play -cricket, hockey, and rounders; they choose their -elevens, elect their captains, and have their practices -and matches much like their brothers. How far this -particular kind of exercise is conducive to a girl’s -health is another of the still unsolved problems. -One thing is certain: these games do much to improve -the general tone of a school. Their effect in producing -loyalty and public spirit and promoting -cheerfulness is quite as marked in girls as in boys, -and the development of the play side, along with the -greater liberty, the giving of responsibility as a -reward, and all that belongs to a real public school -are features at least as valuable as the improvement -in the teaching. The High Schools have produced -a new type of girl, self-reliant, courageous, truthful, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span>and eager for work. A full record of their after -careers would prove interesting. Many pass straight -from school to Oxford or Cambridge, a great many -have gained scholarships, and the women’s colleges -are largely recruited from their ranks. Some pass -on to the medical schools, others gain County -Council scholarships for technical or scientific work, -large numbers are engaged in teaching, one or two -have taken up gardening at Swanley Horticultural -College, and a good many are making themselves -generally useful at home as wives or daughters. -Almost everywhere the High School girl proves -herself capable, accurate, and trustworthy. She is -sometimes blamed for a want of grace, such as -belonged to a few rare ladies of the olden time, but -she also lacks the helplessness and silliness that were -prevalent then. Physically, morally, and intellectually, -these schools may claim that they are improving -large numbers, and with them surely the race.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER V<br /> <span class='large'>ENDOWMENTS FOR GIRLS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>The history of endowed schools carries us far away -into the misty realms of the past, before ever the -Conqueror set foot in England and put back the -clock of civilisation a hundred years. The earliest -schools of which we have any knowledge were -attached to the chief collegiate churches, where one -officer would be specially told off to teach the boys, -just as another would conduct the singing. Convent -and school or church and school were invariably -allied. The first separable school endowments were -merely assignments of a specific part of the general -endowment for the support of the chancellor or his -deputy, the grammar school master. Like the earliest -colleges these schools were founded ‘for prayer and -study.’ The first person to reverse this order, and -endow an independent school, was William of Wykeham, -when in 1393 he founded Winchester College, -to give free instruction to seventy poor boys, and so -help them to holy orders or the university. Thus -the new school became ‘a sovereign and independent -corporation existing of, by and for itself, self-centred, -self-controlled.’ ‘To make education, and that education -not the education of clerics in theology or the -canon law, the paramount and pronounced object of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>an ecclesiastical institution, with all the paraphernalia -of Papal bull and royal and episcopal license, was no -small innovation. It was a new departure, which -opened a new era in the world of education, and -therefore of thought.’<a id='r13' /><a href='#f13' class='c011'><sup>[13]</sup></a> Later founders, following in -the steps of William of Wykeham, gave sums of -money for the training of youth in ‘grammar and -good manners.’ Grammar meant Latin and Greek, -the ‘key to all the sciences’; the manners were to be -those of a true gentleman, ‘trouthe and honour, fredom -and curteisie.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>Following on these came the schools of the Reformation -age, of which the most familiar example is -Dean Colet’s foundation of St. Paul’s. These were -established or assisted by the gifts of ‘pious founders,’ -or sometimes by diverting old funds originally destined -for other purposes. Reading school was founded -out of funds obtained by suppressing an almshouse -for poor sisters, and under Elizabeth made into a -grammar school ‘for educating the boys of the -inhabitants of the said borough and others in literature.’ -Such schools were often placed under lay -control, but the clerical idea was still in the background. -Not priests, but ministers of the reformed -religion, were needed, and learning became even -more essential for men who had to make knowledge -take the place of tradition.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The clerical purpose of most of these schools -naturally tended to exclude girls or make them of -secondary importance. What place was actually -assigned to them in the 353 schools founded between -the accession of Henry <span class='fss'>VIII.</span> and the death of James <span class='fss'>I.</span> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span>is a problem that must be left to antiquarians. -Certain it is that in the ensuing period the education -of both sexes was more on an equality, since the -standard was one of inferiority. An age of political -disturbance was followed by an epoch of frivolity. -Learning fell into contempt. The foundations of the -eighteenth century were not grammar but charity -schools, and though girls were not forgotten, it was -with the hope of training servants for themselves -that rich persons supported these schools. Not to -give a liberal training, but to teach the poor to ‘keep -their proper station,’ was the aim of eighteenth -century founders.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus it came about that the Schools’ Inquiry -Commissioners found a goodly number of girls in -endowed schools of an elementary character, which -would hardly bear comparison with the poorest of -our modern board schools. While the King Edward -Schools at Birmingham were giving 290 boys a -classical and 300 a sound English education, none of -these benefits fell to girls. In the elementary schools -of the same foundation were 655 boys and 630 girls. -At Christ’s Hospital, distinctly founded for both -sexes, there were but 18 girls as against 1192 boys. -Perhaps even the eighteen would have been better -off elsewhere. They occupied a part of the junior -boys’ school at Hertford; they had one ward under -the charge of a nurse, their playground was a little -over a quarter of an acre, they took their walks -abroad under care of the nurse, they had no calisthenics -or other physical training; their diet was -bread and milk for breakfast, bread, meat, potatoes, -and porter for dinner, bread and butter, milk and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>water for supper. There was no admission examination, -no leaving standard of attainment; they learned -a little Scripture, English (so-called), and History and -Geography from abridgments. On leaving, at about -fifteen, most of them were apprenticed to business. -It did not prove easy to place them. No wonder!</p> - -<p class='c007'>A similar tale might be told of Bedford School. -It was established in 1566 by Sir William Harpur -and Dame Alice, his wife, ‘for the education, institution, -and instruction of children and youth in -grammar and good manners, to endure for ever.’ -Did child mean ‘boy’ in the minds of the founders? -It seems uncertain; for, as the endowment increased -in value and some of it became available for purposes -other than the free grammar school, the interests of -girls were also considered. At various periods of the -eighteenth century fresh uses were found for the -surplus money, and it is characteristic of the age that -the feminine equivalent for a sound education was a -dowry. £800 a year was set aside for marriage-portions -for forty poor maids of the town of Bedford, -to be distributed by lot, provided that a successful -candidate was married within two calendar months of -drawing the lot, and not to ‘a vagrant or other -person of bad fame or reputation.’ Naturally there -was not much difficulty about claiming the lot. -Young men came from far and near to woo the -‘maids of Bedford.’ Any residue was given to poor -maid-servants who had resided five years at Bedford -and were married within a year. The next addition -was a hospital for boys and girls, an allotment of -£700 to apprentice fifteen boys and five girls, and -almshouses for ten old men and ten old women. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span>Early in this century preparatory and commercial -schools were added; and girls were considered to the -extent of a foundation where the head-mistress -received £80 per annum as against the headmaster’s -£1000. Which figures very eloquently sum up the -relative estimation in which girls’ and boys’ education -was held before 1848.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The Schools’ Inquiry Commission had made it -abundantly clear that the educational endowments of -the country needed overhauling. Not only had many -of them increased greatly in value, but the establishment -of public elementary schools was making the -appropriation of endowments for elementary schools -unnecessary. Again, many free schools were giving -a liberal education to the sons of rich men. By the -institution of even a low fee considerable sums would -become available for the improvement of existing -schools and the establishment of new ones. Then -there were the various charitable endowments left -for special purposes which no longer existed. In -some cases money had been bequeathed to the poor -in a parish, and was simply used for the relief of the -rates. In London alone there were sums of £1500 -a year given for the relief of poor prisoners from -debt. Among other out-of-date purposes were the -ransom of Barbary captives, the destruction of -lady-birds in Cornhill, etc. In a certain part of -Worcestershire money had been left in 1620 for -distributing bread among the poor of seven parishes -and, as a secondary purpose, supporting a free -grammar school, the surplus to be applied to repairing -the church and bridges, and increasing, if -expedient, the salary of the schoolmaster. By 1867 -<span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>the total income had increased to £657, and was -applied to elementary schools and a free grammar -school for fourteen boys. In other cases money was -left for doles; with the result that in a certain parish, -too richly endowed, extra waiters had to be put on -at the gin-shops for two weeks before and after the -distribution. In fact it was a case of money in the -wrong place; education starving for want of funds -that were only doing mischief. The regulation of -the educational charities, and appropriation of those -others which were doing more harm than good, was -becoming an urgent necessity. Some changes had -already been made under the Charitable Trusts Acts, -but these were a good deal limited in their operations, -and a more systematic reorganisation was undertaken -under the Endowed Schools Act of 1869. This -appointed three commissioners for four years to -inquire into the endowments of England and Wales, -and the first to hold this office were Lord Lyttelton, -Canon Robinson, and Arthur Hobhouse, Q.C. In -1874 this Commission was merged in the Board of -Charity Commissioners for England and Wales.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘In framing schemes under this Act, provision -shall be made as far as conveniently may be for -extending to girls the benefits of endowments.’ This -clause is the Magna Charta of girls’ education, the -first acknowledgment by the State of their claim to a -liberal education. This result was in great part due -to those same men and women who had brought -about the opening of the local examinations, and -induced the Commission to take cognisance of girls’ -schools, and were striving, in face of all opposition, to -win something like a university education for girls. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span>As early as 1860 at the Social Science Congress -Madame Bodichon had entered a strong protest -against the theory that boys’ education must be -assisted and girls’ self-supporting. ‘Magnificent -colleges and schools, beautiful architectural buildings -costing thousands and thousands of pounds, rich -endowments all over England, have been bestowed -by past generations as gifts to the boys of the higher -and middle class, and they are not the less independent -and not a whit pauperised.’ At first this was -but a voice crying in the wilderness, but the cry was -taken up first by a few supporters, then by the -whole country, and at last the <cite>Times</cite>, certainly not a -revolutionary organ, declared that, ‘This country is -most abundantly and redundantly endowed for men -and boys, as if they were unable to take care of -themselves, whereas there is little—indeed nothing, -we may almost say—for that which is contemptuously -called the weaker sex.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>An Association for Promoting the Application of -Endowments to the Education of Women was formed, -and offered to assist trustees of schools and other -persons interested in education by supplying information -and suggesting plans whereby available funds -might best be applied to the education of women. -It had a strong committee, which numbered among -its members Miss Davies, Miss Clough, and Miss -Bostock, as well as Mr. Bryce and Mr. Fitch, those -constant and helpful supporters of all efforts to -improve the education of girls. At this time the -needs of the middle class seemed most urgent, since -the State-aided schools were coming to the aid of the -very poor, and the rich could pay the high terms -<span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span>that were then demanded by the better private -schools. The immediate need seemed to be for -schools of the second or third grade, <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">i.e.</span></i> those meant -for girls who would leave school some time between -fourteen and seventeen, and might be expected to -pay fees ranging from £4 to £10 per annum.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Of such schools the first were founded out of the -surplus revenues of King Edward’s Schools at Birmingham. -Here four schools of the second grade -were opened, each to accommodate about 160 pupils. -These not only filled at once, but had to refuse -admission to 500 candidates. In 1870 the Grey Coat -Hospital at Westminster was opened; but on the -whole progress was slow, and Mr. Roundell’s estimate -in 1871 that there were in England and Wales -225,000 girls waiting for secondary education was -probably not wide of the mark.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In that same year an event occurred of far-reaching -importance. The admirable institution so long associated -with the name of Miss Frances Buss was transformed -into a public school for girls. Readers of her -interesting biography now realise, what had long been -known to her friends, with what a single mind and -earnest devotion she had worked for the cause nearest -her heart—the establishment of public schools for -girls. As early as 1850, her own private school had -been reconstituted on public lines, with the help of -the Rev. David Laing, one of the promoters of -Queen’s College, but her ambition was to make it -public in fact as well as in its methods. Attention -had been drawn to her work by her evidence before -the Schools’ Inquiry Commission, and now some of -its members themselves came forward to help her. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span>If ever a school could lay claim to public aid, it was -this one; and as soon as the enabling act was passed, -active measures were taken to secure for it an endowment. -With rare clear sight Miss Buss realised that -a fully equipped school can only be self-supporting -by the sacrifice of either suitable buildings, adequate -salaries, or a scale of fees suited to the neighbourhood. -She wanted to organise a pioneer school in -which none of these good things should be lacking; -nothing less than the best seemed good enough. -Her enthusiasm and confidence were not to go unrewarded. -In December 1870, a public meeting was -held in the St. Pancras Vestry Hall, to announce the -formation of a trust for carrying on the existing -school, and starting another of a lower grade in connection -with it. The upper school thus constituted -took the name of the North London Collegiate, and -in January 1871 removed with its two hundred pupils -to 202 Camden Street, and at the same time the -Lower or Camden School came into existence. -According to Miss Buss’s principle, the fees under the -new trust were calculated to meet current expenses -only. The building was to be provided from other -funds, as was done in boys’ public schools. A subscription -list was opened, and every possible endeavour -made to win public support. These were anxious -years for Miss Buss; money came in slowly, and -rather than abandon her principle she chose to -sacrifice her salary. Nor did she wait in vain; the -excellent work of the school won it recognition, and -when in 1874 the Charity Commissioners were called -upon to dispose of the Platt Charity derivable from -property in St. Pancras, belonging to the Brewers’ -<span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>Company, they recommended that £20,000 be given -to the North London Collegiate and Camden Schools. -Thus building funds were secured, afterwards supplemented -by a generous donation from the Clothworkers’ -Company. The scheme became law in 1875, -and the two schools have continued since then to -work side by side as endowed schools of the first and -second grade, with different principals, but both -under the superintendence of the head-mistress of -the upper school. This arrangement has proved -most valuable, as it promotes co-ordination instead of -rivalry between the two schools. In other places -where two grades exist side by side, it is not uncommon -to find the lower one attempting with inadequate -means to imitate the upper. The special needs of -the class attending it are then neglected, and undue -attention given to a few clever girls, for whom leave -is sometimes obtained to stay beyond the appointed -age. At the Frances Mary Buss Schools (as the two -are now called in memory of their founder), this -danger is obviated by a good system of scholarships -from the lower to the upper.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At the Camden School girls may attend from seven -to seventeen. The fees range from £5, 2s. to £8 per -annum. The subjects taught are the usual English -ones, with Class-Singing, Needlework, Drawing, and -Book-keeping, and the elements of Science. Special -attention is given to theoretical and practical Domestic -Economy, and these classes receive assistance from -the London County Council. French is the only -foreign language taught. At the North London -Collegiate, girls may attend between eight and nineteen, -the list of subjects is much wider, and selections -<span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span>have to be made under the direction of the head-mistress. -French, German, Latin and Greek, are -included in the curriculum, and the practical subjects -either omitted or reduced to a minimum. Since the -work of the school is directed to the London University -Examinations and the Cambridge Higher Locals, -the course is necessarily laid out for girls who can -stay long enough to enter the upper forms, and perhaps -proceed to college. The fees range from -£17, 11s. to £19, 14s. But girls over sixteen proceeding -from the lower to the upper school pay only -£14, 8s. Many pass up by means of scholarships.</p> - -<p class='c007'>These two schools with their thousand pupils, fine -buildings, and noble roll of honours won by old pupils -stand pre-eminent among girls’ endowments. The -principle that with a scale of fees adapted to meet -current expenses the endowment should provide -buildings and scholarships has been triumphantly -vindicated by the Frances Mary Buss Schools.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Almost simultaneous with the endowment of these -schools was the appropriation of some part of the -funds of the Bradford Grammar School, ‘to supply a -liberal education for girls by means of a school or -schools within the borough of Bradford.’ Public -opinion was, however, hardly ripe for such a diversion -of any large part of an old endowment, and although, -as Mr. Forster pointed out at the inaugural meeting, -a charter of Charles <span class='fss'>II.</span> had assigned the land ‘for -the better teaching, instructing, and bringing up of -children and youth,’ ‘which terms are of common -gender,’ the money assigned to the girls would not -have been sufficient to start the school, but for the -generosity of the Ladies’ Educational Committee, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span>which raised a sum of £5000 for purchasing the -buildings. Thus the Bradford Girls’ Grammar -School came into being. The fees are £12 to £15, 15s., -and girls may stay till eighteen or nineteen. It is -thus technically of the first grade, and as such prepares -the pupils in the highest class for the university. -Many, however, leave school long before attaining -this stage, and this appears to constitute one of the -special difficulties of North of England schools. -There is, however, a wide list of subjects which may -be taught, and from these the head-mistress arranges -each pupil’s curriculum. As the fees are the same as -those of a high school, the endowment fund helps -to supply better salaries, apparatus, etc. and thus to -increase efficiency. A scholarship fund of £1000 has -been provided by the generosity of two private -donors, and forty-one scholars have by its help -already proceeded to the university.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Manchester also has a first-grade endowed school, -which originated like so many others in those active -years that followed 1870. Here too the initiative was -taken by an association for promoting the higher -education of women. The school was started in -1873 by subscription, and in 1876 the present site in -Dover Street was secured for building, and over -£5000 raised for the purpose. A few years later, an -opportunity occurred of securing some public money, -as the wealthy foundation of Hulme’s Charity was to -be reorganised. The school secured a share, receiving -a capital grant of £1500, and £1000 a year on condition -that the governing body should be reconstituted -to give it a more representative character. -Under the new arrangement, there are representatives -<span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span>of the Hulme Trustees, Oxford, Cambridge, Victoria, -and London, Owens College, and the Manchester -School Board, as well as other co-opted members. -This representative character has proved of the greatest -value to the school, which takes rank as one of -the first in the country. The buildings are admirable -in convenience and arrangement, and the scholarship -fund amounts to £640 a year. Two smaller schools -lately established by the governors at Pendleton and -North Manchester have somewhat diminished the -numbers of the parent school, but prove a boon to -girls in those parts, since the means of communication -at Manchester are somewhat inadequate. Only -Manchester girls are received in the High School, or -those residing with near relations. There are no -boarding-houses; it is a purely local school. The -fees are nine to fifteen guineas per annum. Manchester -has been specially successful in ‘assimilating’ those -girls that enter the high school from the elementary -schools, several of whom have passed on to the -university with scholarships, and been very successful -in their after careers. Its chief want is a system -of scholarships from the elementary schools, to -enable it to extend its useful work, and take a place -in a national system of education.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The most complete schemes of endowed schools -for girls are at Birmingham and Bedford, and they -are typical of two different systems. The King -Edward’s endowment, one of the largest in England, -had been so mismanaged that in 1828 only 115 boys -were being educated on it, and the school building -was in ruins. In 1831 by a Chancery scheme, two -new schools, Classical and English, were established, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>and twenty years later there were sufficient funds -to maintain eight elementary schools as well. Immediately -after the passing of the ‘Endowed Schools -Act’ further changes were made. The schools were -reorganised in three grades (high, middle, lower middle), -and four grammar schools founded for girls. -When the spread of State-aided elementary schools -made the third class unnecessary, these were abolished, -and a girl’s High School substituted. This forms the -last link in the chain; and a close connection between -different grades by means of scholarships, leading -gradually upward from the elementary school to the -university, gives the necessary cohesion to the system. -The High School can accommodate 260 girls, and the -four grammar schools 780. Fees are charged in all, -but not so high as to cover the cost of education. -At the High School it is calculated that the expense -of each pupil is £20 per annum, while the fee is £9. -The endowment makes up the deficiency, and permits -the reservation of one-third of the places for foundation -scholars. Further, it enables the governors to -offer their teachers good salaries, and to conduct the -whole on those generous lines without which it is -impossible to provide a liberal education for either -girls or boys. In educational organisation as in -municipal matters, Birmingham is a model to the -rest of the country. It shows how an old endowment, -sufficiently large and carefully distributed, can -be made to meet the needs of all classes of a community. -‘We cannot reform our ancestors,’ as George -Eliot so pertinently remarks, nor can we set down -rich old endowments in the midst of places that have -never known such benefactions. But fresh money is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span>coming in from new sources, and we want object -lessons in its application. Birmingham teaches the -value of co-ordination, and incidentally the use to -which public funds may be put in bringing a good education -within the reach of the largest possible number.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The position of Bedford is different. A small town -with no special industry happens, through the munificence -of one of its ancient citizens, to be possessed -of one of the largest endowments in the kingdom. -For many years its benefits were confined to the -inhabitants of Bedford, and as a result the population -was constantly increased by persons who were -glad to get free education for their sons. Many, no -doubt, were well able to pay for it, but preferred, -naturally enough, to get it for nothing. At the time -of the Schools’ Inquiry Commission, the endowment -was maintaining:—(1) A grammar school with 204 -boys. (2) A commercial school with 358 boys. (3) -A preparatory commercial school with 237 boys; as -well as elementary schools for nearly 1200 children -and a hospital for 13 boys and 13 girls, almshouses, -etc. Considerable as were these numbers, they fell -far short of the possibilities of the endowment. -The institution of a fee, even a low one, would -at once set free a goodly sum, and something, -if only as compensation for the marriage portions, -was due to the girls. A new scheme providing for -a fresh distribution of the funds was drawn up in -1873, but the girls’ schools did not come into existence -till 1882. Under the present arrangement -one-eleventh of the available funds is used for -eleemosynary purposes, two-elevenths go to the elementary -schools, which until quite lately have served -<span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span>all the needs of the town and rendered a schoolboard -unnecessary. The remainder is divided equally -between the two higher schools—boys’ Grammar and -girls’ High—and the two Modern schools. This looks -very much like putting girls and boys on an equality, -but a clause in the scheme explains that three boys -are to be considered equal to five girls. In other -respects the money is evenly divided; it is shared -out annually ‘in proportion to the average number -of scholars attending the said schools respectively -during the preceding year,’ a curious application of -a Scriptural doctrine, by which a rise in numbers -in the boys’ school entails a corresponding deficit -in the exchequer of the girls’ school and <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">vice versa</span></i>. -Still, rightly managed, there is enough for all.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At Bedford no attempt is made to co-ordinate the -work of the two schools, or to establish any but the -very slightest connection—by means of a few scholarships—between -the elementary and modern schools. -Hence the benefit of co-operation is lost. The great -difference between the fees—£9 to £12 at the High, -£4 at the Modern school—makes active rivalry impossible. -It is the state of the home exchequer -that settles the choice of a school, far more than -the preference for one system of education or a -girl’s probable after-career. It is curious that, in -spite of the general outcry for cheap schools, the -low fee of the Modern School has not proved as -great an attraction as was expected; it has filled -but slowly, and is only now approaching 200, while -the High School averages an attendance of 600. To -some extent the curriculum of both schools is the -same, but the greater economy requisite in the Modern -<span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span>school necessitates larger classes, less complete equipment, -and lower salaries for the teachers. To families -in straitened circumstances, local shopkeepers, and -small farmers within a short train journey of the -town, the school is a great boon; but it seems certain -that at Bedford, whatever may be the case elsewhere, -all who can afford the higher fee are willing to pay -it for the sake of the greater social prestige of the -High School. Prejudice of this kind must always be -reckoned with, however carefully Parliament or Royal -Commissioners may provide on paper for the needs -of each class of the population.</p> - -<p class='c007'>On the other hand, the High School has more than -fulfilled anticipations. Not only does it provide a -first-class education for the sisters of grammar school -boys, it has won a position and prestige of its own -which attract considerable numbers from a distance. -There are now several flourishing boarding-houses, -all working in close connection with the school, and -under the superintendence of the head-mistress. In -this way Bedford High School, like the Cheltenham -Ladies’ College, St. Leonard’s School at St. Andrews, -and a very few others, has taken a position somewhat -analogous to that of a boys’ public school, sought -for its own sake, and not merely on account of its -nearness or cheapness. The large numbers, ample -staff, and sufficient funds enable the head-mistress -to consider the needs of individual pupils more carefully -than could be done in a small school. Forms -are joined and subdivided lengthwise and crosswise, -so as to bring together in small groups girls who -are to give a good deal of time to Classics, Modern -Languages, English, Drawing or Science, or any other -<span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>special subject, thus avoiding the scrappiness with -which the modern curriculum is sometimes charged. -The girl who aims at the university is prepared for -it, the girl who has a real taste for accomplishments -receives first-rate instruction in music, drawing, etc. -and at the same time is encouraged to give special -attention to English. There is no attempt to force -all through the same mill. The school is most fortunate -in its buildings, which are beautiful as well -as convenient. Hall, gymnasium, studio, laboratory, -padded rooms for practising, nothing seems wanting -to the equipment. It is pleasant to wander through -the airy and tasteful class-rooms and realise that this -is one of the many good things which the redistribution -of endowments has given to girls. At Bedford -there is not much risk of forgetting whence the -money comes. The Harpur Trust seems to give its -character to the town. The numerous schools, the -Harpur Trust offices, the rows of almshouses, the -‘Harpur’ and ‘Dame Alice’ streets are suggestive of -a town that has grown up about its schools, almost -as Oxford and Cambridge have about their colleges. -In the old church close by the founders lie buried; -ever succeeding generations of boys and girls are -entering into their inheritance.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Among the eight largest endowments of which the -Commissioners had to take cognisance was that of -Dulwich. In few places was the reformer’s hand -more needed than in the assignment of those large -sums which had accumulated under the charity of -Alleyn’s College of God’s Gift. At the time of the -Schools’ Inquiry Commission—that date which marks -a new starting-point in educational chronology, it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span>maintained only an upper school with 130 boys, and -a lower school with 90. In 1895 when some of the -results of twenty-five years were summarised, it was -supporting:—(1) A first-grade boys’ school—Dulwich -College—with 630 scholars. (2) A second grade boys’ -school—Alleyn’s School—with 540 boys; and contributing, -(3) To James Allen’s Girls’ School a capital -sum of £6000, and £650 a year. (4) To the Central -Foundation Schools—boys and girls—a capital sum -of £11,000 and £2300 a year. (5) To St. Saviour’s -Grammar School, Southwark, a capital sum of £20,000 -and £500 a year.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This is a result that should please all parties. In -spite of the additional advantages given to boys, the -girls gain two schools; for although the James Allen -school had been founded as early as 1741 by James -Allen, master of Dulwich College, it was really nothing -more than an elementary school until its reconstruction -in 1882 with a part of the Dulwich endowment. -It can accommodate 300 girls, has eight class-rooms, -laboratory, assembly hall, dining-room, recreation -ground of two and a half acres, and a completely -equipped gymnasium where lessons are given by an -expert teacher. With a £6 fee it is always full, -and admirably serves its purpose of ‘supplying to -girls of the middle class a sound practical education.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>The fourth of the large endowments belongs to -St. Olave’s Grammar School, and a school for girls is -in course of establishment here.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The Tonbridge endowment, administered by the -Skinners’ Company, now supports a school for girls -at Stamford Hill.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>The Manchester Grammar School fund has of late -decreased in value, and has nothing to offer girls; but -here they have had help from another quarter.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The Jones foundation at Monmouth now provides -for 500 boys, and 100 girls, besides 50 elementary -scholars, in place of 180 boys at the date of the -Commission.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Of the eight endowments, by far the largest was -that of Christ’s Hospital, and here there was no question -as to the original intentions. The treatment of -girls had been so unfair as to arouse general indignation. -But the whole foundation really needed overhauling. -After long delays an elaborate scheme was -drawn up, providing for the removal into the country -of the boys’ school, proper boarding-school provision -for girls, and large day-schools in London for both -sexes. Of all this, now nearly twenty years after the -passing of the Endowed Schools Act, very little has -been done, though the removal of the boys’ school -from London to Horsham is now definitely settled. -At Hertford the girls’ school has been reformed in its -methods, and additional ward accommodation provided, -but by a perverse system of election it is made -very difficult to fill even that space. Girls can only -be admitted on presentation of a governor—very difficult -to obtain—or by a competition, to which only -three classes are admitted. They must come either -from—(1) Certain endowed schools in England and -Wales, or (2) Public elementary schools in the London -School Board district, or (3) Certain parishes which -have hitherto exercised the right of presentation. As -(1) and (2) represent the classes which are best provided, -and least in need of the benefits of a cheap boarding-school, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>and (3) is, by its nature, very restricted, it is not -strange that it has hitherto proved impossible to fill -even the 140 available places, though there are thousands -of girls in rural districts to whom a school of -this kind would prove a priceless boon. There seems -a curious irony about offering such nominations to -the Bedford Modern School where girls are receiving -an excellent education for £4 a year, and taking no -thought for those less favoured places, which, because -they have no endowment of their own, are therefore -shut out from one that they could use. Of course all -this is only temporary, but the transition stage seems -a very long one. As far as girls are concerned, the -chief needs seem to be the establishment of several -cheap boarding-schools, the election of some women -on the council of almoners, and a change in the present -system of electing scholars. Let us hope that when -the reforms come at last, they may prove to have been -worth the waiting.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Besides these eight chief endowments, there are -many others of which girls have now received a share. -There are now in England and Wales over eighty girls’ -endowed schools of a secondary type, though the -distribution is curiously uneven; <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">e.g.</span></i> the West Riding -of Yorkshire has nine, while Surrey has only one. -Much has been done, and much remains to be done, -but it is well that every kind of experiment should be -tried, so that the newer schemes may be improved -by the experience of the older ones.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Endowed schools are technically supposed to be of -three grades, according to the age at which the pupils -usually leave. For the first the limit is eighteen or -nineteen; for the second, sixteen or seventeen; for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span>the third, fourteen or fifteen. All admit them at -seven or eight. There is something peculiarly English -about this arrangement, which, on paper at any rate, -appears needlessly wasteful. The natural division -seems the American one. Here there are three -successive grades, organically connected, by which a -child may go through his whole school career, passing, -as it were, from the kindergarten at one end to -the university at the other. This arrangement of -schools, all free, and meant for all the children of the -community, is in harmony with the American democratic -idea, but would be impossible in the midst -of English class prejudice. Still even our social exclusiveness -does not require such extreme differentiation, -and experience shows that a system of -three parallel lines, distinguished chiefly by breaking -off at different points, is not altogether necessary. -The problem, as it presents itself for girls, is not, -however, the same as for boys. Boys’ schools of the -highest grade naturally prepare their pupils for the -university, and as most of them are boarding-schools, -they are exempt from considering local needs. The -first public schools for girls were day schools. At the -time of the first Endowed Schools Act, university -education for girls had hardly made any way. Girton -was just struggling into existence, the other colleges -were but a dream of the future. London still withheld -its degrees. What girls needed most was a sound -general education given cheaply in day schools. -Hence the low fees fixed by the Girls’ Public Day -School Company, and the still lower ones charged at the -endowed schools of the second and third grades, which -at that time met the most crying want. By 1883 ten -<span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span>of these third grade schools in London were educating -over two thousand girls. Among them were the -Greycoat Hospital at Westminster, and the Roan -School, Greenwich, and others that have since extended -their sphere of work up to the second grade limit.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The course of events during the last few years has -necessitated these and many other changes. The -Elementary Schools Act of 1870, and the spread of -Higher Grade schools, while largely removing the need -for the third grade, have necessitated some means of -transition from the primary to the secondary school. -On the other hand, the rise of women’s colleges, -technical institutes, etc. and the increasing number -of girls who, whether from choice or necessity, expect -to earn their own living, necessitates a levelling-up of -schools, and a closer connection with places of higher -education. Direct connection with the primary -schools on the one hand, and the women’s colleges on -the other, is now a necessity. Many of the Charity -Commissioners’ schemes have attempted to supply -this. The Roan School at Greenwich is a good -instance. It was founded in 1643 out of money left -by John Roan to clothe and educate poor children, -and reorganised in 1873, the income of £2000 being -divided between 350 boys and 320 girls. There is a -special fund for foundation exhibitions for elementary -scholars, and others are admitted on passing an -examination, at half-fees—£3 instead of £6. Of the -total number of pupils, about two-fifths come from -the elementary schools. Thus the work of the two is -brought into very close connection, and the Roan -School includes in itself both second and third grade -functions. It provides for the upward passage by -<span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span>exhibitions, many of which are held at Bedford -College, or in Wales.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Scholarships of both kinds are also given by the -Skinners’ School at Stamford Hill. Some of the -entrance exhibitions are restricted to pupils from -elementary schools, others are awarded by open competition. -The two leaving exhibitions, of the value -of thirty-three and thirty guineas respectively, are -tenable for four years, at any place of advanced -education approved by the governors. The school -fees range from £6 to £10. The work of the Sixth -Form leads to the higher certificate of the Joint Board -or the London Matriculation, both of which serve the -purposes of a leaving and entrance examination. This -school might therefore be regarded as a combination -of the three grades. Similar work is done by the -Mary Datchelor School at Camberwell, the Aske’s -School, Hatcham, and several others. Such schools, -with a definite connection upward and downward, are -among the chief educational needs of the day. Those -now at work seem to be always full, and they draw -their pupils from a class that look forward to a career -of steady work. Clerks, civil servants, teachers, -typists, telegraphists, milliners, nurses; these, and -many others, occur in the lists of old pupils’ occupations. -A useful general education, either as an end -in itself or as a basis for higher or technical education, -is given, and these schools have taken the place of the -third rate private schools, which was all that had -previously been offered to middle class girls. The -expression of opinion by the Royal Commissioners, in -1895, that ‘a second grade school, which prepares for -the local University College is often more suitable for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>a certain section of the population than a first grade -school linked to Oxford and Cambridge,’ applies, -<i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">mutatis mutandis</span></i>, to girls as well as boys. For both, -a part of the highest work must be supplied by -boarding-schools.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But when all the endowments hitherto made available -are considered, the share of the girls is still far -too small. In some counties there is hardly anything -available for them. Against this disparity must be -set the benefactions of recent years, many of which are -specially meant for girls and women. The foundation -of the City of London Girls’ School, by William Ward, -in 1881, with an endowment of £20,000; the Pfeiffer -Charity of £59,000, for the benefit of women’s education, -the numerous scholarships given by city companies, -the establishment of Holloway and Westfield -Colleges, and of many other foundations for both -sexes, belong to the twenty years between 1875 and -1895. If girls have lacked much in the past, they -are inheriting the present. As the Charity Commissioners -remarked, when reviewing a record of a -quarter a century: ‘As to one particular branch of -educational endowments, viz. that for the advancement -of the secondary and superior education of -girls and women, it may be anticipated that future -generations will look back to the period immediately -following upon the Schools’ Inquiry Commission, and -the consequent passing of the Endowed Schools Act, -as marking an epoch in the creation and application -of endowments for that branch of education, similar -to that which is marked for the education of boys -and men by the Reformation.’</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER VI<br /> <span class='large'>THE WOMEN’S COLLEGES</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>The chief gain that this half-century has brought to -women’s education is their admission to the universities. -It is the key-stone of the arch, without -which the rest of the fabric could have neither -stability nor permanence. The schools look to them -for their teachers and their standard, and gain thereby -an element of fixity hitherto lacking. If boys’ education -may be blamed for excessive conservatism, that -of girls has suffered from extreme mobility. Since -girls’ schools led nowhere, and acknowledged no outside -guidance, their aim was perpetually changing, -according to the ever-varying dictates of sentiment -or expediency. Independent and unorganised, they -lacked all connection with past and future; and it is -this that the universities are now giving them.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Apart from its intrinsic importance, this reform is -remarkable for the speed and completeness with which -it has been accomplished. Thirty years ago it had -hardly been seriously contemplated; now eight of -the ten universities of Great Britain teach their -students without distinction of sex, while two others -admit them to lectures, examinations, and many other -privileges. All this has not been brought about without -hard work and persevering effort; and it would -<span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>be vain to seek the origin of all the separate forces -that, acting and re-acting on one another, have produced -this result. Many were the workers, and the -honours of the pioneers must be shared, but among -those who led the way a chief place belongs to Miss -Emily Davies. From the first she realised that the -reform in girls’ education must begin at the top. To -quote her own words: ‘The incompleteness of the -education of schoolmistresses and governesses is a -drawback which no amount of intelligence and goodwill -can enable them entirely to overcome. It is -obvious that for those who have to impart knowledge -the primary requisite is to possess it; and it is one of -the great difficulties of female teachers that they are -called upon to instruct others while being inadequately -instructed themselves. The more earnest and conscientious -devote their leisure hours to continued -study, and no doubt much may be done in this way; -but it is at the cost of overwork, often involving the -sacrifice of health, to say nothing of the disadvantages -of working alone, without a teacher, often without -good books, and without the wholesome stimulus of -companionship.’<a id='r14' /><a href='#f14' class='c011'><sup>[14]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c007'>But, important as was the improvement in the -education of the teachers, Miss Davies had a wider -aim in view for the college she meant to found. It -was to bring a really liberal education within -reach of all women, apart from any special professional -aim. Girls, as well as boys, should have opportunities -given them to carry on their studies in -congenial and stimulating surroundings, unhampered -by the cares of earning and unhindered by conflicting -<span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span>duties. To them, too, the college life was to bring that -joyous spring-time of youth, friendship, and unfettered -delight of study and leisure which had hitherto been -withheld from them. Such was the generous purpose -in the minds of a few men and women who were -trying to fire others with their own enthusiasm.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Even at the time of the Schools’ Inquiry Commission -this question had been mooted, and a memorial -had been sent up pointing out the want of a -system of ‘instruction and discipline adapted to -advanced students, combined with examinations -testing and attesting the value of the education -received.’ The report of the Commission and the -discussion it aroused helped to give publicity to the -proposal, and at last it was resolved to test the -feasibility of the scheme by actual experiment. In -1867 a committee had been formed to consider the -possibility of founding a college ‘designed to hold in -relation to girls’ schools and home teaching a position -analogous to that occupied by the universities towards -the public schools for boys.’ It was resolved to try -an experiment on a small scale, and proceed further -as funds became available. At Hitchin, near Cambridge, -a small house was hired for the six students -who presented themselves, and in October 1869 they -began the work prescribed to candidates for degrees -by the University of Cambridge. Insignificant as -these beginnings may seem, they were of momentous -importance in the history of women’s education. The -founders of this, the first women’s college in England, -had to choose once for all between a women’s university, -with its exclusive studies and degrees, and admission -to the great universities of the country. The -<span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span>question of a women’s university debated and vetoed -in 1897 had really been finally settled in 1870, when -the first lady students requested and received permission -to be examined in the papers set for the -Previous Examination.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The prospectus of the new college issued in the -autumn of 1869 contained this clause: ‘The Council -shall use such efforts as from time to time they may -think most expedient and effectual to obtain for the -students of the College admission to the examinations -for the degrees of the University of Cambridge, and -generally to place the College in connection with the -University.’ This ambitious programme thus early -laid down for the infant College must have provoked -many smiles; and looking back now after the lapse -of nearly thirty years, we hardly know whether to -wonder most at the confidence placed by the founders -in the hitherto untried abilities of girls or at -the success which so abundantly justified their -anticipations.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was thus made clear from the outset that the -new college was to be no self-centred institution, but -was to derive its teaching, inspiration, and standard -from Cambridge, provided always that the University -were willing to accept the new responsibilities thus -proposed. For this end it seemed desirable to make -an informal experiment, and through the kindness of -the individual examiners five of the students were -submitted to the test of the Previous Examination. -All were successful; four attained the standard -required for a First Class, and one that of a Second. -Two years later three students entered for Tripos -Examinations in the same informal manner, two -<span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span>passing in classics and one in mathematics. Thus -three years after the opening of the College three -of its students had fulfilled all the conditions required -by the University of Cambridge for a degree -in Honours. That was a sufficient answer to the -doubters; the founders had justified their action. -Henceforth the future of the College was fixed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Meanwhile vigorous efforts were being made to -raise money for the permanent building to be erected -in or near Cambridge. This was no easy task. Generous -donations for the needs of women were at that -time unknown. The <cite>Quarterly Review</cite> recommended -‘simplicity of living and the strictest economy’ as -alone suitable for women who might have to earn -their own living, and desired to combine with this -‘training in housekeeping, regular needlework ... such -cultivation as will make a really good wife, -sister, and daughter to educated men.’ Against such -selfish and confused notions it was difficult to contend. -As Miss Shirreff wrote at the time: ‘Never yet have a -company of women been able to scrape together funds -for an object specially their own, be it club, or reading-room, -or hospital, or, as now, a college.’ It is pleasant -to realise that this is no longer true, and that the -writer of these despairing words lived to see the -change she had helped to bring about.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The money came in, though slowly. Madame -Bodichon generously gave the first thousand pounds, -and among the earliest subscribers was George Eliot. -Lady Stanley was another who gave liberal aid. -The subscription list gradually grew longer; a piece -of land was secured at Girton, near Cambridge, and -building began. In 1873 it was ready for occupation, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>and henceforth became the home of the Ladies’ College, -now incorporated as Girton College, with Miss -Davies installed as Mistress. As the numbers increased, -fresh additions were made to the building, -but the aim and work of the College remained unchanged. -Students were prepared for the Ordinary -and Honours Degree Examinations by means of -lectures given at Girton, and, as these were gradually -opened to women, by attendance at some of the professorial -and intercollegiate lectures in Cambridge. -They were informally examined with the same papers -as were set to the men, and in every detail of preliminary -test, length of residence, etc. they conformed -to the rules laid down by the University for its -members. In lieu of the degree, which could not -be conferred upon them, they received from the -College a ‘degree certificate,’ and year by year fresh -proofs were given of the general efficiency of the -College and its students. In this way informal connection -with the University was combined with formal -adherence to its regulations. Thus matters continued -till 1881.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Side by side with the beginnings of Girton, another -movement had been at work. This was largely due -to the North of England Council, which by promoting -examinations for women over eighteen, had been -establishing a fresh link between the University of -Cambridge and the education of girls. A Cambridge -committee established courses of lectures in all the -subjects of examination. These naturally attracted -many students from a distance, and the same persons -who had organised the lectures, soon had to face the -problem of housing the audience. Mr. Henry Sidgwick, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>to whose generous and unfailing assistance -women owe so much, invited Miss Clough to come -and take charge of a house of residence for women -students. This house—No. 64 Regent Street—became -the germ of Newnham. As the numbers increased, -removal to larger premises became necessary, and -Merton Hall was taken. When this too had to be -abandoned it was resolved to build. Funds were -raised by the Newnham Hall Company, and eventually -this was amalgamated with the association which had -charge of the lectures, and the two were incorporated -as Newnham College. This development from small -beginnings, under the Principal’s able management -with the constant help and sympathy of Mr. and Mrs. -Sidgwick, has now been fully made known through -Miss A. B. Clough’s interesting biography of her aunt. -Newnham has seen some changes of policy and -programme since its first beginnings in 1870, but its -true aim, to advance the education of women at -Cambridge, has always remained the same.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Since Newnham originated in a house of residence -for girls preparing for the Higher Local Examination, -this was naturally the goal set before the first -students; but very early in its history some few who -were more ambitious or better prepared, found this -aim insufficient, and began, like the Girton students, -to study for the degree examinations. The Higher -Local, at first the goal, gradually receded in importance, -and became a preliminary instead of a final, but -it was not made compulsory to follow the Cambridge -curriculum exactly, and in those early days great -latitude in choice of subjects, examinations, length of -residence, etc. was allowed to Newnham students.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>Thus matters continued till 1880, when special -attention was called to Girton by the distinguished -success of one of its students, who was declared by -the examiners in the mathematical Tripos to be equal -to the eighth wrangler. There was now a ten years’ -record of good work to show, and the time seemed -opportune for bringing about a more formal connection -with the University. A memorial was drawn up -and presented, which called attention to the ‘repeated -instances of success on the part of students of Girton -and Newnham Colleges, in satisfying the examiners -in various degree examinations at Cambridge,’ and -praying the Senate to ‘grant to properly qualified -women the right of admission to the examinations -for University degrees, and to the degrees conferred -according to the result of such examinations.’ This -was signed by 8500 persons; other petitions to the -same effect were received, and as a result a syndicate -was appointed to consider the matter. Their report -advocated the formal admission of women to the -Honours examinations of the University, and the -publication of a separate class-list, indicating the -position of each in the general list. They did not, -however, recommend conferring degrees on women, -nor did they advise admitting them to the Ordinary -Degree examinations. The recommendations were -embodied in three Graces, passed by the Senate -on February 24, 1881, a red-letter day in the -annals of College women. These are the most -important:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘1. That female students who have fulfilled the -conditions respecting length of residence and standing -which members of the University are required to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span>fulfil, be admitted to the Previous Examination and -the Tripos Examinations.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘2. That such residence shall be kept—(<em>a</em>) at Girton -College; or (<em>b</em>) at Newnham College; or (<em>c</em>) within the -precincts of the University, under the regulations of -one or other of these Colleges; or (<em>d</em>) in any similar -institution within the precincts of the University which -may be recognised hereafter by grace of the Senate.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘3. That certificates of residence shall be given by -the authorities of Girton College or Newnham College -or other similar institution hereafter recognised by -the University, in the same form as that which is -customary in the case of members of the University.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘4. That except as is provided in regulation 5, -female students shall, before admission to a Tripos -Examination, have passed the Previous Examination -(including the Additional subjects), or one of -the examinations which excuse members of the -University from the Previous Examination.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘5. That female students who have obtained an -Honour certificate in the Higher Local Examination, -may be admitted to a Tripos Examination, though -such certificate does not cover the special portions of -the Higher Local Examination, which are accepted -by the University in lieu of parts or the whole of the -Previous Examination; provided that such students -have passed in Group B, (Language): and Group C, -(Mathematics).</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘6. That no female student shall be admitted to -any part of any of the examinations of the University -who is not recommended for admission by the -authorities of the College, or other institution, under -whose regulations she has resided.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span>‘7. That after each examination a class-list of the -female students who have satisfied the examiners -shall be published by the examiners at the same -time with the class-list of members of the University, -the standard for each class, and the method of -arrangement in each class being the same in the -two class lists.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘8. That in each class of female students in which -the names are arranged in order of merit, the place -which each of such students would have occupied in -the corresponding class of members of the University -shall be indicated.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘9. That the examiners for the Tripos shall be at -liberty to state, if the case be so, that a female -student who has failed to satisfy them, has in their -opinion reached a standard equivalent to that required -from members of the University for the ordinary B.A. -degree.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘10. That to each female student who has satisfied -the examiners in a Tripos Examination, a certificate -shall be given by the University stating the conditions -under which she was admitted to the examinations -of the University, the examinations in which -she has satisfied the examiners, and the class and -place in the class to which she has attained in each -of such examinations.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>This was followed in 1882 by permission to pass -the examinations for degrees in Music.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The Colleges and their students thus received -formal acknowledgment from the University, and the -status then conferred remains unchanged to this day. -Two attempts have since been made to induce the -University to carry its concessions to their logical -<span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span>issue, and confer degrees on women. That of 1887 -came to an untimely end, as it was not even considered -by a syndicate; the events of 1897 belong to -recent history, and are too fresh to allow a proper -estimate of their significance. The facts are these. -In 1896 four memorials were presented to the Council, -asking for the nomination of a syndicate ‘to consider -on what conditions and with what restrictions, if any, -women should be admitted to degrees in the University.’ -The syndicate was appointed, and reported in -favour of conferring ‘the title of the degree of -Bachelor of Arts’ by diploma upon women, ‘who, in -accordance with the now existing ordinances, shall -hereafter satisfy the examiners in a final Tripos -Examination, and shall have kept by residence nine -terms at least; provided that the title so conferred -shall not involve membership of the University.’ -This seemed a very moderate proposal, since it only -involved a formal acknowledgment of privileges -already conferred, but somehow the University took -fright. Perhaps it now for the first time realised -what had already been done, and determined to allow -no more concessions; perhaps an element of jealousy -was beginning to play a part among the younger -members who had appeared in the same class lists as -the women, and not always in the highest places; -certain it is that while the best weight and learning -in Cambridge were in favour of the proposals, numbers -were ranged on the other side; and the voting -resulted in a majority of more than a thousand -against the proposal. In estimating this result it is -well to remember that the women’s colleges had met -with far more rapid success than even their founders -<span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>had anticipated. They had produced a Senior -Wrangler and a Senior Classic, and a formidable list -of first classes in these and other Triposes. It was no -longer possible to put aside their achievements with -the old contemptuous formula, ‘very good considering.’ -The movement had succeeded beyond all hope -or fear, and while its true friends remained staunch, -many of the indifferent now ranged themselves among -the open enemies. Events had moved too fast for the -rearguard of public opinion to keep up with them. -At any rate the refusal was decisive, and matters -settled down once more to the <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">status quo</span></i> of 1881.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Anomalous as is their position, the students of -Girton and Newnham have many and great advantages. -For a comparatively low fee they receive all -the advantages of a University education; they enjoy -the manifold privileges that belong to residence in -Cambridge, they may attend nearly all professorial -and very many college lectures, their own colleges -also provide excellent lecturing and coaching; and -they may enter for any of the Tripos Examinations, -and for those that lead to the degrees of Doc. and -Bac. Mus. They have the advantage of life in beautiful -buildings, with plentiful opportunities for recreation, -exercise, and social intercourse, while the very -fact of belonging to Girton or Newnham confers a -certain prestige which is an advantage professionally -and socially. However much we may desire the -degree, and regret its indefinite postponement, it may -yet safely be said that nowhere else can women obtain -such advantages as at Cambridge. No anxiety need -be felt about the future of the colleges. The success -of their students, the influence their ‘graduates’ have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>had on the teaching profession, and the good work -done by them in other fields, have amply justified -the new departure. If success has come too quickly, -public opinion may lag behind a few years longer. -Meantime the work goes on.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At this period of their history it is no longer -necessary to describe the colleges. Everybody who -knows Cambridge is familiar with them. Both have -increased greatly since their first beginnings. Girton -has added fresh wings and a tower; changed its -entrance and built a library which is full to overflowing. -The trees have grown up around it and -offer pleasant shade to summer tea-parties and afternoon -loungers, the ‘woodland walk’ that encircles -the grounds is gay at almost all seasons with pretty -blossoms and flowering shrubs. Newnham has enlarged -its first (Old) hall and built two new ones, -called by names that will ever be held in honour, -Clough and Sidgwick Halls. One library has been -outgrown, and another—a generous gift—has been -lately added; a road has been diverted allowing an -addition to the grounds, and a fresh approach made -under a tower gateway with beautiful iron gates -presented by old students in memory of their first -Principal. Girton has once more outgrown its -accommodation, and is appealing for building funds. -The colleges are growing both outwardly and in their -aims. Not the least hopeful feature is the number -of ‘graduate’ students who continue their studies in -Cambridge or at one of the foreign universities, or -devote to research or social problems that leisure and -freedom from responsibility which women possess in -a greater share than men. The founders have been -<span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span>abundantly justified in their resolve to establish no -mere training-school for governesses, but to offer a -wide and liberal education to all.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There are some differences in the arrangements of -the two colleges. At Girton each student has two -rooms, at Newnham one. The Girton fees are £105 -per annum including coaching and examinations; at -Newnham they are £75, but these items are not in -all cases included. Girton supplies cabs for students -who attend lectures in Cambridge; Newnham, being -in the town, is within a walk. Both require every one -who has not taken an equivalent, <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">e.g.</span></i> the higher -certificate of the Joint Board, to pass an entrance -examination. Both colleges award scholarships, -though scarcely sufficient to meet the many demands -from girls whose parents cannot afford the payment -of full fees. Miss Welsh, one of the early Hitchin -students, is now mistress of Girton; Newnham has a -Vice-principal for each of the halls, and a Principal -over the whole. In this post Mrs. H. Sidgwick -succeeded Miss Clough, when the true foundress of -Newnham died in 1892.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There is a good deal of resemblance between the -Cambridge colleges and the Oxford halls, though -these latter have a different history. As early as -1865 a scheme for lectures and classes at Oxford -had been organised by Miss Smith, and remained in -operation for several years. In 1873 another similar -scheme was set on foot by a committee of ladies, -with Mrs. Max Müller as treasurer, and Mrs. H. -Ward and Mrs. Creighton, followed by Mrs. T. H. -Green, as secretaries. The outcome of this was the -Association for the Education of Women, organised -<span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span>in 1878, its object being ‘to establish and maintain a -system of instruction having general reference to the -Oxford examinations.’ Here as at Cambridge the -next step was to found halls of residence to accommodate -students from a distance. Two of these, Somerville -and Lady Margaret, were opened in the same -year, 1879; since then two more, St. Hugh’s and -St. Hilda’s, have been added. The great difference, -however, between the arrangements at the two -Universities is that the Oxford Association, instead -of amalgamating with the halls, has continued an -independent existence, taking the lead in all matters -concerning women’s education. Most associations of -this kind were temporary bodies, which dissolved -when the college or school for which they were -working was established, or when the particular -institution with which they were connected had -opened its doors to women. But the Oxford Association -has increased in importance with the development -of the colleges, and has become a Board of -Studies for their students, and a means of communication -between them and the University. One of its -functions is to organise lectures, to which members -of the University not infrequently request and obtain -admission. It also undertakes the negotiations with -the various professors and colleges that admit women -to lectures, and it is thanks to its exertions that they -may now attend under certain regulations lectures -at almost every college in Oxford. Similarly their -admission to university examinations is the work of -the Association. In fact, it acts almost as a feminine -department of the University, since it has to sanction -the establishment of halls, make itself responsible -<span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span>for the studies and discipline of its students, and -generally establish their connection with the University. -This connection received its formal acknowledgment -in 1893, when the Dean of Christchurch -was appointed to represent the Hebdomadal Council -on the Council of the Association, and a room in -the Clarendon Building was lent it as an office.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There are some other technical differences between -the position of women at Oxford and Cambridge. -The latter directly acknowledges the women’s colleges, -the former in theory knows nothing of its women -students, but leaves the Delegacy for Local Examinations -to arrange for their examination. The delegates -are allowed for this purpose to use the papers set by -the University examiners for men, and, of course, -the examinations are conducted simultaneously and -under exactly the same conditions. Women may -enter for every examination—whether Pass or -Honours—leading to the B.A. degree, and it is this -Delegacy which lays down the special conditions. -In all cases a Preliminary examination is compulsory -and in some an Intermediate, but neither the -Delegacy nor the University demands that they should -conform to the regulations imposed on men in regard -to duration of study, preliminary examinations and -residence. This has led to greater freedom in work; -but, as often happens, this greater liberty has proved -somewhat detrimental. It was difficult to gauge the -value of work done under such conditions, since -some students would end a four years’ course with -Moderations and others at once begin working for -the Final Schools. Then there were some special -examinations for women, which by that very restriction -<span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span>failed to win even the prestige they deserved, -and an impression, not quite unfounded, spread -abroad, of a certain vagueness in the Oxford work, -which lessened its value in the eyes of the general -public. There was no real gain in making a selection -from a course that had been carefully planned out by -the University for its members, and as this anomalous -state of things had really been brought about by the -gradual opening of the examinations, which made -the regular course at first inaccessible to women -students, there seemed no reason for continuing -it when once this difficulty was removed. Oxford -women got less credit often than was their due, -simply because some little preliminary formality had -been omitted.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In order to remedy this, and put the whole work -on a firmer basis, the Association decided to institute -a system of diplomas for those of its students who -have taken the full course required of members of -the University. This certificate is awarded only to -students who have entered their names on the register -qualifying for it, have kept their residence after -date of entry, and passed the examinations of the -B.A. course in the order and under the conditions as -to standing prescribed for members of the University. -Another diploma is also offered to those who have -passed a course of three examinations approved by -the council. Though equivalent to the B.A. diploma -as regards difficulty of attainment, there appears to -be little demand among recent students for this -alternative course; and it will probably be regarded -as a survival from the days when, the University -examinations being only partially open to women, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>substitutes had in some cases to be devised. Certificates -are also awarded to those students who have -resided not less than eight terms, and have obtained -a class in an Honour Examination of the University or -of the Delegates of Local Examinations. These diplomas -and certificates offer a definite incentive to regular -study, and serve at once to show the value of the work -done in each case.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At Oxford, as at Cambridge, an attempt has been -made to win complete acknowledgment for women -students by the conferment of the degree. An appeal -was made to the University in 1895. The question -came to the vote in 1896, and here, as afterwards at -Cambridge, the proposal was thrown out by a considerable -majority. Oxford women, like their sisters -at Cambridge, must therefore wait a while longer for -complete recognition. The attempt here may have -been a little premature, since, owing to the late -opening of the examinations and the latitude allowed -to students, there were at that time very few who -had fulfilled all the necessary conditions. Still the -reason of the refusal was probably identical in both -cases, and indicated a deep-rooted prejudice that -must be overcome before further steps can be taken. -Meantime the institution of the degree-certificate is -giving fresh impetus to the work, and attracting -larger numbers to the colleges.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Of these Somerville and Lady Margaret were -founded almost simultaneously, but with somewhat -different aims, the former being undenominational, -the latter distinctly Church of England. Both -were intended as halls of residence for Association -students, but in 1881 Somerville was incorporated as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span>a college ‘to provide for the residence of women -students’ as well as ‘for the instruction of women -students and for the delivery of lectures to such -students’; it was not, however, till 1894 that the -term ‘college’ came into general use. Like the Cambridge -colleges it has grown from small beginnings; -it has been enlarged four times, not on one plan but -by the addition of fresh buildings, so that it does not -present the appearance of a connected whole. But -standing in pleasant grounds among fine old trees, -this very medley gives it a certain charm. It can -now accommodate over seventy students, besides the -Principal, secretary, and four resident tutors. Many -of its old students have gained honourable positions -for themselves; indeed the Principals of two leading -women’s colleges, Holloway and Bedford, were chosen -from the ranks of old Somerville students.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Lady Margaret was founded by the Bishop of -Rochester and others, and has adhered to its original -plan of supplying residence to Church members of -the Association. It undertakes no part of the instruction, -but makes use of the Association’s tutorial -and lecturing staff. For some years the numbers -continued small, but as they gradually increased it -became necessary to construct an additional hall. -Part of this, the Wordsworth building, was occupied -in 1896, when the numbers went up to forty-nine, -and the council are now appealing for additional funds -with which to build a chapel and the central block, -to contain the library and permanent dining-hall. -A pretty thatched boat-house on the Cherwell is an -attractive feature of the grounds, and Lady Margaret -is proud of its rowing club. The Principal is Miss -<span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>Wordsworth, daughter of the late Bishop of Lincoln -and great-niece of the poet. The hall takes its name -from Lady Margaret Beaufort, that renowned patroness -of learning, and there is a cast from her effigy in the -tiny college chapel.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In close connection with Lady Margaret is St. -Hugh’s. It was founded in 1886 by Miss Wordsworth -to provide a more economical residence for -women students. By a system of sharing bedrooms -and using common sitting-rooms, somewhat lower -fees became practicable for those who could not -afford the ordinary terms. The plan does not seem -to have proved very successful, and St. Hugh’s has -developed into a small independent hall for twenty-five -students, on the same lines as Lady Margaret, -but with a graduated system of fees according to -the room occupied. Like Lady Margaret it is conducted -according to the principles of the Church of -England, with liberty for other denominations. It -also uses the tutorial staff of the Association. All -students are expected to read for some University -examination unless specially exempted by the Council. -The Principal is Miss Moberly, daughter of the late -Bishop of Salisbury.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The youngest of the Oxford halls is St. Hilda’s. -It was founded by Miss Beale in 1893, and meant in -the first instance for students passing on from -Cheltenham to Oxford. This exclusive character has, -however, been abandoned, and it is now formally -recognised under the rules of the Association for the -Education of Women. It still receives the greater -part of its students from Cheltenham, though there -is nothing now to exclude others. As yet the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span>numbers are very small. The Principal is Mrs. -Burrows.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Of these four institutions, Somerville, the largest -and most distinguished, is the only undenominational -one. All four have the combined bedroom-studies, -with common dining-halls, libraries, etc. Out-door -games, debating societies, college clubs, etc. are as -popular as at Cambridge. All the colleges require an -entrance examination or an alternative, and all give -scholarships according to ability. The fees at Somerville -(including board, lodging, tuition and lectures) -range from £78 to £90 according to the room occupied. -At Lady Margaret they are £75, exclusive of tuition, -which involves another £20 or £25. At St. Hugh’s -the inclusive terms range from £70 to £90; at St. -Hilda’s as at Lady Margaret, there is a charge of £75, -which does not include tuition.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Besides those who reside at the halls other women -are frequently attracted to Oxford. For these, too, -the Association makes provision. Those who avail -themselves of the lectures and direction of the -Association, but do not reside in a hall, are registered -as home students, and are placed under the care of -a Principal and a committee of the Council of the -Association. They are required to reside, with the -Principal’s approval, in a house sanctioned by the -committee, and to conform to certain rules corresponding -to those laid down for hall students. The -Principal performs some of the functions of a tutor. -Students call upon her at the beginning and end of -each term, and submit to her their lists of lectures -before sending them in to the office. The home -students are doubtless able to pursue their studies -<span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>more economically. The tuition fees seldom exceed -£25, and board and lodging may be had for 25s. a -week and upwards. As Oxford terms rarely exceed -eight weeks it is possible by very careful management -to keep expenses down to £50 to £60. As a matter of -fact a large proportion of these students are daughters -of Oxford residents. The arrangement is also a -convenient one for foreigners who come to Oxford -for a short time only. Many come in this way from -America, after taking a degree in one of their own -colleges. French, German, Russian, Roumanian, -Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian students have at -different times resided in Oxford, working at English -language and literature, for the teaching diplomas of -their own country. By helping these the Association -can considerably increase its sphere of usefulness, and -without disturbing the work of the halls it introduces -a wider outlook into the lives of the students. At -the same time it is open to home students to take -the regular course, and several of them do so. The -committee only registers those who take up a -systematic course of study, extending over at least -three terms, but even those who come for a -shorter time can attend its lectures and profit by its -help.</p> - -<p class='c007'>By these varied means the Association is able to -draw together all the agencies for women’s education -at Oxford; in 1897 the number of students on its -books was 202, and there is every reason to expect a -considerable increase now that the institution of the -degree-diploma has given a fresh impulse to the -work. The steady flow from our girls’ schools to -both Universities proves that the colleges have won -<span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span>appreciation through the whole of the country. -Happily many of the founders are yet among us to -enjoy the fruits of the labours. Girton and Newnham, -Somerville and Lady Margaret, bear eloquent testimony -to the truth that the dreamers of visions are -often those who see furthest and best.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER VII<br /> <span class='large'>ADMISSION TO UNIVERSITIES</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>The position of women at Oxford and Cambridge is -so anomalous as to require a good deal of explanation, -and indeed it is sometimes said that the only real -grievance these students have is the difficulty of -making people understand what they may and what -they may not do. There is no such difficulty when we -come to the newer universities. Here the course has -been one of steady progress, and one after another -all the barriers have fallen.</p> - -<p class='c007'>London was the pioneer in this reform, and its -exceptional position made it an excellent field for -experiment. A mere examining and degree-conferring -body, the London University was not obliged to face -those difficult questions of residence, teaching, and -discipline which had to be considered elsewhere. It -was natural that women who desired to obtain -professional qualifications without being compelled to -seek them outside their own country, should apply -to London for help. As early as 1856 Miss J. M. -White had addressed a letter to the Registrar, -inquiring whether a woman could become a candidate -for a diploma in medicine. Counsel’s opinion was -taken in the matter and proved adverse. In 1872 -it was again raised by Miss Elizabeth Garrett (now -<span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span>Mrs. Garrett Anderson) who requested admission as -a candidate for matriculation. She was refused on -the same ground. Since it appeared that the University -had not power to accede to these requests, -a memorial was drawn up begging it to seek for such -modifications in its charter as would enable it to -admit women to examination. The motion was -brought before the Senate, and lost by the casting -vote of the Chancellor. With success so nearly -attained the advocates of the change determined not -to let the matter drop, and after a while a modified -proposal was made. It was thought that a special -examination for women might meet the case, or at -any rate serve as an experiment in what was then a -very new field. The first was held in May 1869, and -followed the lines of Matriculation with some modifications. -As an isolated examination of no special -difficulty and leading nowhere, it did not attract -large numbers, and it became more and more clear -that what women needed was not so much a special -course of study as—to quote the words of the -Calendar—‘to have access to the ordinary degrees -and honours, and to be subject to the same tests of -qualification which were imposed on other students.’ -The result of this conviction was that in 1878 it was -decided to accept from the Crown ‘a supplemental -charter, making every degree, honour, and prize -awarded by the University accessible to students of -both sexes on perfectly equal terms.’ The charter, -however, declared that no woman should be a -member of Convocation until Convocation should -itself pass a resolution admitting them. In 1882, -almost as soon as there was any woman eligible, this -<span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span>resolution was passed, and henceforth both sexes -were placed on an absolute equality in their treatment -by London University.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There is no need to dwell on the success of this -new departure. The London degrees have been -eagerly sought by women, and they have won distinguished -places in the class lists. Among its -graduates London numbers over fifty female M.A.’s, -six D.Sc.’s, one D.Lit., to say nothing of many hundred -B.A. and B.Sc., as well as all the medical degrees. -Class lists show no special division into masculine -and feminine studies, since women have won high -honours in classics, and men in modern languages. -Even on Presentation-Day special allusions to the -lady-graduates are seldom made in the speeches; it -is no longer considered a matter of surprise that -women should hold their own intellectually. The -London class lists with their rigid equality have -proved to demonstration the equality of the sexes -as far as concerns the domain of examination. And -at the particular moment when this was done, it was -the greatest service that could be rendered to the -cause of women’s education, since it settled once -and for all the question of making special conditions -for them.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But throwing open the examinations and degrees -of London was only an indirect assistance to their -education, since the University examines all who -come, but asks no questions as to how or where they -gained their teaching. There was one institution -already in existence which was only waiting for this -new impulse to enlarge the scope of its work. Bedford -College had been gradually developing from -<span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span>humble beginnings into an institution of first-class -educational importance. In 1874 it had been removed -from Bedford Square to its present premises -in York Place, Baker Street, and here it has been -gradually expanding, adding another house, building -on at the back, supplying now one laboratory now -another, until it has reached its present condition -of efficiency, taking its place as the leading women’s -college of London. Its success is probably due to -the progressive action of its council, ever ready to -realise new needs and meet each fresh demand as -it arose. Recognising the transformation which the -opening of the London degrees must effect in women’s -education, they at once proceeded to open classes -in the subjects of the examinations. At the first -Matriculation Examination to which women were -admitted, five Bedford College students presented -themselves, and all took Honours. In due course -classes for B.A. work were added, then B.Sc., then -M.A., and in all these Bedford College students -acquitted themselves well. The college had now -won an honourable place among university colleges, -and in 1894 it was included among the list of those -entitled to a share of the annual grant of £15,000 -to university colleges in Great Britain. From this -source it received £700, since increased to £1200, -and it now receives also an annual grant of £500 -from the London Technical Education Board, for -the further equipment of the laboratories and development -of practical work in science. This is a speciality -of Bedford College. Its laboratories for biology, -botany, chemistry, geology, physiology, and physics -meet every requirement.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>The college is still open to girls who attend only -single courses, but the majority enter as regular -students, and work either for a London degree or -the alternative college course. Bedford has also -added other departments of study to the ordinary -curriculum. It has an art school, a training department -for teachers, and a special hygiene course, for -which certificates are conferred. And finally it has -developed, as far as its accommodation will permit, -into a residential college. The old-fashioned dormitory -boarding accommodation has been abolished in -favour of students’ rooms in the bed-study fashion -so familiar at Newnham and Oxford, and the general -management has been placed in the hands of a -Principal. Miss Emily Penrose, the first to fill this -post, has now become Principal of Holloway, and -her place is taken by Miss Ethel Hurlbatt, late -Warden of Aberdare Hall.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Bedford College, true to its undenominational principles, -has never introduced religious instruction into its -curriculum. It is not unnatural that a wish has been -expressed in some quarters for a residential college, -which should prepare its students for London degrees -and at the same time take cognisance of their religious -training. It was for this end that Westfield College -at Hampstead was founded in 1882. Its benefactor -was Miss Dudin Brown, who made over to trustees -the sum of £10,000 ‘for the establishment of a college -for the higher education of women on Christian principles.’ -The Principal is Miss Maynard, one of the -early students of Girton, who has introduced into -Westfield many of the arrangements of the parent -college. The two-room plan, which has found too -<span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span>few imitators, is the rule here. Inclusive fees, as -at Girton, are £105 a year. The conditions for -admission are similar. There are three entrance -scholarships, open to girls who have passed the -London Matriculation in Honours or in the first -division.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The college began its work in hired houses at -Hampstead, but building soon became necessary. It -is pleasantly situated in that most attractive of the -London suburbs, and combines some advantages of -both town and country. Though it has no laboratories -of its own, students can easily reach those of -Bedford College to which they have access; and -similarly it is easy to supply from London such -teaching as cannot be undertaken by the resident -staff. Westfield students take high places in the -class lists, and it supplies an important addition to -the London colleges.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In enumerating these we cannot omit Holloway, -for though far beyond the borders of the metropolis, -it is more and more assimilating its teaching to the -London work. Such was not, however, its original -purpose. Among those who attended the meeting -in 1867 to consider the foundation of a women’s -college, was Mr. Thomas Holloway, and at one time -it was hoped he would prove a benefactor to it. But -Mr. Holloway preferred the idea of an independent -college unconnected with a university, like Vassar -and others in the United States, and his wishes were -thus expressed: ‘It is the founder’s desire that power -by Act of Parliament, Royal Charter, or otherwise, -should ultimately be sought, enabling the college to -confer degrees on its students after proper examination -<span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>in the various subjects of instruction.’ With -this end in view he chose a beautiful site near Egham, -and built upon it a most elaborate and fully equipped -college, which should some day develop into a women’s -university. Nothing was spared that could contribute -to the comfort and well-being of the students. Each -has two rooms; and the magnificent dining-hall, -museum, picture-gallery, etc. prove that no pains -were spared to make the new college attractive as -well as efficient. For all that, it was viewed at first -with some misgivings, for it seemed to lack a definite -aim. It was formally opened by the Queen in 1886, -and in the following year Miss Bishop was appointed -Principal, but students came in slowly. A liberal -provision of scholarships, and the beauty and healthy -situation of the college did much to dispel the first -misgivings, especially when it began to appear from -results that the teaching too was of the best. The -founder had himself directed that until the power -to confer degrees should have been obtained ‘it is -intended that the students shall qualify themselves -to take the degrees at the University of London or -any other university of the United Kingdom whose -degrees may be obtained by them, or to pass any -examination open to them at any such university, -which may be equivalent to a degree examination.’ -In accordance with this permission the first students -were prepared for the London degrees, and also for -the examinations of the University of Oxford, which -under present conditions are open to all comers, since -the delegacy takes no cognisance of residence. Holloway -students may therefore, if they please, present -themselves for examination in Moderations and Final -<span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span>Schools just as if they were residing at the Oxford -halls. They cannot, of course, obtain the Association’s -diploma, and miss the advantage of the Oxford lectures.</p> - -<p class='c007'>On these lines the college worked for ten years, -when circumstances made it necessary to reconsider -its position. At both Oxford and Cambridge the -degree had been refused, and it seemed desirable -for the friends of women’s education to come to -some decision on their future policy. Once again -the scheme of a women’s university was raised; and -Holloway College took the lead in calling a meeting -to discuss the question. Opinions were invited as -to the future action of the college, and three propositions -were made: (1) That Holloway College -should, in accordance with the founder’s will, seek -powers to confer its own degrees. (2) That a Federal -University should be founded, to include in its jurisdiction -all the women’s colleges. (3) That Holloway -should associate itself more closely with London, -and seek admission into its teaching University when -this should be founded. The discussion showed a -strong consensus in favour of this last proposal, and -it is probable that henceforth the work of Holloway -College will be chiefly directed towards the London -courses. If so, it will be safe to predict for it a -brilliant future. Its healthy situation, delightful -grounds, beautiful buildings, and large endowment, -with the prospect of receiving full recognition for -work done, will attract large numbers; indeed with -Holloway, Bedford, and Westfield for their own, -London women have little left to desire. Whatever -they may lack elsewhere fullest measure is dealt to -them here.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>Nor are they even restricted to their own special -colleges. The classes at University College are open -to all who care to attend; indeed this was one of the -first, if not the very first, of our English colleges to -try the co-education experiment. After experimenting -by holding some classes for women separately, and -admitting them temporarily to others, the professors -decided in favour of joint classes, and the result was -the opening of all except the departments of Medicine -and Engineering. The results proved altogether -satisfactory, and this end has been helped by the -appointment of a lady-superintendent, who holds the -same position towards the women students that a -vice-dean does to the men. No woman is admitted -as a student except upon her recommendation, and -upon production of satisfactory references. In this -way their special interests are safeguarded, and girls -far from home may always secure friendly advice and -guidance. Further, there is a special residence provided -at College Hall, Byng Place, where students -may have some of the advantages of college life while -pursuing their studies at University College, or the -Woman’s Medical School close by. With Miss Grove -as Principal, and Miss Morison, superintendent of the -women students, as Vice-Principal, it offers a bright -and cultivated home to its inmates, and keeps up the -collegiate idea by admitting only such as have already -passed Matriculation or an equivalent examination, -and are pursuing a regular course of study. The fees -for board and residence vary, according to the room -occupied and the length of the term, from £51 to £90 -the session.</p> - -<p class='c007'>To give a complete list of the institutions that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span>prepare students for the London degrees, would be -impossible, since it is open to any person in any place -to hold such classes. A few work for them at the -ladies’ department of King’s College, but on the whole -the work of this branch is more on the lines of miscellaneous -lectures and general culture. Some -schools, <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">e.g.</span></i> the North London and the Bedford High -School, also carry on their pupils beyond Matriculation -to the Intermediate examinations, or even -further. The Ladies’ College, Cheltenham, provides -instruction for the full Arts course. Most of the provincial -university colleges have London degree -classes, and many candidates, who cannot get oral -teaching, make use of the University Tutorial and -other correspondence classes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>A new development on fresh lines is supplied by -the Polytechnics. In most of these, whether in -London or other large towns, classes are held in all -the subjects of the London examinations with particular -assistance for Science. With fully equipped -laboratories, a large staff of teachers, and considerable -funds at their disposal, the Polytechnics may yet -become formidable rivals to the other London colleges. -Some regret this new departure, and believe that such -institutions would be better employed in confining -themselves to their original function, the encouragement -of handicraft; on the other hand, a system of -cheap local colleges is so valuable to large numbers -that it is not likely to be abandoned. Some place -must be found in the new organisation of the -London University for these institutes, if they themselves -desire it; but perhaps we shall see, instead -of this, a federation of these great science and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span>handicraft schools into some fresh University of their -own.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The example set by London in 1879 was soon to be -imitated. Only a year afterwards a new University -was founded, and the principle of including women -was at once adopted. The charter of Victoria -University distinctly stated that its degrees and distinctions -might be conferred ‘on all persons, male or -female, who shall have pursued a regular course of -study in a College in the University, and shall submit -themselves for examination.’ The degree is somewhat -on the lines of the London, but attendance at -certain prescribed courses of study is required. -These courses must be continued for three years at -least. Hence admission to the Victoria degrees -really depends on the action of the individual colleges, -which are quite unfettered by the University. These -are—(1) Owens College, Manchester; (2) University -College, Liverpool; (3) Yorkshire College, Leeds.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The first of these had been in existence as a men’s -college some years before the establishment of the -University, and it has not seemed anxious to make -changes in its original constitution. It became -necessary to organise a special department for women, -in connection with which they still receive some of -their instruction. But the teaching for the higher -examinations, <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">i.e.</span></i> those beyond the Victoria Preliminary, -is received in the ordinary college classes. As -a matter of fact, men and women are taught together -in nearly all the B.A. and B.Sc. classes; and the -Preliminary, like the London Matriculation, belongs -to school work, and has no proper place in a college -curriculum at all. Owens still follows the old plan, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span>now almost everywhere discarded, of offering special -certificates to women on easier terms; but for these -there is little demand.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Since University College, Liverpool was not incorporated -till 1881, <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">i.e.</span></i> after the constitution of the -University, it was natural that it should follow its -lead in the recognition of women, but this was not -yet full and ungrudging. The charter says: ‘female -students may be admitted to attend any of the -courses of instruction established in the college, subject -to such restrictions and regulations as statutes of -the College may from time to time prescribe.’ At -present the regulations stand thus: ‘Female students -may be admitted to the classes of the College, except -those of the Medical School, under regulations to be -framed by the Senate and approved by the Council.’ -In theory, therefore, University is a men’s college -that admits women. In fact, with the exception of -the medical classes, the two are pretty much on an -equality. Men and women are admitted on the same -terms to the day and evening classes; throughout -the regulations the words ‘his or her’ are used. -Rules apply to both sexes alike. Hitherto the college -has been of use chiefly to Liverpool residents, and for -such it was doubtless intended, but it is just about to -extend the sphere of its usefulness by opening a -Hall of Residence for Women. The fees for residence -are to be £40 to £55 per annum. College tuition fees -are about £20 to £25. The total expenses would therefore -be a little less than at Newnham. Liverpool can -hardly offer the attractions of Cambridge, but the -hall should prove useful for girls in the North who -do not wish to go too far from home, or to whom the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span>right to use the degree letters is of some special -value. And since Cambridge and Oxford can by no -means attempt to accommodate the whole of the ever-increasing -contingent of women students, it is well -that there should be many and varied opportunities -of study offered them elsewhere.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At the Yorkshire College, Leeds, all the classes are -open to women as to men, and all have been attended -by them except the purely professional ones and the -medical school. This college chiefly supplies local -needs, as far, at any rate, as girls are concerned; for its -specialities, such as coal-mining, dyeing, leather, and -textile industries, etc. naturally do not appeal to -women. It is to a great extent a technological -college, receiving assistance from the Clothworkers’, -Skinners’, and other city companies. But it has also -an Arts department, where students can be prepared -for Victoria or London examinations, and this is of -great use to boys and girls who pass on from their -respective schools.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The last of the English Universities to admit -women was Durham. As compared with Oxford and -Cambridge, it is a recent foundation, since it received -its charter in 1837. Since one of its most important -faculties is Divinity, it seemed a less suitable field -than others for feminine study, but a change was -effected by the foundation, in 1871, of the Newcastle -College of Science, in connection with Durham, which -admitted students of both sexes to scientific and -medical classes. It then became important to win -the University hall-mark for the women, and after a -while Durham was induced to apply for the necessary -powers. In 1895 it received a supplementary charter, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span>giving power to confer degrees on women in all -faculties except divinity. With this exception, -women are admitted as members of the University -on the same terms as men. All lectures are open to -them. Male students reside for the most part in -college as at Oxford and Cambridge; the women -studying at Durham are therefore at present unattached -members. This state of things will be -remedied as soon as a regular women’s college is -opened at Durham; special scholarships for women -are already offered, to attract larger numbers. At -Newcastle, which at present receives the majority of -the women students, a hostel has been opened for -them. The number of lady graduates is as yet of -necessity small.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It is significant of the steady advance of public -opinion on the subject of women’s education, that the -youngest of all our universities is the one to do them -fullest justice. It is the proud boast of the University -of Wales that its charter contains the following clause: -‘Women shall be eligible equally with men for admittance -to any degree, which the University is, by this -our Charter, authorised to confer. Every office hereby -created in the University, and the membership of -every authority hereby constituted, shall be open to -women equally with men.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>The University of Wales is a federation of three -constituent colleges, all much older than the University -itself, and they in their turn represent aspirations -which the fable-loving Cymry trace back to hoary days -of antiquity. Caerleon-on-Usk, they tell us, was the -precursor of the present <i><span lang="cy" xml:lang="cy">Prifysgol Cymru</span></i>; and when -in the ninth century Alfred the Great determined to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span>found the comparatively modern University of Oxford, -it was to Wales he sent for professors. When, in -1893, the royal seal was set to the charter of the Welsh -University, it symbolised the revival of ancient and -departed glories.</p> - -<p class='c007'>However little faith we may attach to some of these -tales, one thing is certain. The aspirations which -expressed themselves in the foundation of Aberystwyth -College had dwelt among the people for many generations. -At last, in the early fifties, it was resolved to -found a University College for Wales, but the problem -whence to obtain the funds was not easy to solve. -Appeal was made for voluntary contributions, and -they came, some large, some small, all giving according -to their means. Still it was not till twenty years -after the first suggestion that the college came into -being. In 1872, when Aberystwyth was opened, -Girton had already made its first start at Hitchin, -and the house of residence, that was to develop into -Newnham, had been opened at Cambridge; but these -beginnings were too small to attract general attention, -and the new college became, as a matter of course, an -institution for male students only. There was nothing -to forbid the admission of women, it was simply a -thing no one had contemplated; and when, at last, in -1883, a few women students did present themselves, -no one thought of shutting the door on them. When -the college charter was conferred in 1889, it simply -recognised the fact of their presence by the clause: -‘Female students shall be admitted to all the benefits -and emoluments of the College, and women shall -be eligible to sit on the Governing body, on the -Council, and on the Senate.’</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span>Prosperity did not come all at once to Aberystwyth. -It had at first to struggle against two great evils: -lack of funds, and the insufficient preliminary training -of its students. Appeal was made for Government -help in both directions, and the result of frequent -representations was the appointment, by the Lord -President of the Council, of a departmental committee, -to inquire into the whole state of Welsh education. -In 1881 this committee reported that a case had been -made out for Government aid to both secondary and -higher education in Wales, and recommended the -establishment of two colleges, one in North and -one in South Wales, and the eventual foundation of -a Welsh University. A grant of £2500, afterwards -increased to £4000, was at once made to Aberystwyth; -in 1883 the South Wales College was founded at -Cardiff, and in the following year the Northern College -was begun at Bangor, each receiving an annual grant -of £4000. Both, from the first, opened their doors to -women.</p> - -<p class='c007'>For the first ten years the colleges directed their -courses of study towards the degrees of the University -of London. Their students did well, but the desire -for their own University and their own degrees never -faded from the minds of Welshmen. A few eager -spirits met again and again in conference, then followed -meetings of educationalists all over the principality, -and in 1891 the main lines of a university were laid -down by public conference, details were discussed by -a representative committee, referred back to the conference, -then to the colleges, and the sixteen Welsh -county councils; lastly, the press and the general -public were called upon for an opinion, and then the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span>scheme was laid before the President of the Council. -If ever there was a national University, the Welsh -may claim to have established one. In November -1893 the royal seal was affixed to the charter, and in -June 1895 the University held its first Matriculation -Examination.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The degree course of the University of Wales is a -complicated one, and is by no means planned so that -he who runs may read. It has a twofold, or rather a -threefold aim. The University not only takes cognisance -of residence, but also lays down very careful -directions as to the manner in which students shall obtain -their knowledge. Not only does it demand a three -years’ course in a constituent college of the University, -but it also prescribes the nature of the courses, and -the number of lectures to be attended. After Matriculation, -which must be passed in five subjects, three -compulsory, and two optional, and may be taken in -one year or in two, the regulations require each -student to pursue not less than ten courses, of which -one must be in elementary Logic, and one, at least, a -course of Latin or Greek. Apart from the Logic, the -nine courses must be chosen in not less than three, -or more than six departments. The possible courses -are designated according to their degree of difficulty, -as intermediate, ordinary, and special; four, at least, -must be of higher grade than intermediate. In order -to distribute them evenly over the whole term of -residence, no candidate may take more than four in -any one year, or more than seven in the first two -years. A course is held to include not less than eighty -lectures, and the corresponding examination; and -since, in most subjects, the intermediate course must -<span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span>be pursued before the higher ones are attempted, -every student has to attend some very elementary -lectures before proceeding to anything at all like -university work. As sixteen is the college age of -admission, this arrangement is probably intentional; -the colleges are meant to continue school work for -one year at least, and gradually lead the student on -to more arduous labours.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Since the colleges are independent institutions, they -have a good deal of freedom in the organisation of -their work, and may, if they please, submit new -schemes for the consideration of the Senate, the other -two colleges, and the University Court. Without the -sanction of all these they cannot attempt any innovation. -The superior stress laid on the actual instruction -rather than on the ensuing examination is emphasised -by appointing the three professors of each subject as -examiners, with the help of one outside person, who -must be some one of distinguished attainments and -authority.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus the University of Wales proceeds on lines -which, though new to us, bear considerable resemblance -to the plan of many American colleges, where -the number of hours to be spent weekly in the lecture-room -counts as part qualification for the degree, and -the examinations are spread out over the whole term -of residence, and not concentrated into one or two -supreme efforts. Of course this greatly relieves the -strain, and it is too soon to say whether the degree -will at all lose in prestige from the numerous efforts -made to clear the student’s path of thorns. It is -probably the best system for Wales, where the Intermediate -schools only profess to keep their pupils till -<span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span>seventeen, and there is nothing to prevent able -students from competing for scholarships, which -shall enable them to continue at Oxford or Cambridge -the studies begun in one of their own colleges. -Eventually it is probable that facilities will be offered -for doing advanced work without forsaking their own -country.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Even before the establishment of the University, -the colleges attracted many women students from -England as well as Wales. All three are pleasantly -situated in healthy spots, and the cheapness of both -teaching and living helped to attract many girls. It -thus soon became necessary to consider the question -of a mixed university, which had no residential -colleges to simplify the problem. Soon it became -clear that, where young people of both sexes were very -frequently thrown together, it was desirable in the -interests of all concerned to exercise some sort of -control. A hall of residence for the women seemed -the best way out of the dilemma, and it had the -advantage of drawing them away from lonely and often -uncomfortable lodgings, and giving them some of that -feeling of corporate life which is valued so highly at -the older universities. Still it is noteworthy that, to -make the plan a success, residence has had, under -certain conditions, to be made compulsory. The first -attempt at Aberystwyth was a failure, but in 1887 -another house was taken, and compulsory residence -required. This arrangement seemed to attract -students; in the following session their numbers -increased, and continued to average about forty, till -in 1891 it was resolved to build a large new hall. -The numbers then again went up, and have already -<span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span>reached 175. Alexandra Hall was opened with much -state by the Princess of Wales in June 1897. It can -accommodate 200, a number which must soon be -reached.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Neither Bangor nor Cardiff can boast such numbers, -but in both the hostels are doing well. At Bangor, -after a few years’ experiment, it was decided to make -residence compulsory for all girls under twenty-one. -The hall and college were brought into close connection -by the appointment of a lady, who was also -an officer of the college, to act as superintendent of -all the women students. Permission is given to -women to reside in any house which, in the judgment -of the Principal and Lady-superintendent, provides -hostel conditions of supervision. At Aberdare Hall, -Cardiff, there is compulsory residence for women who -do not live in their own homes. At all three halls -the fees are very low, forty guineas being the usual -annual payment for board and residence, and £10 for -the composition tuition charge. At Bangor and Cardiff -there are also a few cubicles, for which the charge -is only thirty guineas. This plan hardly appears to -answer, nor does it seem desirable to let the standard -of comfort fall below a certain minimum. There is -a talk of abandoning it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In estimating the numbers at these colleges, we -must remember that they do not represent only -students in Arts and Science. All three have established -day training-departments, and to these students, -too, the halls are open, as well as to those who attend -the Cardiff Cookery School. In attempting to put -the training for domestic economy and elementary -school teaching on the same footing as university -<span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>work, Wales is acting in accordance with its democratic -traditions, and trying also to induce a higher -class of students to take up the elementary teaching. -The experiment is certainly worth making, and it -will be interesting to watch its success. English -high school girls who wish to take up elementary -teaching might here combine their training and their -work for the Welsh degree in a three years’ -course.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With the help of the wardens of halls and the ladies’ -committees, the colleges are able to face the complications -of joint clubs and societies for both sexes. -All these involve some special regulations, in regard -to the composition of committees, the return from -evening meetings, etc. but the difficulties have not -proved insuperable. It would hardly be going too -far to say that the women’s halls of residence have -saved the situation in Wales, and made this most -complete example of co-education possible. It is not -surprising that they are being adopted elsewhere. -The advocates of educational equality for the sexes, -even where the instruction is given to both together, -have assuredly no desire to complicate or revolutionise -social relations, nor yet to confer full liberty on those -who are hardly emerged from the schoolgirl stage. -For both sexes the residential arrangement seems on -many grounds desirable, and while congratulating -the women on their pleasant halls of residence, we -can but hope that the male students may not be left -out in the cold much longer, without the chance -of learning for themselves the true meaning of -collegiate life.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The opportunities for advanced study open to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_147'>147</span>women have indeed increased and multiplied at a -rapid rate during the last few years. Beyond the -northern boundary we find all the Scottish Universities -have admitted them freely to membership, -and if we cross St. George’s Channel, the Royal -University of Ireland—like London, only an examining -body—takes no note of sex, and even -Trinity College, Dublin, is making some tentative -essays in the teaching and examining of women. -This represents what has been done in our own -islands, but the same movement has been going on -simultaneously all over the world. Thanks to Mr. -M. E. Sadler,<a id='r15' /><a href='#f15' class='c011'><sup>[15]</sup></a> we are now in a position to compare -the position of women at a hundred and thirty-nine -different Universities. Questions were sent to the -Universities of Great Britain and Ireland, the continent -of Europe, the United States of America, -Canada, India, and Australia. ‘It appears,’ says Mr. -Sadler, ‘that at a hundred of these, the distinctions -between men and women students are, if any, comparatively -unimportant; at seven Universities women -students are admitted, by courtesy or special permission, -to some lectures and examinations; at -twenty-one others women are, by like favour, admitted -to some of the lectures; and at eleven -Universities they are not admitted at all.’ Of the -exceptions five are in Germany, three in Russia, -one in Ireland, one in Belgium, one in the United -States. France and Italy are specially remarkable -for their generous recognition of women, and Germany, -long obdurate, is making constant fresh concessions; -but intending students should study the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span>special conditions of the one they wish to attend, -since many of the regulations are most complicated.<a id='r16' /><a href='#f16' class='c011'><sup>[16]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c007'>This general advance all over the civilised world -is the chief gain this half century has brought to -women’s education. Though each country has proceeded -on its own lines the movement has unconsciously -been an international one. That gives it -a strength which will make it permanent.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER VIII<br /> <span class='large'>BOARDING AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Once more our chronicle takes us back to 1867. A -new era was then inaugurated, that of girls’ day -schools. Not that these were anything new; small -cheap day-schools for girls abounded, but the majority -of them were bad. With fees ranging from £3 to -£10 a year, and pupils of every variety of age, a -little simple arithmetic will prove that the mistress -had not sufficient funds at her disposal to pay for -suitable premises and adequate teaching, to say -nothing of winning a modest competence for herself. -From all parts of the country came condemnation -of these small, cheap schools. The opinions about -boarding-schools were by no means so unanimous. -They were censured for the excessive attention given -to accomplishments, the insufficient education of the -teachers, and their neglect of physical training; but -these were faults common to nearly all the schools of -that day, and not characteristic of boarding-schools -as such. A careful perusal of the Commissioners’ -report leads to a far more favourable impression of -boarding than day-schools, due, probably, to their -being less hampered for funds. But the general -public is influenced by impressions rather than facts; -and certainly an impression did gain ground that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span>a day-school was in itself a good and a boarding-school -an evil.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Unquestionably the reformers were right in first -turning their attention to the former. Large schools -of this kind were easier to organise, and really made -for efficiency and economy, that much desired combination, -which in this case is not, as so often, a mere -contradiction in terms. The establishment of high -and endowed schools has brought a good education -within reach of thousands of girls who could by no -other means have obtained it. The extinction of the -small, cheap boarding-school which for the past century -had been struggling to give the lower middle -classes a poorer imitation of the poor education given -elsewhere to their social ‘superiors,’ is a thing no -one can seriously deplore. Painless extinction is, -unhappily, impossible. The suffering which such -changes bring in their train is to be deplored, but -the article itself may be relegated to the class of -those that ‘never will be missed.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>The new day-schools met a real want, and success -came to them at once. It was natural they should -attract the first relays of the ‘graduates’ that -the women’s colleges were beginning to send out. -Thus they were the first to introduce improved -teaching, and for a while they were supposed to -have a monopoly of it. In the prevailing dearth -of good mistresses they were able to get first choice; -now, after the lapse of thirty years, the supply exceeds -the demand, and a good teacher is attainable by any -school of any grade that can satisfy the very moderate -demands of university women.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The high schools started with a very definite principle—the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span>combination of school teaching with home -influence—doubtless the ideal for all girls, supposing -that each side duly fulfils its share of the obligation. -But now, in 1898, it is curious to note how far the -high school has travelled in twenty-five years. The -original scheme of morning-school, from nine to one, -and afternoon preparation for a few girls who had no -quiet room at home, still prevails in theory, but -<i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">quantum mutatus ab illo</span></i> can best be realised by -tracing a day’s routine in school. First come the -morning lessons, usually five in number, with the -short break for play or drill, then the school dinner, -to which over fifty girls sometimes sit down; again a -short interval before the afternoon classes, music -lessons and preparation, which usually go on till -four, though girls who have no special duties at -the time may be found at play in the playground. -Still later, if it be summer, there may be an adjournment -to the school field, often at a considerable -distance. Not till darkness sets in can it be said -that the day’s school life is over; and the elder girls -still have some lessons to prepare before bed-time. -A healthful, well-filled happy day is behind them, -but where does the home influence come in? The -girls might as well be weekly boarders for all the -share they have in the real life of home. Saturday -may see a cricket practice or a work party, or a school -committee, or a sketching expedition, or a match with -some distant school. Sunday alone belongs to the -home. The numerous clubs, charities, old girls’ -meetings, etc. fill up all the time the girls can -spare from their lessons. Girls who do not live -quite near frequently become day-boarders, though -<span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span>the word is not used, and take dinner, and sometimes -even tea, at school. In some few cases the school -even undertakes to supply medical supervision and -the general direction of the pupil’s health, thus -relieving parents of one more responsibility. In fact -the day-school is well on the road to become a -boarding-school, and the establishment of boarding-houses -more or less loosely connected with it is a -further step in the same direction.</p> - -<p class='c007'>How far these schools have travelled from their -original intentions becomes evident if we refer back -to a controversy on school hours that took place in -1880 in consequence of some strictures passed by -Mrs. Garrett Anderson on the arrangements in the -High Schools. She considered the strain of the four -hours’ morning excessive, and proposed reducing it, -introducing afternoon school and a considerable interval -for outdoor games between the two. This was -met with general opposition by headmistresses. Day-schools, -it was said, could not be expected to provide -dinner, it was most undesirable for girls to return -from school as late as four or five on cold winter -afternoons, teachers could not be expected to undertake -so much afternoon work, while the strongest -opposition of all was made to the games. Miss Buss -pointed out that the mixture of classes which was -unobjectionable as long as girls only met at lessons -where talking was forbidden, or in the short intervals -which were largely devoted to lunch and drill, might -cause serious difficulties if the whole day were spent -in school. She also thought the games would be a -difficulty; only rough girls would take part in them, -and the rest simply lounge about.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_153'>153</span>How wrong these predictions have proved we all -know. Girls’ athletics have made startling progress -during the last ten years; cricket and hockey, seemingly -rough games, have found favour with the most -feminine of girls; the school dinner is a regular -institution, and is accompanied by pleasant chat -about practices, matches, election of club officers, -etc. A new feature, never contemplated by the -promoters, has entered these day-schools; and, oddly -enough, is doing more than anything else to bring -back to favour the once despised boarding-school.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Those that now originated were of a new kind, at -least for girls; schools where the boarding-houses form -part of the regular organisation, and the whole life -and development of the girls is under the charge of -the mistresses. Something of the sort had already -been done at Cheltenham, and doubtless the College -owed much of its success to its boarding-house -system. Although a general English education, -which is wanted by all alike, can be supplied in -any town capable of supporting a large day-school, -the very special teaching wanted by a few girls working -for scholarships or specially advanced examinations -causes a severe strain on the resources of a -moderate-sized school, is impossible for financial -reasons in a small one, and quite inaccessible to -those girls with country homes from whom a considerable -proportion of college students is drawn. -Hence there arose a new type of school.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The first of this kind originated in Scotland, at St. -Andrews. It was founded in 1877 by a local company -with a view to educating their own daughters; -but arrangements were at once made for taking -<span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span>boarders, and these were placed under the immediate -charge of the head-mistress. As the numbers -increased, other houses were taken and placed under -charge of senior mistresses; and as more and more -girls were attracted from a distance, the boarding -element began to predominate. With Miss Lumsden, -one of the ‘Girton pioneers,’ as first head-mistress, -and Miss Dove, another student of Hitchin days, as -her successor, the school very quickly settled down -into lines very closely resembling those of a boys’ -public school. The boarding-houses became an integral -part of the institution, the school-house being -under the charge of the head-mistress, and the others -under the senior assistants. In this way the staff of -the school was strengthened by the encouragement -thus offered to women of ability to remain in the -school instead of seeking their promotion elsewhere. -The boarding-houses are also valuable in ensuring -regular attendance and proper home preparation, -since the day-girls, being in a minority, cannot introduce -those lax ideas of attendance which are in -some places unfortunately the result of the much -vaunted home influence.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The numbers in the school are limited to 200. -The admission age is thirteen or fourteen, no girl -can be admitted who has turned seventeen. All -must pass an entrance examination, graduated according -to age, but always including a certain amount -of Arithmetic, English, Latin and French. A school -of 200 girls, all between thirteen and nineteen, and -all with a sufficient preparatory training, can genuinely -concentrate its efforts on higher teaching. The classes -become easier to group, and with a large staff which -<span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span>allows of careful subdividing, all the ordinary hindrances -to progress are removed, and a school is -enabled to work under the best possible conditions. -It can, if it is desired, make a speciality of certain -branches of study. At St. Andrews classics take an -important place; of the present staff five have passed -the Classical Tripos. Among the honours won by old -pupils are first classes in Classical Moderations and -Final Classical Schools at Oxford, and in the Classical -Tripos at Cambridge. The school distinctly aims at -a literary curriculum, with the higher certificate of -the Joint Board to fix the standard, and Oxford or -Cambridge as the goal for those girls whose education -is to be continued.</p> - -<p class='c007'>St. Leonard’s School, as it has been called since it -acquired the old buildings and beautiful grounds of -the ancient St. Leonard’s College, is organised with a -school-house and seven boarding-houses, each under -the charge of a mistress. With all the girls under -the control of the head-mistress it is possible to carry -out the prefect system, and, by giving a good deal of -responsibility to the Sixth Form, remove that element -of excessive supervision which was often a harmful -element in the old-fashioned boarding-school. Each -house constitutes a small community, with its separate -dining-room and study, where each of the elder -girls has a small writing-table and bookshelf. Some -rules prevail in all, <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">e.g.</span></i> that no work shall be done -before breakfast or after 8.30 <span class='fss'>P.M</span>. School hours are -from 9 to 12.30 every day, with special subjects in -the afternoon. After dinner about one and a half -hours are given to games under charge of a special -mistress. There is a playground of sixteen acres, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span>which comprises cricket-field, golf-course, lawn and -gravel tennis-courts, large hockey-courts and fives-courts, -etc. The St. Leonard’s girls are renowned for -their skill in games.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With a school thus organised the life of the girls -is made easier. There is no conflict of aims; in -term-time the school claims its due, in holidays the -home. Whether this is theoretically the best plan is -an academic rather than a practical question, but it -is undoubtedly beneficial to the studies and health -of the girls. A mistress who is intimately acquainted -with the work of every Form can check overwork more -effectually than the most anxious mother, who is incapable -of judging from that school point of view -which looms so large in the young girl’s mind. -Loyalty and public spirit, developed by this joint -life of small communities within a large one, are -important factors in forming character, and the -general atmosphere of alternate work and play without -the excessive excitement of home gaieties and -the distraction of domestic interests unquestionably -facilitates study. Whether the gains to character -really outweigh the advantages of the family life -depends so entirely on the arrangements and atmosphere -of each particular home, that it is impossible -to give any general opinion. At any rate results -seem to show that this class of school is one of the -chief needs for girls at the present time. A good -deal of attention had been drawn to St. Leonard’s -School in England, and in spite of the distance many -girls were in the habit of journeying northwards three -times a year for the sake of sharing in its advantages. -At last a number of educationalists decided -<span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span>to establish a school of this kind in England, and -induced Miss Dove, who had now placed the Northern -school on a thoroughly satisfactory basis, to organise -a similar one in the South. The Education Company, -Limited, was formed, with a council of which the -Master of Trinity became president. It was fortunate -enough to secure for its first school the beautiful -house and grounds of Wycombe Abbey. Situated in -lovely country, with thirty-six acres of its own, and -the rest of the park stretched all about it, the old -trees, the historic memories and dignified surroundings -help to shed over the school some of that feeling -of tradition and veneration for the past, which all -girls’ institutions must of themselves lack for some -time to come.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The school resembles St. Leonard’s in its organisation, -with some slight differences. There are no day -pupils and, as the Abbey is itself capable of accommodating -a hundred girls, it is divided for school -purposes into four divisions, technically known as -‘houses.’ Each house is in the special charge of its -tutor, and has its own sitting-room and dormitories, -and its table in the dining-room. The house-colour -is carried out in the cubicles; cretonnes, bed-spreads, -tiles, etc. being red, blue, green, or yellow, according -to the special house in which the dormitory is -situated. All this prettiness serves as an attractive -background for hard work and healthy play. It is -pleasant to find the modern school catering for all -the sides of a girl’s nature.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It very soon became necessary to build, and with -the help of the new houses two hundred can now be -accommodated. Beyond this it is not proposed to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span>go; but should the system prove as popular in -England as in Scotland, it is probable that the -Education Company might open more schools. The -conditions of admission, entrance examination, etc. -are the same as at St. Andrews. Physical exercise -plays an important part, and about two hours every -day are given up to games or country walks, which -groups of girls are allowed to take together. Each -term has its own special game; lacrosse is the favourite -in the autumn, hockey in winter, and cricket in -summer. The heavy work of the day is thus broken -up into two parts, and Wycombe, unlike the majority -of girls’ schools, does not rigidly divide these into -morning classes, afternoon preparation. Lessons -and study hours alternate during the day. This is -an attempt to relieve the strain of the long morning, -against which many voices are again being raised. -Physical and manual training come in for a share of -attention, two hours a day in the upper, and three in -the lower school. Under these headings come drawing -and painting, part-singing, practising, dancing, -gymnastics, carpentry, gardening, and needlework. -All these are taught by expert teachers, and are -treated as an integral part of the general education. -In the upper forms six hours a day are given to -actual study, in the lower only five. As this includes -preparation, and the day is so fully occupied that -there is not much chance of stealing odd half hours -for work, it will be interesting to see whether this -short allowance, with the help of careful arrangement -and healthful surroundings, will prove sufficient to -prepare girls adequately for college. It is too soon to -ask for results, but if this plan succeeds, a problem -<span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span>which engages much attention at present will have -been greatly helped towards solution.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Another school that is doing useful work, as what -our American cousins would call an ‘experiment -station,’ is the one at Brighton now known as -Roedean. It was founded in 1885, by the Misses -Lawrence, with three distinct aims: (1) to give a due -importance to physical education and outdoor games -in every girl’s life; (2) to regulate the school discipline -in such a way as to develop trustworthiness -and a sense of responsibility in the pupils; (3) to give -girls a sound and careful intellectual training. The -order in which these are stated indicates the growing -importance attached to physical training and public -spirit, and explains the lines on which what might be -called the reformed boarding-school is proceeding.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This Brighton school is just about to take a fresh -departure. It has raised money by shares for a new -building on a magnificent site between Brighton and -Rottingdean. The new premises consist of a convenient -school-house and four separate boarding-houses -connected by covered passages with the -central building. Something of college methods is -to be brought into school by giving each girl a -separate bedroom, while the eight seniors in each -house are to have a study as well. Here they may -give their Saturday tea-parties, entertain their friends, -and learn to take the responsibility of their own little -domain. The special characteristics of the school are -the large amount of responsibility given to the girls -and their success in games, of which they are not a -little proud. The curriculum resembles that of a -high school, with more scope for individual tuition, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span>and most of the teachers are graduates. Wimbledon -House School, as it was called before the change in -site necessitated a change in name, was one of the -pioneers in bringing about the newer view of girls’ -education. These views are being widely adopted. -The increased freedom, the more active life, the great -stress laid on the <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">corpus sanum</span></i> as one means of -developing the <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">mens sana</span></i>, are all part of the new -order of things, and a recognition that the wider life -led by the women of to-day needs its own special -preparation.</p> - -<p class='c007'>A new school of a similar kind has been started -at Aldeburgh, and is being carried on in temporary -premises at Southwold on the East Coast. It is -proposed to acquire a site here or in some other part -of Suffolk, and raise money for building by means of -a company. The plan is similar to the Brighton one: -a school-house and boarding-houses under the charge -of teachers, with plenty of freedom and individual -responsibility for the girls. The daily hour and a -half of outdoor exercise, the adoption of hand and -eye training in the regular curriculum, and the -medical inspection of the girls by a lady doctor, -are among the more modern methods that distinguish -it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In their fundamental aims there is a close resemblance -between these schools. They represent a fresh -break with the past. The false ideal of showy -accomplishment had already given way to the -worthier aim of thoroughness and a more serious -mental development. With the intellectual aims -came a change too in the moral. The larger life of -the day school of itself promoted more freedom and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_161'>161</span>a greater sense of responsibility in the girls, but their -moral training was divided between the school and -the home, and sometimes suffered from a lack of -co-operation between the two. As Mrs. Sidgwick -pointed out, when laying the foundation stone of the -Roedean buildings:—‘Boarding-schools have a wider -function, a more responsible task than day-schools. -They have to care for pupils in play-hours as well as -work-hours; they have, far more than day-schools, -to superintend their development in matters moral -and physical as well as intellectual.’ It is therefore -largely in boarding-schools that the newest ideas can -be worked out. The worst feature of the old boarding-school -was the excessive supervision, and the deceit -and silliness it engendered. <cite>Punch’s</cite> immortal -direction, ‘Go and see what Baby’s doing, and tell -her not to,’ might stand as the rule of conduct in -many a seminary for young ladies. The atmosphere -of suspicion engendered the very faults it was intended -to obviate. The giggling boarding-school miss was a -type it was not desirable to perpetuate. What was -wanted was something that should prepare girls for -life and its responsibilities, as boys were prepared at -public schools. This term ‘a public school’ is -curiously difficult to define, though we all know -pretty well the meaning attached to it in England. -It has perhaps been best described as ‘one where the -government is administered in a greater or less -degree by the pupils themselves.’ The true ‘public -spirit’ could only develop as the schools became -centres of something besides study. With the increase -in their sphere of action the high schools -have fostered its growth; to bring it to its full -<span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span>perfection must be the task of the modern boarding-school.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Another, and an essentially practical advantage of -boarding-schools, is the facilities they offer for differentiation. -We are coming to realise that all schools -cannot teach all things, unless indeed like Cheltenham, -they are really a number of different schools -under one head. While many new subjects have -been drawn within the sphere of a girl’s curriculum, -the old still keep their place. The only escape from -smatter and overstrain lies in a wise selection, and a -girl’s general education may gain almost as much by -the exclusion of some subjects as by the inclusion of -others. With the constant increase of science schools, -technical institutes, special endowments for science, -etc., selection and differentiation are rapidly increasing -in one direction, and it becomes essential to provide -elsewhere against the complete neglect of the literary -side. This the boarding-school may do without inflicting -any injustice, since it does not profess to -supply all the local needs. Up to the age of fourteen -there can be no thought of specialising; by that time -most parents have some general idea about their -daughter’s probable future and special inclinations. -If it is a question of a definite career, the choice -becomes easier, because confined within narrower -limits.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Yet after all, when we have reviewed in our minds -all the careers open to women, and the great social -changes due to their entering the lists with trained -instead of unskilled labour, the fact still remains -that, at any rate in the upper and upper-middle -classes, the majority of women do not earn their own -<span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span>living. As Hannah More reminded us long ago, -their profession is to be that of ‘wives, mothers, and -mistresses of households,’ and to this we must now -add the duties of a philanthropic and public character -that social position brings with it. What is commonly -called ‘a life of leisure’ may be an exceedingly -busy life, and nowhere do the advantages of mental -training, habits of accuracy, and a disciplined will -tell to more advantage than in promoting the -happiness of others. Most of these girls must -receive any education, beyond the early part which -a private governess can undertake, in boarding-schools, -if only because the leisured classes to which -they belong seldom live near enough to towns to -make use of day-schools. To quote a very able and -experienced schoolmistress:—‘The demand for private -schools and for the individual attention which girls -require has been increased by the habits of modern -life among the upper and upper-middle classes. -From my own personal knowledge there are many -parents who spend nearly the whole year away from -home or in entertaining a “house party” when they -are at home. There is really no place at home for -the poor girls who have not “come out.” What the -parents seek for them is a school that can supply the -place of a home, where they can receive individual -attention, cultivation, training, and be prepared for -society.’ She might have added that, even when -there is a place at home for them, they may gain -considerably by spending part of two or three years -away from it, amid the more studious atmosphere -and the numerous interests characteristic of these -modern boarding-schools.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span>The reform in teaching unquestionably began in -the public schools, but the best private schools -have not been slow to bring themselves into line. -Within the last few years several have been either -founded or taken over by ladies who have studied -at Oxford or Cambridge, or such as have occupied -posts as heads or assistants in high schools, and have -been drawn into the line of progress, while older -institutions have held their own by the introduction -of modern methods. Thus, while the old boarding-school -was specially condemned for its stuffy rooms, -inadequate dormitory accommodation, insufficient -food and crocodile form of exercise, the new one, -with a rather lower fee, devotes special care to -buildings, bedrooms, diet, games, and gymnastics. -Here are a few quotations from prospectuses:—‘There -is a large playground at a short distance from -the school, in which are five lawn-tennis courts and -space for cricket, hockey, croquet, and other games.’ -This school has a certificated trained nurse and a -sanatorium specially fitted up for illness. The Principal -was for many years assistant mistress at a large -high school.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘There are gardens with tennis-lawn, a gymnasium, -a fives-court, an isolation ward and a playing field at -a short distance from the house. Arrangements are -made for riding and cycling.’ The Principal is a -distinguished graduate of one of the women’s colleges.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘The buildings have been certified by a sanitary -officer, and are fitted with every modern convenience. -Arrangements have been made for cricket, tennis, -and other healthful games, which are greatly encouraged.’</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span>‘The house stands in its own grounds of fourteen -acres, which include garden, shrubbery, tennis-courts, -and recreation field.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>These are samples taken at random.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Closely connected with regard for healthful conditions -is the endeavour to avoid overstrain, and this -has led to a not unnatural reaction against the -excessive burden of outside examination. We find -such sentences as ‘particular care is taken to prevent -over-pressure.’ ‘For the younger or weaker of the -party we provide extra half hours of rest or recreation -in the garden.’ ‘There is no cramming for -examinations, and the object set before each girl is -to do her daily work as well as she possibly can from -an honourable sense of duty,’ etc. It is often stated -that pupils can be prepared for university or other -examinations if desired, but although some few -private schools of this type distinctly aim at the -certificate of the Joint Board, the majority work on -more general lines, while ensuring a high standard -of efficiency by submitting the school annually to -inspection by university examiners. The fees in -schools of this grade vary from about £90 to £135 -per annum, with so-called ‘extras.’ These are reduced -in the more modern institutions to such -subjects as piano, violin, and dancing, which require -individual instruction, while the more old-fashioned -include languages, even French, under this heading. -But both terms and curricula in private schools are -adapted to special cases, and it is impossible to -generalise on them. For girls, as for boys, the statement -made by the Secondary Commission is probably -correct, that ‘the large private schools, usually with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span>boarders, are the private schools which do most for -secondary education. They are often conducted on -lines similar to those of public schools; but they are -less bound by heredity, and the larger scope for -experiment which they afford has, there is reason to -believe, contributed to noteworthy improvements of -methods.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>Probably this class of school is in greater demand -than ever before; but though there are not a few who -can enjoy its benefits, it must always be a luxury -for the rich, while there has been no corresponding -improvement in the cheaper type of boarding-school. -To provide board, lodging, and tuition, at fees ranging -from £30 to £50, is a difficult problem, and can -hardly be solved without the infliction of some -suffering or injustice. Yet even these fees are beyond -the reach of many whose homes are far away from -towns. There is urgent need for some scheme of -boarding-houses (not self-supporting) in connection -with the cheaper endowed schools, and the application -of some public money to the establishment of a -few large boarding-schools in different parts of the -country. Private effort cannot meet these cases.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Private day-schools involve a much smaller risk, -and in these large numbers of well-educated women -are now at work. In a place too small to support -a high school, schools of this kind often supply all -needs; but, oddly enough, they seem to flourish best -where they exist side by side with good public schools. -Bedford is an instance of a town well supplied with -both. Sometimes the head-mistress takes a few -boarders, and is thus enabled to provide better -premises. The fees range from about £12 to £30 -<span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>per annum, and the curriculum is not unlike that of -a high school, though the more expensive subjects, -such as certain branches of science, are often -omitted. The Junior and Senior Local Examinations -and those of the College of Preceptors are a good -deal used by these schools, and help to keep up a -standard, where a regular external examination is not -practicable. Small, cheap day-schools still abound, -though happily in nothing like the old numbers. -Even these have undergone some improvement, -though rumour maintains that <cite>Mangnall’s Questions</cite> -and <cite>Child’s Guide</cite> may still be found here, if we only -dig deep enough. The lowest class of private school -is attended by children who ought to be in the public -elementary schools. The extinction of these, which -is rapidly proceeding, can only be hailed with general -satisfaction.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Much has been said of late about the necessity of -finding a place in any general system of education -for private schools, but surely their proper function -is so clearly defined that there is no fear of a day -dawning when they are no longer needed. A further -increase in cheap public day-schools may lessen the -numbers, and it is hardly to be expected that in ten -years’ time the present conditions, under which -70 per cent. of our girls who are receiving secondary -education are in private schools, shall still prevail. -The true function of the private school is to offer -an educational luxury to those who can pay for it, -and on these lines, without coming into competition -with public school work, it is likely to develop. -The more public schools are established in a district, -the greater becomes the field for first-grade private -<span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span>schools. This is well illustrated by the case of the -United States, where the universal diffusion of -the public schools seems to favour the growth of -private ones. They can charge high fees, because -the public schools are always available for those who -cannot afford these. They can try experiments and -adopt new methods, because they are not subject to -the rigid direction and supervision to which public -schools are liable. A great deal of the preparation -for college falls to them, and they enjoy a very -different reputation and position from the Prussian -private schools, which are obliged to adopt the same -‘code’ as the public. Cheap schools, to be efficient, -must receive help with their finances; such help can -hardly be given to private schools while they retain -the freedom which is one source of their strength. -It is probable, therefore, that they will more and -more become schools for the well-to-do classes only. -There must be some suffering involved in the -changes which the near future is likely to bring, even -if local educational authorities do all in their power -to minimise this, and eventually the lower class of -private school will probably go to the wall. But not -till the Anglo-Saxon nature has undergone a complete -transformation will there cease to be a place in -England for private enterprise; and private schools, -even though they may be deemed a luxury, will -still rank among us as a necessity.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER IX<br /> <span class='large'>THE TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION ACTS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>On June 24, 1890, a curious scene took place in the -House of Commons. The Customs and Excise Bill -had been dragging its weary way in committee, and -making very small progress. The question under -debate was the disposal of a residue of £350,000, -available from the new duty on beer and spirits. -This Mr. Goschen proposed to apply to compensating -publicans whose licenses should be refused, but the -Government did not care to press the point in face of -opposition in the country and small majorities in the -House. Mr. Goschen therefore proposed to shelve -the matter till the next session, merely ‘ear-marking’ -the money for the purpose indicated. Thereupon -Mr. Healy got up on a legal point, and reminded the -House that the Budget Bill, which had already -become law, expressly stated that the duties in -question were to be dealt with in a particular way, -and that the proceeds were to be appropriated ‘as -Parliament may hereafter direct by any Act passed -in the present session.’ Under these circumstances, -he asked, had they power to postpone that appropriation? -The Speaker thought they had not, and -his ruling prevailed. The result was the acceptance, -on August 1, of Mr. Acland’s proposal to apply the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span>money in England ‘for the purposes of agricultural, -commercial, and technical instruction, as defined in -Clause 8 of the Technical Instruction Act, 1889,’ and -in Wales either for technical instruction or for purposes -defined by the Welsh Intermediate Education -Act.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This sudden turn of affairs took the country by -surprise. The county councils, to whom this money -was assigned, were now expected to devote to educational -purposes the money and energy which were to -have gone to the extinction of licenses. From these -events date the educational functions of the county -councils. It was this ‘whisky-money’ which gave -the impetus to technical education, a term which had -been defined by the Act of 1889. Prolonged agitation -throughout the country, due to the fear of foreign -competition and the rumours of superior education -given to the mechanics of other countries, had led to -the appointment in 1884 of a Commission to consider -the question, and to their report the Technical -Instruction Act of 1889, and the amending Act of -1891, were due.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Among the recommendations of the Commissioners -were the following:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>1. That steps be taken to accelerate the application -of ancient endowments, under amended schemes, -to secondary and technical instruction.</p> - -<p class='c007'>2. Provision by the Charity Commissioners for -establishing in suitable localities, schools or departments -of schools, in which the study of natural -science, drawing, mathematics, and modern languages, -should take the place of Latin and Greek.</p> - -<p class='c007'>3. Giving power to local authorities to establish, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span>maintain, or contribute to the establishment of -secondary and technical schools and colleges.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Following these lines, the Act defined technical -instruction as ‘instruction in the principles of Science -and Art, applicable to industries, and in the application -of special branches of Science and Art to specific -industries or employments.’ It was not to include -teaching the practice of any trade or industry, but it -might include any branch of instruction (including -modern languages, and commercial and agricultural -subjects), which were at any time sanctioned by the -Science and Art department of South Kensington. -The means of doing all this was a penny rate which -local authorities were permitted to raise. Unaided this -could not have done much, and very few places took -advantage of this power, until the Local Taxation Act of -the following year changed the whole aspect of affairs.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The movement in favour of technical education -was one that had been slowly gathering force. At -first, as so often happens, the blame for the unsatisfactory -state of things was laid at the door of the -elementary school. It was pointed out that the -education given there was not sufficiently practical; -drawing was little taught, and that little badly, -while science fared even worse. Modelling was -almost unknown, manual instruction had scarcely -been heard of, ‘the pen was the only industrial -weapon that boys intended for handicraftsmen were -taught to use,’ and, except needlework, domestic subjects -for girls were terribly neglected. This was true -enough, but it was absurd to suppose that a remedy -could be found in the schooling given to children -under twelve. Such benefit as might be derived from -<span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span>a change in their curriculum was quite inadequate -for the end in view. The real need was for a longer -school life, with technical training based on a proper -foundation of general knowledge. Hence the National -Association for the Promotion of Technical Education -adopted into its programme: ‘the development, -organisation, and maintenance of a system of secondary -education throughout the country, with a view to -placing the higher technical and commercial education -in our schools and colleges on a better footing.’ -It was doubtless for a similar reason that the Act -excluded from its benefits scholars receiving instruction -in elementary schools.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The money thus provided almost by accident, -became a new and valuable source for endowing -secondary education; and on all hands claims of the -most varied kind were made on it. Administered by -bodies of non-experts, who had to learn their business -by doing it, much of it was misapplied; mistakes, -often of a ludicrous character, were made, and there -was some excuse for those producers and consumers -of spirits who thought the money would have been -better applied in relieving the tax. But in spite of -repeated appeals by specially interested persons, -Parliament kept firm in the matter; the money must -be given to County Councils, and they must learn to -use it. How well many of them have learnt can best -be realised by a series of visits to the polytechnics of -London and the large provincial towns, to the laboratories -constructed in public schools, to the ambulatory -dairy classes in village schoolrooms, to the beautifully -equipped laundries, kitchens, and dressmaking schools -all over the country.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span>Long before these Technical Instruction Acts were -passed, isolated action had been taken. The Regent -Street Polytechnic, long known as <em>the</em> Polytechnic, -was already in full work. It originated in a Young -Men’s Institute, privately founded by Mr. Quentin -Hogg, with the large aim of providing a place where -a young man could develop all the sides of his nature, -and ‘find a reasonable outlet for any healthy desire, -physical, spiritual, social, or intellectual, which he -possesses.’ For some years the Institute flourished in -Long Acre, and it happened that, just when increased -accommodation became necessary, the old Polytechnic, -long the home of Pepper’s Ghost, the diving-bell, and -other joys and terrors of our young days, came into -the market. It was at once secured, and the result -was an unprecedented rush for membership. Mr. -Hogg, who was the life and soul of the Institute, -made a point of himself seeing every boy on joining, -and on the first night in Regent Street, he began to -interview new members at five o’clock. There he -was kept at his desk, unable even to get a cup of tea, -till a quarter to one in the morning, and by that time -a thousand new members had been enrolled. With -such encouragement, it was possible to try fresh -experiments, and for the first time trade-classes and -workshop practice were added to the programme. -The Polytechnic thus became a pioneer in technical -work. The London Trades Council in 1883 recommended -its system of trade teaching to the London -trades; members of the Technical Instruction Commission -gave it their warm commendation.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Meantime other institutes were growing up. If -Mr. Hogg claimed that the Polytechnic began its -<span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span>labours when he took two crossing-sweepers into the -Adelphi arches, and made them the nucleus of a -ragged school, the People’s Palace had an even more -romantic origin. It was inspired by the picture, in -<cite>All Sorts and Conditions of Men</cite>, of the Palace of -Delight, of ‘the club of the working-people,’ where -‘we shall all together continually be thinking how to -bring more sunshine into our lives, more change, -more variety, more happiness.’ Here, even more than -at Regent Street, the recreative side was to the fore, -and the main feature was the Queen’s Hall, in which -public entertainments were organised. It had a -chequered career, and finally was saved to the East -End by the liberality of the Drapers’ Company. -Since then the educational side has been more fully -developed, but apart from the recreative, which is -absolutely independent of the East London Technical -College. This is an unusual condition, since, as a -rule, the Polytechnics, mindful of their double origin, -aim at being centres of both work and play. They -have a tendency to fall into two classes: those that -began as social clubs, and added the classes to their -programme, and those that began with classes, and -then encouraged the students to form clubs for -literary, athletic and recreative purposes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The greater stress laid on the educational side by -the more recent institutions was due to two causes. -In 1883 the London Parochial Charities Act gave the -Charity Commissioners powers to deal with certain -sums, which had been left by benefactors long deceased, -for purposes which had actually ceased to -exist. It was lucky that this sum of money, which -may be capitalised at over three millions, became -<span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span>available for public purposes at the very time when -all this stir about technical education was taking -place. The Regent Street Institute was chosen as -a model. London was mapped out into twelve districts, -and a Polytechnic was to be supplied for each, -on condition of local aid supplementing certain sums -which were offered conditionally. It was not long -before this proposal brought munificent private -donors into the field. The Marquis of Northampton -and Lord Compton gave a site of the value of -£30,000, Earl Cadogan gave ground of the value of -£10,000; others gave less, according to their means. -Eleven of these Polytechnics are already in existence; -Paddington alone is waiting for the private benefactors -who shall establish the claim to public help. -The second impetus came from the Technical Education -Board of the London County Council. The -metropolis had been slow in following the lead of -other counties, and it was not till 1892 that it resolved -to apply its share of the whisky money to -purposes of technical education. But when it did -move it did so in good earnest. The Council conferred -full executive power on a Board consisting -of twenty of its own members, thirteen representatives -of other bodies and two experts, one being a -woman, co-opted by the Council itself. The bodies -thus represented are: the London School Board, the -City and Guilds of London Institute, the London -Parochial Charities Foundation, the Headmasters’ -Association, the National Union of Teachers, and -the London Trades Council. Mr. Sidney Webb was -elected chairman, Dr. W. Garnett was appointed -secretary and organiser, and the superintendence of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span>the domestic economy work was given to Miss Ella -Pycroft. The Board has been most successful in its -work, and a very complete scheme of technical instruction -in London is being gradually evolved. Since -the Board’s work is educational it is natural that this -side has been specially emphasised in those Polytechnics -which have been founded since its establishment, -<i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">i.e.</span></i> those at Battersea, Chelsea, North London -and the City.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The help given by the Board to Polytechnics may -be thus stated:</p> - -<p class='c007'>1. Equipment grants made from time to time for -specific purposes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>2. A fixed contribution of £1000 a year.</p> - -<p class='c007'>3. Three-quarters—not exceeding £500 a year—of -the principal’s salary.</p> - -<p class='c007'>4. 10 per cent. on the fixed salaries of the teachers.</p> - -<p class='c007'>5. 1d. for each hour’s attendance of each student.</p> - -<p class='c007'>6. 15 per cent. on all voluntary subscriptions and -donations from private sources.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Provided that the total payment to any Polytechnic -under 2, 3, 4, and 5 does not exceed £3000, and under -6 does not exceed £2000.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The Polytechnics are really subsidised from five -different sources: private generosity, city companies, -ancient and hitherto misapplied charities, part of the -proceeds of the ‘beer and spirit tax,’ grants from the -South Kensington Department.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Dreary as are such enumerations of names and -figures, there is a special interest attaching to this -particular set. The aggrieved ratepayer is apt at -times to point to these splendid buildings as an -example of the way in which his hard won money -<span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span>is being squandered, quite regardless of the fact that -those papers he abhors have never contained any -appeal for money for this purpose. London has -never levied a technical education rate, thanks to -these other sources of income which have given her -citizens so much without any sacrifice on their part. -The beer and spirit money has acted the part of a -fairy godmother to London men and women.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was made clear from the outset that both sexes -were alike to benefit, and thus the Polytechnics have -become what our American cousins call ‘co-educational.’ -But the needs of men and women are not -always the same, and the special wants of women -were considered in the establishment of a domestic -economy side, though they are not limited to this. -Practically the whole field of education beyond the -elementary is open to county council action, provided -no aid is given to institutions with a definite -religious bias or conducted for private profit. The -only subjects distinctly excluded by the Acts are -classics and literature. The money is therefore available -for purposes of—(1) definite Trade instruction; -(2) day and evening classes in Science, both theoretical -and applied, and Domestic Economy; (3) secondary -education of a modern character.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Under these two last headings great things have -been done for girls and women. In spite of the -recent introduction into the elementary school code -of such subjects as cooking and laundry, it is becoming -more and more clear that the brief time -allotted to the Standards is not too much for a -grounding in general subjects, and that after this -should come the preparation of a girl to be useful -<span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span>at home or to earn her living by domestic work. -The elementary school girl is too young, the high -school girl too busy, to gain much from the wedging -of a little domestic teaching into the mass of the -ordinary school work. Nor is a cookery or a laundry -lesson once a week of much use in giving the necessary -skill and practice. Domestic work wants continuous -and consecutive practice, for the acquisition -of that ‘touch’ and ‘knack’ on which so much -depends; and the domestic economy schools come -in here to supply what is really wanted.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This type of school did not originate in London, -though it has taken very firm root there. Some -very interesting experiments had been made in other -parts of the country, notably Yorkshire, before -Battersea, the Borough, and Regent Street Polytechnics -in 1894 opened their domestic economy -schools, with fifty-four scholars nominated by the -Technical Education Board, and the addition of a -few paying pupils. This example was soon followed -by the other Polytechnics, and the Board now elects -386 scholars annually, who are distributed among -nine schools. The course lasts five months, and -during this time the scholars receive free tuition, -two free meals daily, and the material required for -making dresses or other garments. They attend from -9.30 to 12.30 and 2 to 4.30 every day except Saturday. -During that time they get a continuous and thorough -training in cookery, needlework, dress cutting and -making, laundry work and housewifery, with some -gymnastics and singing. In addition to these scholarships -second courses of five months’ instruction, with -the opportunity of specialising in one particular -<span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span>branch, are now awarded to eighty-four scholars each -half-year. The first course is not meant to train a -cook or a dressmaker, but any girl who wishes to -qualify herself for such a post gets a capital chance -of testing her own abilities and inclination, and there -are further opportunities of training open to her, if -she desires them, in the second course or at the -National Training School of Cookery. Last year four -girls were apprenticed in good dressmaking firms on -leaving the school.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Mrs. Pillow, lately employed by the Education -Department to prepare a special report on the teaching -of Domestic Economy, gives an account of the -work of these schools. She says: ‘Housekeeping and -cookery are treated as part of the everyday life of -the girls, and not merely as school lessons. The girls -cook the meals which they are to eat; they learn to -measure and fit themselves for the dresses which they -are taught to make, and they are instructed in laundry -work in such a way that they can quite well apply -their knowledge to the “family wash” in their own -homes. The cookery syllabus contains dishes which -are well within the reach of the working man earning -an average wage; the using up of odds and ends, -bones, crusts, and cold vegetables, scraps of meat, etc. -receives attention, and the utensils and stoves provided -for the girls are similar<a id='r17' /><a href='#f17' class='c011'><sup>[17]</sup></a> to those found in the -majority of artisans’ homes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘The laundry work is taught on simple and common-sense -principles, the only extra aid to speed and -efficiency being a wringer and mangle, and, as these -are now so frequently found in the homes of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span>more thrifty housewives, it is well that the girls should -be taught to use them properly. The processes of -steeping, washing, boiling, rinsing, blueing, wringing, -drying, folding, mangling are all thoroughly taught. -The washing of flannels and woollens, a part of -laundry work which is frequently very badly done by -laundry women, receives special attention, and starching -and ironing are exceedingly well done by the -girls at the conclusion of their course of training.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘The girls are taught the market value of foods. -In some of the schools special arrangements are made -for this. At Battersea they are taken out to purchase -meat, greengrocery, etc. When the girls cannot be -taken out to market, they are sometimes allowed to -purchase from the teacher in charge of the stores. -They are taught to compare prices, to judge of the -freshness and quality of commodities, to expend a -given sum to the best advantage in the cheapest -market, and how to prepare and cook their meals in -the shortest time possible.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>The fee for the complete course is £1, 10s., or -7s. 6d. per month, and this includes the cost of all -books and materials. The greater part of the pupils -come from the elementary schools, but surely they -are not the only girls who need such teaching. Many -pupils leave the high schools at fourteen or fifteen to -live at home in somewhat straitened circumstances. -To them such a training as this would indeed be a -boon. It would even be worth the sacrifice of the -last six months at school, since they must in any case -leave without getting the best it can afford, the teaching -in the fifth and sixth forms. Girls attending -second grade schools, who naturally leave early, would -<span class='pageno' id='Page_181'>181</span>find these domestic economy courses an admirable -means of transition between school and home life; -while those, whose bent lies in this direction, can go -on to the training schools, and either become teachers -of these subjects, or earn a living by their practical -application. In fact, the domestic economy school is -fast helping to raise the home arts into their proper -educational place, as affording one among many suitable -careers for women, no longer the Cinderella -among occupations, who sits among the ashes, because -the prince has not yet come to claim her. The neglect -of the middle class to use these schools is another -instance of their proverbial apathy; meantime, these -good things are ready for them as soon as they will -take the trouble to grasp them. Of course there is -no reason why such teaching should be given free, -except to a minority.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Even more widespread than these day-schools are -the evening classes in the same subjects. These are -found throughout the country, in towns at technical -institutes, in villages in little classes taught by peripatetic -teachers, who are sent from place to place by -the county councils. In fact, ‘county council dressmaking’ -has become such a feature, that it might be -taken for a special system of cutting and fitting. The -persons for whose benefit this instruction is given -are young women who have left school, wives, and -mothers of families. If experience has taught them -their own deficiencies, they have now the opportunity -of making up lost ground. Cookery, dressmaking, -and nursing often attract large numbers. The teaching -has no professional purpose. It is simply ‘for -home use,’ as the Germans say, and has its place in a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span>wide scheme of general education, which includes -training the hand as well as the mind.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This village work must, to some extent, be desultory, -while, in the large town institutes, it can be made -more systematic. Its value is considerably affected -by the construction of the board which controls it. -A council which places experts on its technical education -committee generally does better than one that -simply adds education to its other manifold functions. -Women are able to sit on these committees, and it is -of great importance, for the more feminine side of the -work, that they should be appointed in larger numbers -than has hitherto been the case.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The female element is represented at some of the -institutes by the appointment of a lady-superintendent -of the women’s department. This is the case in the -London Polytechnics, where the women’s work is -very fully equipped. At Battersea, which may be -taken as typical, the subjects taught in this department -are: cookery, needlework, dress cutting and -making, millinery, fancy needlework and embroidery, -laundry work. In most of these subjects pupils can -be prepared for the examinations of the City and -Guilds of London Institute. The fees are low, and -the courses carefully graduated. There is an interesting -class in ‘homekeeping,’ intended for students -whose occupation prevents them from getting the -necessary knowledge of housekeeping during the day. -This includes such items as spring cleaning, ordinary -household duties and daily routine, and is probably -of special use to that large class of housekeepers who, -having learnt their own deficiencies from bitter -experience, can value this opportunity of remedying -<span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span>them. Another useful course is elementary political -economy, which includes value and distribution of -wealth, rent, wages, and other similar problems. This -instruction, to which both mistress and maid might -listen with profit, can be had by Polytechnic members -for 1s., and for 1s. 6d. by outsiders. Members may -also join a reading circle and a first-aid class; they -can use the beautiful gymnasium, and refresh their -cramped limbs with musical drill. All this, with the -social advantages which are manifold, is within reach -of those girls and women who are lucky enough to -live in the neighbourhood of a Polytechnic, and have -some free evenings to spend there.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Institutes of this kind are fast being brought within -reach of all dwellers in towns. The municipal schools -of Manchester and Brighton need hardly shrink from -comparison with those of the metropolis. In fact, -when we look at the sumptuous equipment of such -schools, we are tempted to exclaim that Cinderella -has indeed left the ashes, and ascended into her -palace. But these glories are not hers by sole right. -The men’s department (of mechanics, engineering, -etc.) is far larger than the women’s, and besides these -two, where the sexes are of necessity kept apart, there -are numerous classes where they meet on common -ground. At Battersea the art department is open -three days and five evenings a week, and the general -scheme includes a thoroughly practical knowledge of -designing, drawing, painting, and modelling, especially -in its various applications to trades and industries, as -well as life classes, and the commoner features of such -schools. In the commercial school, arithmetic, book-keeping, -typewriting and shorthand are taught, as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span>well as French. There are classes in pure and applied -mathematics, and every branch of science is taught -with such advantages in the way of laboratories and -appliances, as no private or self-supporting institution -could attempt to supply. Most Polytechnics are -centres for University Extension, some have fine -gymnasia, some have swimming-baths; nearly all -have a long list of social, athletic, and recreative clubs. -In fact, a well-equipped Polytechnic is a kind of -popular University, which provides for all the needs -of its members, though with some neglect of the -literary side. This, too, might be supplied by the -omission or insertion of a few words in an Act of -Parliament. The Polytechnics and Technical Institutes -would thus at once be transformed into the -most completely equipped and endowed scheme of -secondary and higher education in this country.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With such resources at their disposal, it is natural -that Technical Instruction boards and Polytechnic -governors should have gone a step further, and tried -to utilise their spacious premises and admirable -teaching staff for the ordinary purposes of a day-school. -Experiments on these lines are being tried -in several places. It is thought that by establishing -such schools, the polytechnic both gives and receives; -if it helps the schools by allowing them to use its -premises and staff, it is helped in turn by the training -given to a number of boys and girls, who will some -day be properly equipped to profit by the more -advanced instruction in the evening. The school is -largely a feeder for the polytechnic, and will help in -time to raise the standard of its work. As such it -should be judged rather than as an independent -experiment in secondary education.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span>A joint school for boys and girls need excite no -surprise in an institution that started at once as -‘co-educational.’ But unfortunately, in schemes of -this kind there is always a tendency to let the girls -come off second-best. This certainly applies to the -arrangement of an ‘Organised Science School,’ which -is the scheme usually adopted, both on account of its -bias in favour of the scientific side and the power -it confers to earn grants from South Kensington. -Probably the admission of girls was to some extent -an afterthought. The Battersea school had been -open over a year before girls were admitted as an -experiment. The present numbers are about one -hundred and thirty, of whom two-thirds are boys. -The average age of the junior division is fourteen, -and of the senior fifteen. The fees are £1 a term, -including books and stationery. The school hours -are 9.30 to 12.30, and 2 to 4.30, five days in the week. -The work of the three divisions is arranged thus:</p> - -<p class='c007'>1. Mechanical Division. Mathematics, five hours; -Mechanics, three and a half hours; Physics, three -and a half hours; Drawing, four hours; English -subjects, four hours; French, two hours; Manual -training, four and a half hours; Drill, one hour.</p> - -<p class='c007'>2. Science Division. Mathematics, five hours; -Mechanics, two and a half hours; Physics, three -and a half hours; Chemistry, four and a half hours; -Drawing, three hours; English subjects, four hours; -French, two hours; Manual training, two hours; -Drill, one hour.</p> - -<p class='c007'>3. Elementary Division. Mathematics, five hours; -Physics, three hours; Chemistry, two and a half -hours; Drawing, three hours; English subjects, five -<span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span>hours; French, three hours; Art, two hours; Manual -training or Domestic Economy, three hours; Drill, -one hour.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Its aim is described as the imparting of ‘a -thoroughly sound secondary education, with special -provision for the study of pure and applied science, -manual training, workshop practice and domestic -economy.’ This school is interesting apart from its -curriculum, owing to the efforts made by Mr. S. H. -Wells, Principal of the Polytechnic, who acts as headmaster, -to make it ‘secondary’ in the full sense, and -introduce some of the <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">esprit de corps</span></i> and out-of-school -life which are such marked features in boys’ -‘public’ and girls’ high schools. The school is -divided into forms with a form-master; ‘each form -meets in its form-room for call-over before school -opens for the day, after which they assemble for -prayers, which are read by the Principal. These are -confined to a few verses of Scripture and the Lord’s -Prayer; and exemption from attendance is granted -when requested by the parent, although only two -such requests have been made. In matters of discipline -the students have been taught to realise that -having ceased to be children they should have given -up childish things; they are present to work not to -play, and their duty to their parents and themselves -calls them to take every advantage of the opportunities -afforded; in a word, they are not expected -to commit acts against discipline—they are trusted.’ -Mr. Wells further tells us that ‘senior students are -told off every day to ascertain the chief events recorded -in the newspapers, and to record them on a -blackboard, which all the school are expected to read, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span>to be afterwards questioned on the event in their -English classes. In the same way a record is made -of daily weather observations. All boys are required -to wear the school cap, and the habit of “capping” -the teachers outside the school is willingly adopted. -Each term sees its “drill competitions” between the -different forms for a shield presented by the Principal, -its inter-form cricket or football matches for a -challenge cup presented by the masters, and matches -between the masters and school. The end of term -sees its gymnastic displays or concerts with acting -and recitals, to which parents and friends are invited. -Three school captains are elected each term, the -method being that they are proposed and seconded, -and voted for by the whole school. The captains -have authority outside the class-rooms, and their -position is readily and loyally acknowledged.’ The -girls have their games among themselves, though -now and then they play a boys’ team at hockey. -They have their own captain, and are assembled for -call-over by a mistress, who has a general control over -them, and is always ready to help them with advice -and sympathy. Women, of course, give the lessons -in cooking, etc., which are the feminine counterpart -of manual training; else all the teaching is in the -hands of men. The intellectual results appear to -be satisfactory, and here, as in other co-educational -institutions the girls are quite able to hold their own -in class. Of the moral and hygienic results it is -far more difficult to judge. Whether girls between -fourteen and sixteen would not be better under the -care of a woman, whether they do not miss some of -that moral influence which can only be exercised by a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span>form-mistress who also takes part in the teaching, -are questions that must come up in the near future, -should there be any disposition towards co-education -in this country. As yet it has generally been adopted -rather from motives of economy than on grounds of -principle. Institutions like those at Battersea, Chelsea, -and Wandsworth are boys’ schools to which girls are -admitted; although, as a matter of fact, at Chelsea -the girls outnumber the boys. The amount of time -given to science would never have been allotted had -the real needs of girls been considered. It is an interesting -experiment, but it will not do much towards -solving the problem of Modern Schools for girls.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Even more one-sided in its aims is the type of -school which the Surrey County Council is starting. -This county is specially deficient in girls’ schools of a -middle grade, though it contains several good proprietary -high schools, and the technical committee -is therefore applying some of its funds to the supply -of this want. The Wimbledon school is the first -attempt of the kind, and must be regarded as still in -an experimental stage. Girls who enter are supposed -to have attained to the requirements of the Sixth -Standard, but in a district where there are no Board -schools even this is not always attainable. Hence -there are many gaps to fill up, before a proper foundation -is laid for the new studies. It is supposed that -girls will stay for four years, and should they do so, -a most valuable experiment might be made in devising -a ‘modern’ curriculum, essentially adapted for -girls. Hitherto in this first year’s work the course -of study is exceedingly meagre; neither science nor -literature is taught; there is a little English history -<span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span>and geography, but the bulk of the time goes to -shorthand, book-keeping, commercial arithmetic, -cooking, laundry and dressmaking. All excellent -things, but surely this is not sufficient intellectual -fare for these twelve-year-old children. Another two -years at general subjects would help to lay a really -good foundation on which the special work could be -built up; and it is probable that the shorthand and -double entry, and even the puddings and clear-starching, -will not suffer in the end for this little -delay at the beginning. This kind of work is none -the better for being spread out over so many years. -It cannot, like the more intellectual subjects, be perpetually -presenting fresh developments, which give -it the charm of novelty. There seems some danger -lest, in trying to elevate the status of the domestic -and commercial arts, we should forget that they -cannot satisfy all sides of our nature. Girls want -something different from the science school, but it -must not be a purely utilitarian training. In the -true modern school they will learn subjects of daily -utility; but just because so much time is given to -these, there must be special prominence for all that -makes for culture. To the Spencerian dictum that -education must prepare for the business of life, we -should add Aristotle’s wise admonition, that it should -teach the right use of leisure. Keeping both these -in view we may yet discover the ideal ‘Modern -School.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>It would not be fair to blame technical education -boards because they have not yet solved this difficult -problem. Their experience in education is still new, -and as far as schools are concerned their best work -<span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span>has been done in subsidising those that already exist. -On this large sums are now being spent. To be exact, -we may state that during the year 1896–97, sixty-three -councils, (forty-two county, and twenty-one -county borough) gave direct or indirect assistance -to three hundred and twenty-eight secondary schools -to the amount of £144,871, 2s. 2d., this sum including -the scholarships and exhibitions granted to pupils -proceeding to or from secondary schools. How much -of this goes to girls does not appear, certainly not -half, but at any rate enough to make a very appreciable -difference to their education.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Of course, this help is not given unconditionally. -It usually implies the representation of the local -authority on the governing body of the school, the -application of the entire subsidy to purposes of -technical education, and observance of the clauses -abolishing religious tests. Some counties have -special requirements, without which no subsidy can -be given. <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">E.g.</span></i> Cheshire demands:</p> - -<p class='c007'>(1) That drawing shall be taught to every pupil -except any whose exemption may be approved by -the committee. (2) That at least two science subjects -shall be taught to all pupils over ten. (3) That one -modern language shall be taught, and regular instruction -given in some commercial subjects. (4) -That each student shall receive instruction for at -least three hours a week in mathematics. (5) That -the pupils shall be annually examined, and at least -twenty-five per cent. of them sit for the examinations -of the Science and Art Department, or such -other examination as the Technical Instruction Committee -may from time to time approve.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span>Other counties are less rigid in their demands. In -London, where endowed schools for girls have been -greatly helped with grants, some special condition -often accompanies a subsidy. Thus the Owens girls’ -school at Islington received £300 ‘to be expended -in fitting up the new laboratory and art-room,’ the -Central Foundation school was charged to spend its -grant on fitting up another room for work in practical -physics and appointing an assistant science mistress. -At the Camden school the board provided an Arts -and Crafts room, where cookery and dressmaking -are regularly taught; at the James Allen’s school, -Dulwich, a laboratory has been built, and a subsidy -given for an assistant science mistress. Such subsidies, -even when given for a specific purpose, help -the whole school indirectly, since they set free money -from the general funds for the benefit of what cannot -be included in that elastic term ‘technical education.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>Perhaps the chief benefit yet conferred by county -councils on secondary education is the gift of scholarships. -It has been left to the technical instruction -committees to frame that ‘ladder’ of which so much -is heard on educational platforms. Thanks to a -system of graduated scholarships, it is now possible -for an intelligent boy or girl to pass from a primary -to a secondary school, and thence even to the -university. Of course this has been done before now, -but never on such a large scale. Since each county is -a law unto itself, a girl’s chances depend greatly on -the place where she happens to live. A girl living in -Bedfordshire has no county council scholarships -open to her, but the Harpur Trust schools at Bedford -receive girls with scholarships from other counties. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span>A Surrey girl has a good chance of winning a -scholarship, but, owing to the dearth of girls’ public -schools in that county, she may not be able to make -the best use of it. Happily, there are many parts of -England where both schools and scholarships are -available, and there will soon be more, if one of the -difficulties in the way of the girls’ ‘ladder’ is removed, -by the recognition of proprietary high schools as -public institutions at which scholarships can be held. -This is now being done in some places, to the great -advantage of the scholars.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Some counties, <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">e.g.</span></i> Derbyshire, Durham, and Yorkshire, -have a very complete system of scholarships, -accompanied by maintenance grants, without which -they would in many cases be useless. There are few -counties that do nothing in this way. The London -Technical Education Board regards its scholarship -scheme as the basis for nearly all its work. ‘The -award of junior and intermediate county scholarships -necessitates such grants to secondary schools -as will enable them to make proper provision for -the technical training of the scholars. Similarly, -the award of intermediate and senior county scholarships -compels the Board to see that the training -afforded in institutions for higher education is suitable -for scholars of seventeen years of age and -upwards.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>The Board gives three classes of scholarships:—(1) -Junior county scholarships, intended chiefly for -pupils of public elementary schools working in the -fifth or higher Standards, tenable for two years and -renewable. Of these six hundred are given annually, -and fifty are open to candidates from other than -<span class='pageno' id='Page_193'>193</span>elementary schools, whose parents have an income -below £150. These scholarships give their holders -free education at any approved secondary or upper -standard school, with money payments of £8 for -the first year, and £12 for the second.</p> - -<p class='c007'>2. Intermediate county scholarships are open to -boys and girls under sixteen who come from any -school, secondary or upper standard. They give free -education to the age of eighteen or nineteen, with -money payments rising from £20 to £35 a year. -The income limit is £400. They are tenable at public -secondary schools and places of higher learning.</p> - -<p class='c007'>3. Senior county scholarships. These are few in -number, and intended to provide for specially promising -students a training of university rank. They -give free education at a college or technical institute, -with money grants of £60 a year, and are tenable for -three years. Here, too, the income limit is £400.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In 1896–97 London had a thousand junior scholars -in fifty secondary, and two hundred and ninety-four in -thirty-six upper standard schools. Of this total four -hundred and eighty-five are girls. The intermediate -scholars, of whom there were a hundred and eighty, -were in the following institutions: three university -colleges, five technical and science colleges, one -training department of a polytechnic, fourteen first-grade -public secondary schools, twenty-one second grade -public secondary schools. Sixty-two of these -scholars were girls. Of the senior scholars only two -were women. They pursued their studies at Holloway -and the Central Technical Colleges.</p> - -<p class='c007'>All this is, of course, in addition to the special -scholarships for Art, Science, Domestic Economy, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_194'>194</span>etc., which come more directly under the heading -of ‘technical.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>If we turn away from these lists of names and -figures to consider how wide a field has been covered -by this work in London and the provinces, we cannot -but be struck by the developments of these eight -years. A system of universities for the people has -been started, technical and commercial education -have received an enormous impetus, secondary -instruction has been brought within reach of large -numbers by whom it was hitherto unattainable, -numbers of already existing schools have been -placed on a firm financial basis, and throughout -the special needs of women have been considered. -With better building and plumbing, better cooking -and washing, we certainly may hope for more creature -comforts in the good time coming. But this is -a small thing compared with the brightening of -homes by the gift of those higher pleasures, without -which it has been truly said that life is not truly -life at all.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Surely whisky-drinkers need not grudge the extra -sixpence which has done all this!</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_195'>195</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER X<br /> <span class='large'>STATE AID FOR GIRLS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>While private effort in the form of companies, -endowments, and individual enterprises was building -up a complete, though unorganised, system of girls’ -education, another system totally unconnected was -being gradually developed by aid of the State. -For a long time the two were regarded as parallel, -with no possible point of contact, except such as -might be artificially established by means of scholarships. -Now we are beginning to think that we may -have mistaken the direction of the lines, and that -there are some points of connection between the -Board School and the High School pupil.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This change is due to the growing conviction that -the education of its citizens is a matter of which -a State should take cognisance. Far behind Germany -in its adoption of this principle, England did at last -wake up to the necessity of educating all her citizens. -Whether out of self-defence, to ‘educate our masters,’ -as Mr. Lowe bade us do, or, as Plato would have -counselled, to make the men and women of the -State as good as possible, the idea of universal -education has at last gained a hold in this country. -Very slowly, and with immense opposition on the -part of the classes who regarded learning as their -<span class='pageno' id='Page_196'>196</span>own peculiar privilege, and were jealous of any -intrusion in what they considered their private -domain. But they were powerless to hinder; when -once the little flame was kindled, no force could -avail to extinguish it. From the moment that one -generation educated in the new schools took their -place as voters, the system was secured. The democracy -soon realised that education was a levelling -agency, and that it was their interest both to -maintain and improve it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It is difficult for those who are familiar with our -elementary education to realise how recent is its -establishment in England, and how still more a -matter of yesterday the full use of the opportunities -offered. England was the last of the great European -countries to accept the doctrine of the responsibility -of the State for education. Schools for the poorer -classes were for a long time either non-existent or a -matter of local, largely denominational, effort. The -first grant of public money to schools was made in -1832, when, without any previous legislation on the -subject, the sum of £20,000 for this purpose appeared -in the Estimates. Seven years later this was increased -to £30,000, and by an order in Council a special -committee of the Privy Council was established, with -its own staff of officers to supervise the work. This -was the first beginning of the Education Department. -Thus gradually, almost imperceptibly, the State was -beginning to intervene in education. When in 1858 -the Duke of Newcastle’s Commission was appointed -to inquire into the whole state of popular education, -it found that much had already been done, but the -great need was for some systematic control. The -<span class='pageno' id='Page_197'>197</span>result of its findings was the celebrated Revised Code -of 1861, whose main provisions were:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘1. That a school must be in approved premises.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘2. That each child must make a certain number -of attendances.</p> - -<p class='c007'>‘3. That children must pass individual examinations -in reading, writing, and arithmetic.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus originated the much praised and much -abused system of ‘payment by results,’ about which -so many a contest has waged.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Up to 1870, the whole system had grown up out of -administrative machinery, without direct intervention -of the legislature. Voluntary effort originated the -schools, Treasury grants assisted them. The Education -Act of 1870 was intended, to quote the words of -its author, Mr. Forster, ‘to complete the voluntary -system, and to fill up gaps.’ Its object was not so -much to create schools as School Boards. Where -voluntary effort was, by inspection, proved insufficient, -a district could be called upon to elect a School -Board, with power to raise a rate. A subsequent Act, -by establishing school attendance committees for -non-School Board districts, completed the system of -local control; and the 1880 Act made attendance -compulsory on all children up to ten (since altered to -eleven), and forbade the employment of any children -between ten and thirteen who had not reached a -standard to be fixed for each district by its own local -authority. Those who could not reach this by fourteen -might claim the dunce’s privilege.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The School Boards found plenty of work before -them. For some years they were chiefly occupied in -drawing into the schools the great masses of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_198'>198</span>entirely uneducated; and the three R’s, which was all -they could aim at, came to be regarded in many -quarters as the ultimate aim of elementary school -instruction. But this was a temporary stage, which -had to be gone through before the red-brick school-house -had become a regular feature of town and -village throughout the kingdom. Education was -compulsory till the age of ten; children who passed -through all the standards would remain at school till -about twelve or thirteen. For the masses that might -be sufficient; for a select few it was either too little or -too much. It served to kindle in their minds a love -of knowledge, and to reveal a special inclination for -intellectual pursuits, without offering the means of -satisfying it. Gradually the need of building a second -story on this lower edifice became manifest. A -subject much debated during the last few years is -the question whether this should be planted on the -top of the primary building, or provided by special -avenues leading from the elementary schools to existing -secondary institutions. But while educationalists -were discussing matters in the abstract, the necessities -of the case were compelling the existing schools to -build their own top story. When the Secondary -Education Commission of 1894 came to discuss the -best methods of establishing continuation schools, -they found that a considerable number were already -at work in different parts of the country. The change -had come about little by little. Clever children had -passed through the standards at an age when it was -impossible or inadvisable to set them to work; it was -natural that the school should be unwilling to turn -them away. Thus originated an ex-sixth standard, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_199'>199</span>gradually the pressure of the Boards upward brought -about the extension of the parliamentary grant to a -new standard—the seventh—in which more advanced -subjects of study received recognition. Thus while -the obligatory subjects still remain reading, writing, -and arithmetic, with needlework for the girls and -drawing for the boys, the optional and specific subjects—of -which, however, no child may take more -than a very limited number—now range over several -sciences, languages, and mathematics, as well as what -are popularly called technical subjects. The great -mass of schools are still obliged to confine themselves -to elementary work; but with the introduction of -other subjects into the code, a new element has -entered the schools, and has without doubt ‘come to -stay.’ The next development after the seventh -standard was a system of ex-standard classes, which -in large schools could be worked without a great -addition to the staff. In particular, the instruction -of the pupil-teachers introduced some more advanced -classes; and as time went on, parents who had themselves -enjoyed the benefits of education showed -themselves more and more willing to leave their -children at school as long as the school was willing to -keep them. In this way the ex-seventh standard -developed into the Higher Grade Elementary school.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This name belongs properly to two different types -of school. The Higher Grade proper begins at the -fifth standard, and gives an education for three or -four years beyond the seventh. But the term is also -applied to a school which includes all the standards, -and gives more advanced instruction to a small -number of pupils who remain after passing through -<span class='pageno' id='Page_200'>200</span>these. The latter is the kind usually found in -London; the former is popular in large manufacturing -towns, especially in the north, and it is this which is -stepping in to fill an important gap in the secondary -system of the country.</p> - -<p class='c007'>These schools mark the existence of a new and -vigorous educational impulse arising from below. -They are a natural, though apparently unexpected, -development of the elementary school, which, according -to the words of the Act, is one ‘at which elementary -education is the principal part of the education -there given.’ Since the great mass of children do -not go beyond the fifth standard, it is convenient in -large towns to draw into a single school all who propose -to continue their education, and by a systematic -course of further study to encourage them to stay on -as long as possible. Thus a secondary school has -grown up so naturally and quietly on the top of the -elementary, that many persons are hardly aware of -its existence.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This sudden addition of a four years’ advanced -course would obviously be impossible without funds, -and the Education Department is officially unaware -of the existence of any pupils beyond the seventh -standard. The good fairy who steps in here is none -other than that much abused South Kensington -Department of Science and Art. This department, -which, justly or unjustly, has come to be regarded as -a red-tape-bound machine for examining and conferring -grants by a sort of automatic process, has only -of late years been brought into connection with day-schools. -Though its grants began as early as 1837, -their object was chiefly to encourage evening classes, -and make cheap instruction possible for those men -<span class='pageno' id='Page_201'>201</span>and women whose occupation or income shut them -out from the ordinary means of education. An -examination which could be used for the purpose of -earning income naturally became popular; and in -spite of protests from many quarters, in particular -from some artists, who regarded the system of drawing-teaching -as mechanical and cramping, there has -been little diminution in its popularity as a money-producing -agency. The establishment of technical -institutes gave it a fresh impulse, since the adoption -by these of the South Kensington examinations gave -a welcome addition to the institute’s funds; and as -the money for this purpose is supplied by annual -votes in the Estimates, and not by a rate, it provokes -none of that opposition which a local rate -for any object, no matter how desirable, is sure to -encounter.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The connection between South Kensington and the -day-schools has grown little by little. The grants -were originally meant for evening-schools, but there -appeared no reason why day-schools should not also -earn it, provided they were willing to send in their -pupils for the evening examinations, which for some -years were the only ones held. As early as 1872, the -department had devised a regular scheme of instruction -for schools that systematically followed its -courses. Under certain conditions, schools under -local management, approved by the department, -might be registered as ‘Organised Science Schools.’ -A certain class stamp was given them by requiring -that the pupils should as a whole belong to the -‘industrial classes,’ the £400 income limit being used -to define the term. Payments were made for -success in examination: for Science, £2 for a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_202'>202</span>pass in an elementary subject; £2, 10s. and £5, -respectively, for a second or first-class in an advanced -stage; and £4 and £8 for a second and -first in honours. Extra grants were made for certain -subjects. No payment was made unless at least -twenty-eight lessons had been given to the class, -or unless at least twenty had been attended by the -individual pupil. Payments on similar principles -were made for Art. The Organised Science School -could also claim an attendance grant, which made it -a more profitable undertaking. In return, a school -was bound to allot fifteen hours a week to subjects -taken under the department. As a matter of fact -most schools gave more. There was money in Science, -Mathematics and Drawing. Geography, History, -Languages and Literature were unremunerative. -They must go to the wall.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Such was the course which, originally designed for -evening students, was gradually gaining favour in -day-schools. A child who passed beyond the standards -must still earn money for his school, and this could -only be done by means of these South Kensington -grants. Hence the wide diffusion of the Organised -Science School, in spite of its too early specialisation, -and the undue stress laid on grant-earning.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This arrangement marked the triumph of red-tape -and apotheosis of the examination system. The -narrowness of the curriculum made it unsuitable for -many boys, and almost all girls. As attempts were -made to adopt it more generally for the sake of the -grant, condemnation became frequent. The obligatory -fifteen hours’ Science were complained of; in 1895 new -regulations reduced them to thirteen, and introduced -<span class='pageno' id='Page_203'>203</span>a general <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">viva voce</span></i> inspection, which was to take -cognisance of literary subjects as well. Grants are -still given only for Science and Art, but the other -side is not wholly neglected. Ten hours must -nominally be given to literary subjects, though this -is held to include manual instruction for boys and -cookery or needlework for girls. Less stress is laid -on examination. In the elementary course, payments -are made wholly on the results of inspection, and in -the advanced course partly on inspection and partly -on examination. The arrangements are extremely -complicated, but they amount to—(1) an attendance -grant on all students who have attended a minimum -number of times; (2) a variable grant on each -student; (3) grants for practical work; (4) payments -on examination results in the case of advanced -students of Science and Art; (5) payments for -manual instruction, cookery, needlework, etc. Such -are the means of financing a Science School (the -term now adopted), and schools of this description -are often found serving the purpose of continuation -departments to elementary schools. Since 1897 -examinations have also been held in the day-time.</p> - -<p class='c007'>A higher grade school which systematically -organises its upper department is divided into upper -and lower school, the former under the cognisance -of South Kensington, and the latter of the Education -Department. A four years’ course in the upper -school usually leads to matriculation. But although -they are in a sense two distinct schools, they fit into -each other as the primary and grammar schools do -in America. The methods are the same in both, the -organisation similar, and children pass from one to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_204'>204</span>the other without that breach of continuity which -makes the transition from the elementary to the -high school so sudden, and often so unprofitable. It -is this continuity which conduces so largely to the -success of the higher grade schools, and accounts -for the extraordinary rapidity of their growth. As -many as seven or eight hundred pupils have been -known to enter one of these schools on the opening -day; three hundred of these had free places, the rest -paid small fees.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There are at present in England 169 Schools of -Science, with an attendance of 20,879. What proportion -of these are girls it is impossible to ascertain. -A large proportion of these science departments are -in higher grade schools. Although a higher grade -school is not necessarily a science school, while -science schools are sometimes found as departments -of grammar schools or other institutions, the two -are found in such frequent combination that the -terms Higher Grade and Science School are not -infrequently used as synonymous.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Of these schools the best known is probably the -one at Leeds so ably directed by Dr. Forsyth. It is -established in a huge block of buildings, and has two -divisions—one for boys and one for girls—with a -central double staircase opening into long corridors, -separated from class-rooms by glass partitions. Its -class-rooms are large and airy; it is admirably -equipped with apparatus, etc., and has a good playground -for the boys, though the girls are restricted -to the use of the roof. With its chemical laboratory -for 120 students, its physical laboratory, large lecture-room, -workshop, gymnasium, etc., its large staff, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_205'>205</span>1800 pupils, of whom about half are in or over -Standard VII., it testifies with all the eloquence -of material fact to the vigorous development of this -new educational force. The nature of the work done -in these propitious surroundings is best described in -the Principal’s own words:—‘On a basis of elementary -education it is intended to superadd a system of -higher education which, at a moderate charge, will -train pupils for industrial, manufacturing, and professional -pursuits. This system of instruction will -have its beginnings in the elementary school, but -will be practically carried out in a three years’ course -beyond the standards. It will embrace such courses -as:—</p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>1. The Classical (or Professional), in which Latin, -Mathematics, Science, and Drawing form the chief -subjects.</p> - -<p class='c007'>2. The Modern (or Mercantile), in which French -or German, Commercial Geography, Mathematics, -Science, and Drawing will receive most attention.</p> - -<p class='c007'>3. The Scientific (or Technical), in which Mathematics, -Science, and Drawing form the leading -subjects.</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c007'>A school of this size can, of course, be broken up -into a number of separate departments, since these -numbers would, in any case, necessitate parallel -classes, and the work of the upper school is greatly -facilitated by carrying down such subjects as Latin, -French, and Elementary Science as low as the fifth -standard. This school takes pupils from the second -standard. The fee throughout is 9d. a week. It -contains a very important Organised Science department, -but this only represents part of the work of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_206'>206</span>the school. The curriculum of the girls differs but -slightly from that of the boys. They take cookery -and similar subjects instead of manual instruction, -and calisthenics instead of gymnastics. At one time -they were allowed to substitute botany for some of -the mathematics, apparently with excellent results.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Similar schools, though not quite so large, are in -existence at Manchester, Cardiff, Gateshead, etc.—in -fact, almost every large town in England now has, at -least, one school of this kind. At Leeds boys and -girls are separated in the standards, but work together -in the upper school, where the proportion of girls -is very small. At Cardiff the two schools are distinct -and under different heads, but the highest (matriculation) -class is mixed. The plan of putting boys and -girls together under the headmaster in the upper -school appears to be gaining ground. This seems a -mistake, since in schools of this kind the needs of -boys and girls are of necessity very different. As far -as boys are concerned, the continuation school of the -working classes is bound, in fulfilment of its twofold -function, ‘to carry on education beyond the elementary -stage without breach of continuity, and to fit children -for their future occupation’; to lay the chief stress -on science, mechanical drawing, and similar subjects, -which may help the future artisan to take a higher -place in his trade. For girls the position is different. -In fact, science schools were never meant for them, -but they gradually gained admittance for want of a -corresponding school of their own. Some persons -think it a good course for intending teachers; for the -general run of girls it cannot be considered suitable. -The most crying need for them just now seems complete -<span class='pageno' id='Page_207'>207</span>separation from the boys’ department, and some -other scheme than that of science examinations for -purposes of financing. A girls’ continuation school -can hardly be a place for specialising. With due -allowance for all possible outlets for feminine energy, -it still remains a fact that the great mass of women -are likely to lead a more or less domestic life, and the -special training for what has been called the trade of -‘home-making’ does not necessitate a four years’ -course of arduous study. A girl’s future, too, is harder -to anticipate. She may marry and keep house, or -she may work for her living, or she may do both, -either successively or simultaneously. What she -needs is good all-round training; if along with this -she can get some good practical and theoretical -instruction in domestic economy so much the better. -But cooking and washing must not absorb as much -time as boys give to chemistry and physics, else we -run the risk of disgusting our girls for ever with -household work. It is absurd to confound a domestic -art with a theoretical and practical science, for it can -only to a very limited degree replace mental training. -This a girl can get from a variety of studies. The -more general her curriculum, the better will she be -prepared for the very miscellaneous demands of her -after life. A certain number will doubtless pass -through the intermediate school to the university -college, but this may be done without excessive -specialisation, and the number who remain long -enough to make use of such opportunities is likely to -be much smaller in the case of girls than boys. If a -fair proportion stay for two years after the seventh -standard, we should be well satisfied. If the parents -<span class='pageno' id='Page_208'>208</span>have made sacrifices in order to keep them at school -till fifteen, it is time for the majority at any rate to -be apprenticed for their future work, or make a place -for themselves in their own homes. A girl’s preparation -for life is not entirely to be sought at school; -matriculation is not an end in itself, and a girl who -has not sufficient ability to win a scholarship to a -secondary school, or a special aptitude for teaching, -will do better to turn her attention to more lucrative -fields of manual or commercial work. The school -that, failing to recognise this, endeavours to drive all -its pupils through the same examination mill is -neglecting part of its duty, and taking too narrow a -view of education. A two years’ course is what the -majority of girls need to fill the interval between the -seventh standard and the age of apprenticeship. If -we could give this to all, and something more to the -few, the State would not be neglecting its daughters.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Since under present circumstances these schools -cannot be worked without some help from South -Kensington, various experiments are being tried in -organisation, to enable a school to earn some grant -and yet pay more regard to the needs of girls than -is usually done in higher grade schools. Some adopt -the plan of Science Classes instead of Science Schools, -registering for examination purposes the classes in -science, drawing, etc., without offering up the thirteen -obligatory hours on the altar of money earning. -Unfortunately this plan is less advantageous from -the pecuniary standpoint, and many a schoolmistress -will declare with a sigh that there is nothing for it -but to resort to the Science School. It is not so good -for the girls, but it pays better.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_209'>209</span>Some day, before too long, a Secondary Education -Act may enable us to change all that. Meantime -we must give to South Kensington the honour of -stepping in when education was languishing for want -of funds, and helping us to build the upper story for -our board school boys and girls. This department, -like the county councils which administer the -Technical Instruction Acts, has no power to subsidise -subjects outside its own lawful purlieus, nor can it, -while we lack a recognised educational authority, -award its money grants by other means than inspection -and examination. Thus the intermediate school -is being forced through the mill of ‘payment by -results,’ from which the elementary school has at -last escaped. Perhaps this was a necessary stage -for both to pass through; and though some victims -fell by the way and there was some injustice done, -yet it served to establish the general standard of -efficiency which has made the institution of more -liberal methods in board schools possible. Similarly -the stern South Kensington Department may help to -establish a better system of science teaching through -its careful inspection and insistence on practical -work, and it may certainly claim to have ‘succeeded -in doing what no other system could have done, -carrying science instruction all over the country -without ever raising any sectarian difficulty of any -kind.’<a id='r18' /><a href='#f18' class='c011'><sup>[18]</sup></a> The county councils and the Science and -Art Department have become our most important -educational authorities, for the very simple -reason that they alone have money at their disposal. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_210'>210</span>Both are limited in their operations in a manner -that forces them to be unjust to some most important -branches of study. Legislation can and must alter -this in the immediate future. Meantime the result -is to emphasise a class distinction between literary -and scientific schools. In making science the distinctive -mark of the lower-class school, the Department -has brought about the somewhat anomalous -result of degrading in the public estimation those -very studies which it designed to elevate. An attempt -is now being made to improve the prestige of the -science school by raising the income limit to £500, -in accordance with the new income-tax regulations, -and including among schools acknowledged by the -Department those ‘managed by a public company in -the articles of association of which provision is made -that no dividend shall be paid exceeding five per cent.’ -Under this heading come the greater part of our -best girls’ schools, and this regulation would place it -in the power of the governors of these to turn a part -of their school into a Science School, or to register -separate classes with a view to examination and -grant-earning. It would be a convenient way of -adding to their income, but whether it is desirable -to complicate the harmonious working of a high -school by a plan of dual control and a very exacting -system of outside inspection and examination seems -very doubtful. Should it ever be largely adopted -the chief gainers would probably be the private -schools, which would alone be left free to take a wide -view of the present and future needs of their pupils. -There would be a curious irony in such an outcome -of all the efforts to improve girls’ education by making -<span class='pageno' id='Page_211'>211</span>it a public concern; but as long as there is no -compulsion beyond the elementary stage, we may -always reckon on a healthy reaction and a revolt -against excessive red-tape. Britons never will be -slaves, not even to a Department which helps them -to educate their children more cheaply.</p> - -<p class='c007'>While the higher grade school is designed to give -more advanced instruction to those children from the -elementary schools who can afford to postpone their -working life till fifteen or later, it has also become -necessary to do something for those whose occupations -will not allow of continued day-time instruction. -The Evening Continuation schools are intended to -supply this want. The original night-school of olden -time was one where the unlettered rustic or mechanic -came to spell out his primer and laboriously manufacture -his pot-hooks. Though election statistics -show that the absolutely illiterate voter is gradually -vanishing from the scenes, his complete extinction -cannot be far off, and in catering for after-instruction -the amount of schooling represented by three standards -may as a rule be assumed. But in early days -the school boards had to cater for a very ignorant -class of evening pupils, and the work of the continuation -schools was to a great extent parallel with that -of the day-schools. For many years the codes -insisted that pupils in night-schools earning grants -should undergo examinations in the three elementary -subjects—reading, writing, arithmetic. As the numbers -who passed through the day-schools increased -there was a corresponding diminution in evening -attendances, and it became clear that the proper use -of the evening-school was as a place of more advanced -<span class='pageno' id='Page_212'>212</span>instruction. Accordingly in the 1890 Code the clause, -that elementary education should be the principal -part of the education there given, was omitted. In -1893 Evening Continuation schools received fresh -stimulus and importance from an entirely new Code -dealing with them separately. Its declared aim was -to give ‘freedom to managers in the organisation of -their schools’ by offering a wide choice of subjects -with suggested syllabuses in some subjects. The -aims of these schools were now declared to be -twofold:—(1) to supply defects in early elementary -instruction; (2) to prolong the general education of -the scholar, and combine with it some form of -interesting employment.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The effect of this new Code was remarkable. The -total number of scholars on evening-school registers -increased from 115,000 in 1892–1893 to 266,000 in -1893–1894. No less important was the change in -the character of the work. To a great extent it has -become secondary, although primary instruction is -still necessary for many pupils, who are removed -early from the day-school and have spent the interval -in purely mechanical occupations.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Evening-schools have to contend against several -obstacles. Chief among them is the diminished -fitness for receiving instruction after the fatigues of -the day’s work. This seems to vary with different -persons, and to be largely a matter of temperament, -sometimes of habit. The majority of persons certainly -work better in the day-time. Another difficulty -is the irregular attendance due to the absence of -compulsion and the lack of special inducements. -Nothing but the intrinsic attractiveness of the class -<span class='pageno' id='Page_213'>213</span>will induce most pupils to study any other subject -than those practical ones, like shorthand, mathematics, -etc., which may help them to earn a better living. -The framers of the Code, recognising this, suggested -the introduction of popular elements in the shape of -‘lantern illustrations, music, manual work, discussion -of some book which has been read by the class, field -naturalist or sketching clubs, gymnastics or other -employments of a more or less recreative character.’ -‘For many of these purposes grants cannot be given, -but provided that the managers take care that at -least one hour at each meeting is devoted to the -teaching of the subjects mentioned in Article 2 of -this Code, and that the instruction is systematic and -thorough, every arrangement for making the school -attractive should be carefully considered.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>The subjects recognised by the Code range from -the elementary ones, practically the three R’s, over -languages and sciences, commercial and miscellaneous -subjects, drawing, domestic economy, cookery, laundry work -and dairy-work, and needlework. Indeed, it -would be hard to find a subject not included, always -excepting literature, that step-daughter of English -schools. Even this is now being taught under the -London Board.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The scientific and technical subjects bring the -schools into competition with technical institutes, -with the result that in some towns there is an undue -rivalry between the various educational agencies. -To obviate this, the Science and Art Department has -drawn up a new regulation, recognising an organisation -for the promotion of secondary education in any -county or county borough in England as the local -<span class='pageno' id='Page_214'>214</span>authority for administering the Science and Art -grants in its own district. As many towns other -than county boroughs have classes working for the -grants of the Department, this arrangement is only -partially helpful, and there is still much undue -rivalry. Where this prevails it usually falls to the -lot of the School Board to attract the younger and -more casual students, a class that is not altogether -welcome at the more serious Institute.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Hitherto the work of the evening-school has been -of necessity more or less desultory; and of the two -agencies for prolonging the education of our working-class -children, the higher grade school seems as yet -to answer best. That the other plan has possibilities -is proved by the example of Germany and the success -of our own Polytechnic classes. A definite place for -the evening-school may yet be found in our system. -Meantime the school boards hold out the opportunities -and invite, though they cannot compel, the -multitude to come in. The improvement in the -day-school will give a fresh impetus to the evening-school. This much at least it is safe to prophesy.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_215'>215</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XI<br /> <span class='large'>THE INTERMEDIATE SCHOOLS OF WALES</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>A land of mountains seems to be a land of ideals. -Separated by the elementary forces of nature from -many of the currents of life that flow beyond it, -thrown on itself, its own resources and its past, it -cherishes its individuality with a fervour unknown to -the people of a plain. Even ruthless modernity, with -its complex train systems and mountain-borings, -serves but to invade its privacy, not to change its -character. Patriotism is stronger, national feeling -more tenacious, the practical side of life has man less -firmly in its grip. The Welsh people, with their proud -claim to represent the original inhabitants of the -island, their long roll of story and legend, their -‘estranging’ language, incomprehensible a few miles -across the border, are still a race apart. Neither -Saxon nor Norman, legislation nor intercourse, has -ever been able to degrade them into a mere appanage -of the English nation.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Among the ideals long cherished here in vain by -all classes, was that of a national system of education. -It would not be fair to describe the country which -produced the sweetest and best-trained singers in the -United Kingdom, and could organise and carry out -such elaborate musical and artistic competitions as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_216'>216</span>those of the Eisteddfodd, as wholly uneducated, and -yet until very recently it was undoubtedly lacking -in schools and colleges. Like England, it benefited by -the Education Act of 1870, which brought instruction -to the children of the wage-earners, but it was the -class above these, the professional and commercial, -whose means or whose patriotism forbade their sending -their sons and daughters to England, that felt -the deficiency most keenly. Drawn into the stir, -which in England followed on 1870, Wales began to -move on her own lines; numerous educational societies -were started, conferences held, and every effort -made to fan the feeble spark till it should have -strength enough to kindle public opinion as well as -private enthusiasm. The country was too poor to -supply its own needs by voluntary effort. For that -very reason it offered a useful field for experiment. -Vested interests were not numerous; there were a -few grammar schools for boys; but for girls only three -endowed schools, and one proprietary, belonging to -the Girls’ Public Day-School Company. Private -schools, mostly inefficient, filled some of the gaps, the -rest remained empty.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The last five years have wrought a transformation. -Throughout the length and breadth of Wales, whether -in large towns or small, there may be seen in a conspicuous -spot, looking down on the place from some -hill-top hard by, a grey stone building, which a large -board informs us is the local County School. The -pride with which the inhabitants point it out recalls -American enthusiasm; to many it is the chief sight -of the place. Here is the goal on which their hopes -have been set for years; these school buildings testify -<span class='pageno' id='Page_217'>217</span>to attainment. ‘<i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">O fortunati quorum jam mœnia -surgunt</span></i>,’ we are tempted to exclaim.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This transformation has been brought about by -the Welsh Intermediate Education Act of 1889, itself -the outcome of that same departmental committee -which recommended the establishment of a Welsh -university. Its financial contribution, a half-penny -rate, and a Treasury grant of corresponding amount, -would in itself have been too meagre to produce -much result, but when in the following year the Local -Customs and Excise Act was passed, it contained a -clause permitting Wales to use its share of the money -for purposes of Intermediate as well as Technical -instruction. In this way the public resources, <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">i.e.</span></i> the -rate, the Treasury grant, and the technical money, -could be administered in one fund, and for the general -purpose of education, with no express exclusion of -literature or culture. The tiresome restrictions, the -overlapping of authorities, from which we are still -suffering in England, were never to be introduced -into Wales; its very poverty proved its salvation; -there was a <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">tabula rasa</span></i> on which no characters -had been as yet inscribed. Both on account of its -own needs, and as an untried field for operation, -Wales was chosen as suitable ground for an experiment -in secondary education, at the very moment -when the institution of a fresh educational authority -in England came to complicate existing conditions -yet further.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It is an accusation often brought against English -education, that we have no system which looks well -on paper. This cannot be said of Wales. The system -there is perfectly simple. It applies to the whole -<span class='pageno' id='Page_218'>218</span>country, and to girls and boys alike. The money is -raised from three sources:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>1. A half-penny rate—the County contribution.</p> - -<p class='c007'>2. A Treasury grant, equal to the amount produced -by the rate—the Treasury contribution.</p> - -<p class='c007'>3. The local share of the money from the Customs -and Excise Act—the Exchequer contribution.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The educational unit is the county, and the governing -body consists partly of members of the county -council, representing the separate school districts, -partly of members chosen by school boards, university -colleges, etc. A very few are co-opted. Each school -also has its own body of managers, chosen in somewhat -similar fashion from local bodies, while the -county council appoints one of the members sent up to -it from each district to be its own representative on that -particular governing body. The duties of the managers -are chiefly confined to carrying out the provisions of -schemes, and promoting healthy local interest in the -school, for they have little power of initiative, and not -always even the choice of a headmaster. All matters -of essential importance, <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">e.g.</span></i> whether the schools shall -be separate for boys and girls, or mixed, the subjects -of instruction, the salary of the headmaster, the limits -within which fees may be charged, and the proportion -of scholarships to be awarded, are laid down in -advance in the county scheme, which can only be -altered by appeal to the Charity Commissioners. The -action of both county and district bodies is therefore -confined within very narrow limits, too narrow, in -fact, considering the experimental stage of the schools, -and the unwisdom of crystallising initial mistakes -into permanent form.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_219'>219</span>These schemes were drawn up, subject to the -approval of the Charity Commissioners, by the Joint -Education Committees, which received their authority -directly from the Act. They consisted in each case -of five persons, three nominees of the county council, -and two persons ‘well acquainted with the condition -of Wales and the wants of the people.’ Though the -interests of girls as well as boys had to be considered, -few if any women seem to have been on these -committees, and it is difficult not to connect this -omission with the injustice with which they have, in -many cases, been treated. This was hardly intentional, -but it should have been possible to negative at the -outset every proposal for making a girls’ school a -mere subordinate department of the boys.’ These -committees were only temporary, to exist until the -schemes could be floated, and the control handed -over to the county governing bodies. But they led -to the formation of a permanent board, not contemplated -by the Act. Frequent meetings between -groups of these committees, with a view to promoting -uniformity of action, led to a series of general conferences -at Shrewsbury, which, though not in Wales, -is the most conveniently accessible point from north -and south. At a series of meetings held here, it was -decided to establish a central body, and call upon the -Treasury to acknowledge it as the central authority -for inspection and examination, and for the payment -of the Government grant to the various counties. -After the usual negotiations and delays, a scheme -establishing the Board was approved by the Charity -Commissioners, and became law in 1895. In this -informal manner originated what has practically -<span class='pageno' id='Page_220'>220</span>become the secondary education authority for -Wales.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The Board consists of eighty members, representative -of various local and educational bodies: the -Principals of the three Welsh colleges, twenty-one -representatives of county councils, twenty-six of -county governing bodies, five of headmasters and -mistresses of intermediate schools, five of certificated -teachers in public elementary schools, three of councils -of university colleges, three of the senates, two of -Jesus College, Oxford, six of the court of the University -of Wales, and six co-optative members, three of -whom must be women. The bulk of the work -devolves on the executive committee of fifteen.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The establishment of this Central Board marks the -completion of the Welsh secondary system. It -furnishes a link between all the counties and schools, -and exercises over these that general supervision -which, in the initial stages, had devolved on the -Charity Commissioners. Since the subjects to be -taught had been prescribed by the Act generally, and -by the schemes specially, the duties of the Central -Board were not so much to lay down a scheme of -studies, as to see that the course already prescribed -was duly followed, that each school was in a state of -general and educational efficiency, and that the provisions -of the schemes were observed. For these -purposes they arranged a system of inspection and -examination. The Act had defined intermediate -education as ‘a course of education which does not -consist chiefly of elementary instruction in reading, -writing, and arithmetic, but which includes instruction -in Latin, Greek, the Welsh and English language -<span class='pageno' id='Page_221'>221</span>and literature, modern languages, mathematics, -natural and applied science, or in some of such -studies, and generally in the higher branches of -knowledge,’ and the schemes fixed more precisely -which of these were to be in each case compulsory. -The Glamorgan scheme, which is in many respects -typical, prescribes geography, history, English grammar, -composition, and literature, drawing, mathematics, -Latin, at least one modern language, natural -science, vocal music, drill or other physical exercise, -and such other scientific or technical subjects, including -shorthand, as the school managers may determine. -Scripture is not obligatory, but if included, it must -be taught by a member of the staff. Some manual -instruction must also be offered the boys, and a little -cookery to the girls, but, as is inevitable, where the -programme is already overloaded, this side of the -work takes a very subordinate place. In all schools -Welsh must be taught as an optional subject; in a -stated few Greek may be introduced. But even -without these additions, the compulsory curriculum -is a very heavy one, when it is borne in mind that a -large proportion of pupils come from the elementary -schools, where the girls, at any rate, have been -hitherto confined to reading, writing, arithmetic, -and needlework, with possibly a little French -and domestic economy. Even English history and -geography are unfamiliar ground.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The aim of the Welsh Intermediate, as of the -English High Schools, is to give a liberal education -cheaply in day-schools; but there is one essential -difference between them. While the high school is -an organised whole, leading the pupils by gentle -<span class='pageno' id='Page_222'>222</span>gradations from the primary department to the lower -school, and thence on to the upper, the intermediate -school receives no pupils below the age of ten. Since -the majority are between twelve and sixteen, they -break up naturally into two classes, according as they -have received their preliminary training at a public -elementary school or elsewhere. This division is by -no means so sharply defined in Wales as in England. -Wales is both poor and democratic, and inclines to -the doctrine, familiar in the United States, that no -stigma should attach to attendance at a school supported -out of the rates, since the parents do in fact -contribute towards the expenses, though indirectly. -Hence we find a mixture of class in both elementary -and intermediate schools, which in England would -be neither possible nor desirable. The omission of -the primary department in the new schools is in -fact deliberate. There is already one kind of school -assisted out of public funds and accessible to all, and -it is therefore not thought necessary to subsidise -primary instruction in another set of institutions. -The intermediate school is so constituted as to fit -straight on to the elementary, and in each school a -certain proportion of scholarships must fall to elementary -pupils. In accordance with the opinion of -many authorities that the transplanting from an -elementary to a secondary school, always a difficult -process, should not take place too late, the admission -age and requirements are put low, and the intermediate -school is supposed to branch off from the -elementary at about the fifth standard. In Wales, -where poverty and dearth of educational opportunities -have induced many persons of middle rank to make -<span class='pageno' id='Page_223'>223</span>use of the free public schools, the difference between -the two sets of pupils is by no means so strongly -marked as it would be in England, but even here -schools have two different characters, according as -one or the other of these elements predominates. In -a district where the population is largely industrial, -the lowest possible tuition fee is chosen, and the -largest possible amount of scholarships given to -elementary pupils. Thus one scheme requires that -not less than ten per cent. and not more than thirty -per cent. of the pupils in each school, shall hold -scholarships, and at least half of the number awarded -shall go to pupils from public elementary schools, -but there is nothing to prevent the whole number -from being so given. In fact, several schools have -more scholarships than candidates for them. According, -therefore, to the interpretation of the clause -adopted, the elementary scholars in a school of a -hundred may vary from five—the minimum, to thirty—the -maximum. In the latter class of school, the -fees are usually low enough to attract paying pupils -from the elementary schools; hence these furnish a -majority of the pupils, and the school becomes a continuation, -often a finishing-school for elementary -pupils, many of whom stay one year, sometimes only -a term or two, to get what prestige they can from -attendance at a school of a higher grade than the -one to which they have been accustomed. Those that -remain for two years or longer usually do well, if their -health is strong enough to bear the severe strain.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The other classification into separate and mixed -schools is apt to coincide with this distinction. Of -the eighty-four schools now in existence, there are -<span class='pageno' id='Page_224'>224</span>twenty for boys and twenty for girls, while the remaining -forty-four are mixed. This wholesale -adoption of a principle popular in the United States, -but regarded hitherto askance by England, in common -with other European countries, is due, as in -Scotland, to the force of necessity. It is not as a -counsel of perfection, but as a means of economy, -that the plan has been adopted in Wales. In a -country intersected by mountains, and inadequately -supplied with means of locomotion, where distances -should, as in Switzerland, be counted by hours and -not by miles, access to places that look near enough -on the map is often exceedingly difficult; and it is -useless to plant a large school-building in a central -district in the hope of drawing in pupils from a -radius of a few miles. The alternative lay between -frequent small day-schools and a liberal sprinkling of -boarding-schools. The former carried the day, on -the ground that they were more equitable to ratepayers, -and more democratic. In almost every -county, the committee adopted the more expensive -and troublesome plan of establishing and maintaining -a large number of small schools, and most of the -difficulties with which Welsh intermediate education -has to contend are due to that decision. In some -places there are schools of forty, or even less, difficult -to finance and to organise. These might work for a -year or two, but as pupils stayed on and began to -range from the Fifth Standard scholar at one end to -the Matriculation student at the other, with all the -varying intermediate grades, failure became inevitable. -One remedy in the case of those small schools -which were not rich enough to provide a liberal staff -<span class='pageno' id='Page_225'>225</span>for small classes, was to arrange from the first to mix -the boys and girls, thus facilitating the grading by -increasing the numbers in each class. In this way -better results could be obtained with small means, at -any rate as far as class lists and examination statistics -were concerned.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Owing to the difficulties of grading, this system -is being gradually introduced in many places where -it was not originally contemplated; but the typical -Welsh school, according to the first plan, was the -dual. This was to consist of two distinct schools, one -for boys and one for girls, built side by side, in such -a way that they might have assembly hall, gymnasium, -laboratory, etc., in common, and by the economy thus -effected in site, buildings, apparatus, etc., it was hoped -that the efficiency of small schools would be maintained. -Unfortunately, the advocates of this system -went a step further, and arranged to complete their -economies by appointing a single head for both -schools, to take the superintendence of both boys and -girls. Obviously this head must be a man. Though -some schemes contain the words ‘headmaster or -head-mistress,’ it is at once explained to feminine -applicants that the words are a mere matter of form. -Indeed, it would be far better to omit them. The -most ardent advocates of women’s equality would -hardly propose to give a mistress full authority over -boys of twelve to seventeen. However excellent -feminine influence may be in a boys’ school, no one -wants to see it supreme there. Though paramount -masculine influence in a girls’ school is anything but -desirable, it seemed the lesser of two evils; and both -custom and convenience pointed to the selection of a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_226'>226</span>master. This initial injustice paved the way for -many others. Though most schools appoint a senior -mistress, who is supposed to have a general control -over the girls, it is out of the managers’ power, when -once they have made the headmaster supreme, to -make her position one of any authority. Like all the -rest, she is appointed by the headmaster; she has -no place in the scheme, nor status in the school, -except what may be given her by courtesy. She has -no voice in choosing her assistants, nor in making the -time-table; her position is often inferior to that of a -second mistress in an English high school. This -kind of dual school was a new experiment, and it -cannot be pronounced a successful one. Where the -two departments were kept distinct, except for an -occasional interchange of teachers, the real difficulties -of classification were not obviated; and one set of -managers after another took the final step, availing -themselves of the permission accorded in most -schemes, to ‘make arrangements for boys and girls -being taught together in all or any of the classes.’ -The forms are then mixed throughout, and assigned -in turn to men and women teachers. Here the senior -mistress loses even her semblance of authority, and -the school is under the supreme and undisturbed -sway of the headmaster. What number of schools -have already taken this final step is nowhere definitely -stated, but, as far as can be ascertained, it appears to -be a majority. It is in fact the logical outcome of -the dual plan, and since the tendency of the change -is to diminish the proportion of girls, we may look -upon these schools as organised for boys, but admitting -girls as well.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_227'>227</span>The whole question of co-education is so exceedingly -difficult that it is unfortunate that Welsh -educationalists should have been compelled to add -it to the number of complex problems with which -they had already to deal. The small schools have -necessitated this among other problems. Its warmest -advocates do not deny that it makes discipline more -difficult: constant supervision becomes necessary; -boys and girls have to be kept apart out of class, -and an attempt, usually doomed to failure, is made -in some schools to control the walk home. The freer -intercourse, the element of trust, and the bright out-of-school -life, which in England have come to be -considered as important a part of a secondary school -as the Mathematics or Latin taught there, have little -chance of development in the mixed school. That -valuable moral impetus given by the direct and -constant intercourse between the master and boys, -mistress and girls, is missing. Thus they lose what -is often the best effect of school life upon our boys -and girls: the schools become places of mere instruction, -not education; they are but elementary -schools with advanced subjects in the curriculum; -rivals, and not always successful ones, of the higher -grade. Of course this is not solely due to the -co-education scheme, but it has tended further to -emphasise the social difference between the two -classes of schools, and also to put women at a disadvantage -in Welsh education, which could hardly -have been contemplated by the original promoters. -Yet now that this arrangement has been fixed by -scheme and made fast by yards of red-tape, it must -remain as it is, until some energetic band of reformers -<span class='pageno' id='Page_228'>228</span>shall arise determined to end it. But that cannot -be as yet.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The second class, the distinct schools for boys -and girls, resemble our English high schools; in fact -Swansea, one of the most successful, was actually -founded by the Girls’ Public Day-School Company, -and taken over by the Intermediate Board. The -money supplied by the county grant makes up for -the diminution of the fees, and the work proceeds -with little change. Cardiff is also organised on the -lines of a high school, with the chief intellectual -work in the morning, considerable attention to games -and physical training, and a liberal allowance of -teachers. In these separate schools the fees range -from about £5 to £9, being slightly lower than those -of the corresponding schools in England. The allowance -of mistresses to pupils is adequate, the elementary -scholars are a small proportion, not enough to -set the whole tone of the school. In the mixed or -dual school the fees are usually low, sometimes even -as little as £2 per annum, scholarships are more -numerous, and the sprinkling of scholars from other -than elementary schools is very small. Both kinds -of schools doubtless have their use, though their aims -are very different.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With all these varieties of organisation and character, -the schools have a unifying influence in the -general control of the Central Board, since all are -subject to its examination and inspection. The -latter is undertaken by the Chief Inspector, who -visits each school in the course of the year, and -reports specially on the following heads—</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_229'>229</span>1. Character, suitability, and capacity of school -premises.</p> - -<p class='c007'>2. School furniture and apparatus.</p> - -<p class='c007'>3. Facilities for recreation and physical training.</p> - -<p class='c007'>4. The relation between the administration of -schools and the schemes under which they are -established.</p> - -<p class='c007'>5. The organisation of classes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>6. The school discipline.</p> - -<p class='c007'>7. Courses of instruction.</p> - -<p class='c007'>If a school prove deficient in any of these respects, -the managers receive a warning from the Board that -future negligence will entail a diminution of the -grant. This is a useful check, and a form of payment -by result which can only do good, for it -counteracts that uneconomical form of economy, -which declines to spend on proper building and -apparatus and salaries. An element of control which -requires more careful exercise is the threat of a -diminished grant, should a school fail to do well -in the annual examination. This, which is conducted -by the Central Board, was in the first place inspectional, -and was meant to give the schools the necessary -outside impulse. In order to carry out the principle -of letting the examination follow the teaching instead -of the teaching the examination, each school was -invited to send up its own syllabus of work done, -but this led to so much needless expense, since -there were as many as fifty-three Latin papers set -in one year, that some kind of uniformity became -indispensable. The present regulations prescribe that -only pupils who have been a full year in a school -<span class='pageno' id='Page_230'>230</span>shall be presented for the written examination, and in -at least five subjects. Forms which do not take -papers are examined orally in one or other of the -subjects studied during the school year. The scheme -bears some resemblance to the school examinations -of the Joint Board, but a new feature is the test -in languages of ‘ability to read fluently, intelligently, -and correctly, passages chosen from prepared and -unprepared texts.’ The papers set are of varying -grades of difficulty, and the schools choose which -they will take. Thus in Latin there were seven -papers set in 1898, of which the fourth is supposed -to be equivalent to the standard of the Welsh Matriculation. -Not many pupils are likely to go beyond -this, since the schools are distinctly preparatory to -the university colleges, which a matriculated pupil -can enter. If this standard should in a few years -be reached by a fair proportion of pupils in each -school, the intermediate system can claim to be -successful, for it will be accomplishing its avowed -purpose, to carry its pupils from the Fifth Standard -to the Constituent College of the University of Wales. -For pupils who aim at the Welsh Matriculation these -annual tests should be sufficient, but experience shows -that there is a tendency to aim at results earlier in -the school career; and the chaos of external examinations, -from which many English schools are not yet -completely emancipated, should be a warning to -Wales to be wise in time, and from the beginning -concentrate efforts on the same lines. This seems -to be best effected by following the example of the -Joint Board, and combining school examinations with -the awarding of certificates. A scheme on these -<span class='pageno' id='Page_231'>231</span>lines is now in course of preparation, and will probably -come into operation in 1899. The subjects of -the general examination are to be arranged in groups: -<em>A.</em> Scripture and English; <em>B.</em> Mathematics; <em>C.</em> Languages; -<em>D.</em> Science; <em>E.</em> Practical subjects. Within -certain limits a choice is allowed from these five -groups. Junior and senior certificates are to be -awarded on papers of different grades of difficulty. -The senior standard is to be carefully approximated -to that of Welsh Matriculation, in the hope that -the University may be willing to accept it as an -equivalent. There should not be much difficulty -about this, since the University Court is represented -on the Central Board, and the Board in its turn -on the Court, so that very close and sympathetic -relations are maintained between the two bodies -that have charge of the educational interests of the -country. The next step would be to win acknowledgment -for it as a substitute for the Medical and -other preliminaries, and a further stage would be -an Honours grade that might replace the higher -certificate of the Joint Board as an admission -examination to English colleges, and a substitute -for the Previous and Responsions. Even this might -in time be attained, and the Welsh Board would -then have fulfilled its mission of making one school -stage lead harmoniously and naturally to the next.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Such is the scheme as it presents itself to the -minds of the promoters, who look far away beyond -the present troubles of small schools, irregular attendance, -and inadequate funds, and see in the distant -future the glorious fabric of their dreams: one -system of schools for both boys and girls, leading them -<span class='pageno' id='Page_232'>232</span>on step by step till they are ready to enter their -own colleges, and thence, if more adventurously -inclined, cross the border and ask the hospitality -of the ancient English universities. The ladder in -its widest acceptation is to be set up in Wales, so -close to the home of every boy and girl that none -may plead inaccessibility as an excuse for the failure -to mount. And this system is to be worked by -popular bodies, touching at one end the local schoolboard, -at the other the university colleges, so that -its foundations may be firm and lasting, ‘broad-based -upon the people’s will.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>Such is the ideal; how far is it reflected by the -reality? Of actual results it is too soon to speak, -since the oldest school is not yet five years old, -and the numbers in them are so small that the -whole eighty-four now in existence, including boys -and girls, have not together as many pupils as the -thirty-four schools of the Girls’ Public Day-School -Company. There were many difficulties to be met. -The ground was new and unbroken, the meaning -of secondary education, except in so far as it was -expressed by a higher grade school, was hardly -understood by the mass of the people. Some schools -won a too hasty popularity, owing to the impression -that they were ‘finishing’ institutions for elementary -scholars, hence the one-year or one-term pupils of -whom so much has been heard. This mistaken -notion will be but slowly dispelled, and it is not -impossible that in a few years’ time, should the -Central Board prove successful in its attempts to -‘level up,’ the number of schools may prove too -large for the demand. Many boys and girls who -<span class='pageno' id='Page_233'>233</span>must begin to prepare for their life work at fourteen -or fifteen would be better off in a higher grade -school than struggling to find their depth in these -new waters. The elimination of these would prove -no serious loss, and it would clear the ground for a -fairer treatment of those pupils, whether from elementary -or other schools, who are really able to -profit by secondary education. The Welsh system -cannot be considered complete while so many of the -well-to-do and educated classes hold aloof, helping, -it is true, with money and sympathy, but sending -their children to be educated across the border. Who -shall blame them for not offering up their own boys -and girls as <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">corpora vilia</span></i>? Yet, until the schools -can offer something to such pupils as well, they must -remain one-sided.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Still, with all its flaws, and they are not a few, -the system has something to teach England. The -love of knowledge, noted even in the days of darkness, -the willingness to make sacrifices, evinced by -gifts of land and money to new schools, the keen -interest in their welfare felt by all grades of the -community, and the absence of that class jealousy -which tends to check the spread of popular education -in England—all these we should do well to -note, and copy if we can. Then we may be prepared -to thank Wales for teaching us both what -to do and what to avoid.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_234'>234</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XII<br /> <span class='large'>1898</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Such is in brief the story of the last half-century, -1848 to 1898. Looking back on what is in the main -a line of progress, there seems now and then a check, -here and there a retrograde movement under the -guise of a new discovery. All this is inevitable, -since we are but human. But taking the period as -a whole, none can doubt that it marks a very real -advance; and this end of a century seems a fitting -time to pause and rest on our oars, while we survey -the breakers through which we have passed; then -once more set forth on our onward path, assured that -there can be nothing worse before us than what is -already behind.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It is not only for girls’ education that the revival -has come. A general awakening has passed over the -country: men and women, boys and girls, rich and -poor, the lady of leisure and the hard-working -mechanic, all have had something brought within -their reach that formerly belonged only to the few. -Three years ago these gains were summarised in -convenient form by the Royal Commission on -Secondary Education, appointed ‘to consider what -are the best methods of establishing a well-organised -system of secondary education in England, taking -<span class='pageno' id='Page_235'>235</span>into account existing deficiencies, and having regard -to such local sources of revenue from endowments or -otherwise as are available, or may be made available, -for this purpose.’ Even now the country is waiting -for legislation on the findings of that Commission. -When we remember that we have really been waiting -ever since 1867, we do not feel over-sanguine of results; -but happily events have since then moved in many -directions, and the Commission, before proceeding to -recommendations for the future, was able to draw up -a long list of reforms that had already come about -and changed the whole face of education in England -in less than thirty years.</p> - -<p class='c007'>First in order of time stands the Endowed Schools -Act, which did so much for boys, and rescued something -from the spoils for the benefit of girls. Next -came the Elementary Education Act, which brought -primary instruction within the reach of every boy -and girl in the land, and set a new machinery in -motion destined to change the whole face of the -country. In 1888 the institution of county councils -provided that local authority which was to make a -system of decentralisation in education possible, while -the Technical Instruction Acts of 1889 and 1891 and -the Local Customs and Taxation Act of 1890 at once -brought these new powers into play, and originated -a fresh set of educational institutions in the Polytechnics -and other similar colleges. Lastly, the -Welsh Intermediate schools, established by the Act -of 1889, were providing an object-lesson in the -organisation of secondary education.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Besides this public work, the Commission had to -take cognisance of the enormous changes in the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_236'>236</span>education of girls, due to the wide diffusion of High -Schools and the admission of women to the Universities. -‘There has probably been more change in the -condition of the secondary education of girls than in -any other department of education,’<a id='r19' /><a href='#f19' class='c011'><sup>[19]</sup></a> say the Commissioners, -and they also note that ‘the idea that a -girl, like a boy, may be fitted by education to earn -a livelihood, or, at any rate, to be a more useful -member of society, has become more widely diffused.’ -Various other changes came under their cognisance: -the gradual rise of Higher Grade schools, evolving -themselves through inherent necessity with no impulse -and little encouragement from without; the -many attempts at what has been called Continuative -education by means of evening classes; the help -afforded to large numbers by University Extension; the -improved status of the teachers; the various colleges -established for their training, and the many educational -societies which have grown into powerful forces -during the last twenty years. After taking due note -of all this, they declare that the time has come to weld -these various organisms into one consistent whole. -They anticipate no easy task. ‘The ground of secondary -education is already almost covered with buildings -so substantial that the loss to be incurred in clearing -it for the erection of a new and symmetrical pile -cannot be contemplated. Yet these existing buildings -are so ill-arranged, so ill-connected, and so -inconvenient, that some scheme of reconstruction -seems unavoidable.’<a id='r20' /><a href='#f20' class='c011'><sup>[20]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c007'>This touches the key of the situation. The reconstruction -<span class='pageno' id='Page_237'>237</span>must at any rate begin with adaptation, then -the gaps may be filled with new and convenient -edifices. However much such a plan offends our -notions of order and logic, we do well to remember -that every one of these structures, jerry-built though -they may be, has grown up out of some real need; -and before we propose to fit all their tenants into neat -little model dwellings, it behoves us to be quite sure -that such a plan would be as satisfactory in the working -as it looks on paper. The mere fact that of the -girls receiving secondary education in England seventy -per cent., and of the boys thirty-eight per cent., are -in private schools, often in towns where there are -grammar and high schools with plenty of empty -places, should make the advocates of ruthless innovation -pause and stay their hand. The public must in -the last resort determine what it wants, and though -demand sometimes follows supply, the opposite process -is a constant one. However much theorists may -inveigh, according to their special prejudices, against -higher grade or ‘private adventure’ or any other -kind of school, the fact of their successful existence, -even in the face of rivals, shows that they do supply -a want; and the only prudent course is to find them a -place in our system.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This has been fully recognised by the Commissioners, -who wisely suggest proceeding on lines -similar to those on which elementary education -was at first organised. The local authority proposed -in 1867 can now be easily constituted, since -we have the county councils to supply a nucleus -to which educational experts can be added, as is -already done on some technical instruction committees -<span class='pageno' id='Page_238'>238</span>and in the Welsh county governing bodies. -The local authority would proceed ‘to inquire how far -the schools within its area provide secondary instruction -adequate in quantity and quality to the needs of -each part of that area.’ In doing this, regard is to be -had to proprietary and private as well as endowed -and other public schools, and the report adds the -following significant comment: ‘We are far from -desiring to see secondary education pass wholly -under public control, and into the hands of those -who are practically public servants, as elementary -education has done, and we believe that where proprietary -or private schools are found to be doing -good work, it would be foolish as well as unfair to -try to drive them out of the field.’<a id='r21' /><a href='#f21' class='c011'><sup>[21]</sup></a> Where the -supply of secondary education is deficient in any -part of the area, the local authority should have -power to establish new schools.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The functions of these authorities are therefore to -fall under four heads—</p> - -<p class='c007'>1. The securing a due provision of secondary -instruction.</p> - -<p class='c007'>2. The remodelling, where necessary, and supervision -of the working of endowed (other than non-local) -schools and other educational endowments.</p> - -<p class='c007'>3. A watchful survey of the field of secondary -education, with the object of bringing proprietary -and private schools into the general educational -system, and of endeavouring to encourage and -facilitate, so far as this can be done by stimulus, by -persuasion, and by the offer of privileges and advice, -any improvements they may be inclined to introduce.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_239'>239</span>4. The administration of such sums, either arising -from rates levied within the area, or paid over from -the National Exchequer, as may be at its disposal for -the promotion of education.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In this way these local authorities would receive -large powers of supervision, but comparatively little -coercive control, since ‘it is not so much by superseding -as by aiding and focussing voluntary effort -that real progress may be made.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>The general guidance and direction of secondary -education should be committed to a central authority, -to include the various departments of Government -now concerned with it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Further recommendations are: the consolidation -of existing sources of revenue into one fund; and -a generous scheme of scholarships for the poor, in -preference to a general lowering of school fees.</p> - -<p class='c007'>These main recommendations, as well as other -subordinate ones, seem wise and moderate, fair to -all classes, and consistent with their professed aim, -‘to draw the outlines of a system which shall combine -the maximum of simplicity with the minimum -disturbance of existing arrangements.’ A bill drawn -up on these lines would probably meet with very -general acceptation from all classes, except those -persons, probably few, who are ready to subordinate -the general good to their own private fads. Unfortunately -Parliament has hitherto proved unwilling to -give time for such a bill. The ill-fated Education -Bill of 1896 dealt with secondary education as a sort -of accessory to primary; and as, unlike the latter, -it has not yet become a subject for party divisions -and acrimonious controversy, it is not at present -<span class='pageno' id='Page_240'>240</span>sufficiently interesting to the general run of politicians -to call forth any special exertions on their part. The -private bill brought in last session by Colonel Lockwood -expressed the wishes of a large section of the -teaching profession. It proposed to form one central -educational authority under the Committee of the -Privy Council on Education, by consolidating powers -relating to secondary education possessed by the -Charity Commissioners, the Science and Art Department, -and the present Education Department, and -to establish local secondary education authorities, -to consist partly of members of the county council -and partly of other persons with special educational -experience. It also proposes registers of efficient -schools and of persons qualified to teach in them. -The ministerial bill introduced by the Duke of -Devonshire into the House of Lords at the fag-end -of the session merely proposed to bring together in -one office the two departments of Science and Art -and Education, under the control of one permanent -secretary, and to create a Board of Education on the -model of the Board of Trade. To this new department -the supervision of endowed schools, under -schemes framed by the Charity Commissioners, was -to be transferred. The thorny questions of constitution -of local authorities, raising of rates, etc., were -left untouched. It was not proposed to carry the -measure, merely to show the country before the -vacation the lines on which the Ministry were inclined -to proceed. Thorny as are many of the points -under discussion, such as central and local authority, -amalgamation of existing departments, etc., they are -as nothing to the real difficulties that must follow -<span class='pageno' id='Page_241'>241</span>when these matters of administrative machinery are -settled. The inspection and grading of schools, the -due consideration that must be shown to secondary -education proper and to that part commonly known -as technical, the proper respect for existing schools -that are good and the ruthless elimination of -such as are bad—in these lies the true crux of the -situation, and under all circumstances some part -of this work will probably fall to the local authorities. -An enormous amount of responsibility must -devolve on those who first take up the arduous -task.</p> - -<p class='c007'>One burning question, which ought to be settled -for the whole country alike, is the relation between -the grammar and high schools on the one hand, and the -elementary schools on the other. Are we to have -one upper department for both, or two? Some time -ago the consensus of opinion seemed to be in favour -of one; that was on the assumption that the proportion -of children passing beyond the standards -would be a small one. Some such idea seems to -have been in the mind of the Duke of Devonshire -when he spoke of ‘a sound system of secondary -schools which will be open alike to the most -promising children of the elementary schools and -to the middle classes generally.’ But this view rests -on the assumption that the primary departments of -both sets of schools are very similar in their curriculum -and methods. This is very far from being the case. -‘The elementary schools are not, under the present -conditions in England, the common basis of secondary -education, nor, though an increasing number of pupils -proceed from them to secondary schools, are the public -<span class='pageno' id='Page_242'>242</span>elementary schools the sole, nor, indeed, the chief -channels through which pupils proceed in this country -to day or boarding-schools of the secondary grades.’<a id='r22' /><a href='#f22' class='c011'><sup>[22]</sup></a> -The changes that would be necessary in the elementary -schools would be so numerous and far-reaching, and -the expense so enormous before they would be able -to attract the great mass of the middle classes, that -no one could seriously propose to abolish the primary -departments in secondary schools, as long as parents -are able and willing to pay the school fees. They -are a necessity, and would have to be supplied by -private adventure, as is done at Cardiff and other -large Welsh towns, if a public system declined to -acknowledge them. In the interest of what we -might call the ‘secondary party,’ the primary department -of the secondary school must be maintained. -On the other hand, the teachers in Government schools -seem equally unanimous in the view that their own -special continuation schools are better suited to the -mass of elementary pupils than the grammar or -high school. Neither party seems anxious for the -fusion, and so long as a liberal scheme of scholarships -is maintained, it is possible to do full justice to those -elementary scholars who can look forward to a school -life sufficiently long to enable them to reach the -highest classes of their new school. To allow pupils -to enter upon an extensive and liberal curriculum, -who are likely to be removed before its real meaning -and unity has dawned upon them, is a thing we should -never even contemplate, were our notions of curricula -<span class='pageno' id='Page_243'>243</span>and grades of schools a little less hazy than they are -at present in England. The board school child, -who is sent at the age of thirteen by her proud -parents to have a year’s finishing at a high school, -is typical of the present confusion. There is really -no more urgent problem before us than a scientific -differentiation of schools.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Still, whatever course legislation may take on this -and other problems, whether funds are raised by -fresh rate or merely by adding together existing -sources of income, no matter what are the constitution -and functions of the local authority, this, -at least, we may rely on—the interests of girls will -not be forgotten. For that we have to thank that -little band of men and women who have laboured -during this last half century in the face of prejudice, -opposition, and indifference to remove the neglect -with which England treated one half of her children. -This much, at least, is established: no future -educational legislation will omit to provide for -women and girls. For this we have a pledge in -the appointment of women on this last Commission, -in their mention in every scheme for a new educational -institution that now passes through Parliament, -and their recognition on every new elective body -constituted.</p> - -<p class='c007'>We have gained, gained immensely. Still, we -cannot blind our eyes to some evils the good has -brought with it. The very acknowledgment of the -right of girls to as good an education as their brothers -has in some cases, happily rare, led, under the pretence -of equality, to a subordination of the girls’ interests. -Thus, some of the recent attempts to establish joint -<span class='pageno' id='Page_244'>244</span>schools for both sexes, whether on the grounds of -economy or the fanciful plea of imitating the family -life in a large school of over a hundred children, does -indirectly involve a fresh injustice. What the reformers -asked for was a share in educational funds -for girls and a better education for the teachers, that -they might be qualified to undertake the very highest -teaching in girls’ schools. The attempts recently -made in some schools aided by public money to -economise by teaching boys and girls together, -abolishing the head-mistress and putting a headmaster -over boys and girls alike, while arranging -the curriculum and time-table to meet the needs -of the boys and letting the girls do the best they -can with it, is only a revival, under a new guise, -of the old idea, that girls are not entitled to the same -consideration as boys. Our modern reformers will -not find their occupation gone while they have this -old prejudice to combat. It is unjust to the teachers -as well as to the taught. Hitherto it has been almost -universally acknowledged that teaching was an occupation -for which women were by nature specially -suited. Is it really proposed to oust them from all -but the lowest ranks, and reserve the prizes, the -chief inducement to work, for men only? This is -what must happen, should there be any wide spread -of the mixed schools. With the disappearance of -the head-mistress we should lose much of that moral -training which has hitherto been regarded in England -as no less important than the intellectual and -physical. We have hitherto prided ourselves on -being in advance of Germany in employing women -to teach the highest classes in our girls’ schools. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_245'>245</span>Germany is now beginning to follow suit, and by -means of special courses at some of the universities -and at the Victoria-Lyceum, Berlin, some of the best -mistresses are being trained to take these posts. -Surely we in England do not intend, without a struggle, -to take the retrograde path!</p> - -<p class='c007'>There seems to be another danger imminent, due, -perhaps, to the great speed with which events have -moved. At any rate, we have landed ourselves in a -dilemma. The educational movement has been -parallel with many social changes. The fluctuations -of business, the lowering of interest, and other complex -causes which make saving difficult to men engaged -in business or professions, have added greatly to the -number of women who must now earn their living. -Thirty years ago it was the custom to wait till the -father’s death closed the parental home, when the -daughters, untrained to work, unaccustomed to privation, -were sent out into the world, to seek their bread -as best they could. So general was this practice even -among the more enlightened, that the committee who -helped to found Queen’s College expressed their -belief and hope that ‘the ranks of that profession -(<i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">i.e.</span></i> of a governess) will still be supplied from those -whose minds and tempers have been disciplined in -the school of adversity, and who are thus best able -to form the minds and tempers of others.’ We are -no longer such stern believers in adversity; we now -realise that training and earning cannot begin simultaneously, -and, further, we have learnt that neither -for Adam nor for Eve should work be accounted a -curse. All this has led to a great revolution in -thought. Work has been made honourable in the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_246'>246</span>eyes of girls. Already at school they are encouraged -to choose a profession and to take the steps that lead -to it much as their brothers do. If they marry, the -years of regular disciplined work prove a helpful -training for their new duties; if they remain single, -they keep a purpose and an aim in life. This existence -of regular duty, of appointed periods of work -and holiday, is the easier life; and now that remunerative -employment has come to be regarded as -a privilege and not a stigma, the ranks of women -workers are fast being overfilled. We have heard -much talk of late about <em>new</em> careers for women; -but the very abundance of the talk serves to betray -the poverty of the land. Of new careers there are -few. In some cases it only means that the work -is transferred from a man to a woman at a lower -wage. This is no economic gain to either sex. The -field should be open to both alike, but for equal -payment. There are also a considerable number -of occupations which, if not performed by women, -would remain undone, or be done less well. Such -are nursing, certain branches of medical work and -of factory and sanitary inspection, some kinds of -journalism, the teaching of almost all girls and of -little boys, to say nothing of the wide field of manual -and domestic occupations which fall specially to the -woman’s share. Large fields of philanthropic and -social work are their own special domain, but these -are usually unpaid. There is plenty in truth for -women to do, but not enough remunerative work -‘to go round,’ as the saying is. Happily, the working -life of many women is short, since marriage or the -claims of relations often bring it to a premature -<span class='pageno' id='Page_247'>247</span>close, so that the terrible over-supply has not yet -made itself too keenly felt. As yet the sufferers -have been chiefly those of the old school who entered -the arena unarmed for the fray, and have retired to -swell the ranks of the ‘necessitous gentlewoman.’ -But signs are not wanting that even the trained and -the capable will soon have to suffer. Worst of all is -the pressure in the teaching profession. The delight -of the enthusiast and the child-lover, it is also, unfortunately, -the refuge of the destitute and the one -resource of the unimaginative. The girl who has -diligently and successfully pursued her own studies -without ever learning to take an initiative or to turn -out of an appointed groove can contemplate no other -way of spending her life than in passing on to others -the knowledge she has herself acquired. If hers is a -rich home, salary is no particular object. So she -ruthlessly spoils the market for her poorer sisters, -and takes the bread from another woman whose very -existence depends on her earnings. Meantime the -work in the home, among acquaintances, the poor, -the friendless, the native town, those endless and -varied fields of woman’s labour, remains undone. In -preaching to our girls the nobility of work, some of -us have forgotten to speak of its very highest branches. -All honour to those noble women like Miss Clough -who never did forget it!</p> - -<p class='c007'>This rush of all women in the same direction, this -excessive individualism which has given rise to the -cant phrase, ‘living one’s own life,’ is surely a stage -through which we have to pass, but which need not -remain permanently with us. Much may be done by -mistresses at school to revive the dignity of home -<span class='pageno' id='Page_248'>248</span>life, to check the untrue notion in the girls’ mind -that no work is worthy of the name unless it is paid -for in coin of the realm. Unpaid service is the pride -of Englishmen; why should it not be honoured by -Englishwomen? Still, for most service money is the -fitting reward, and some measure of independence -belongs by right to every adult, whether man or -woman. Why do not more parents try to make life at -home a worthy substitute for a professional career? -Why not pay the daughter a fair salary for services -rendered, that shall make her as independent in the -matter of pocket-money and holidays as her college -friend who is teaching or writing? Just as important -is a certain liberty of action and a little room, no -matter how small, where she can see her friends -undisturbed and have things her own way. Those -persons who are rich enough to leave their daughter -a fair income at their death can surely afford to allow -her these little indulgences in their lifetime. If she -is some day to be thrown on the world penniless or -with a mere pittance, then the sooner she sets to -work the better. Whenever it is possible, parents -should make up their minds, before a girl leaves -school, what sum of money can be laid aside for -her, either for immediate professional training or -with a view to an income in the future. It is -reasonable and right that a girl, like a boy, should -choose her profession, provided the occupations of -home are included among those that are paid and -respected. If the growing independence of girls -helps to bring about this change, the family too -will benefit by this quiet revolution that has -taken place in our midst. The <em>Sturm und Drang</em> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_249'>249</span>period will pass away, and the time for the quiet -harvest must succeed it. Enough, then, has been -said by the devil’s advocate; it only remains to -enter into the fruits of our Nineteenth Century -Renaissance.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_251'>251</span> - <h2 class='c005'>INDEX</h2> -</div> - -<ul class='index c003'> - <li class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_253'>253</span>Aberystwyth College, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Addison’s Essays, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Aldeburgh Girls’ School, <a href='#Page_160'>160</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Allen, James, Girls’ School, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a>, <a href='#Page_191'>191</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Aske’s School, Hatcham, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Astell, Mary, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>.</li> - <li class='c003'>Bangor College, <a href='#Page_141'>141</a>, <a href='#Page_145'>145</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Beale, Miss, at Queen’s College, <a href='#Page_30'>30</a>; - <ul> - <li>at Cheltenham, <a href='#Page_30'>30</a>;</li> - <li>gives evidence before Schools’ Inquiry Commission, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a>, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a>;</li> - <li>an educational pioneer, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a>;</li> - <li>her abstract of the Royal Commission’s Report, <a href='#Page_48'>48</a>;</li> - <li>her views on private teaching, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a>;</li> - <li>founds St. Hilda’s, Oxford, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c012'>Bedford College, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a>, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a>, <a href='#Page_29'>29</a>, <a href='#Page_121'>121</a>, <a href='#Page_128'>128</a>, <a href='#Page_129'>129</a>, <a href='#Page_130'>130</a>, <a href='#Page_131'>131</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— endowment, <a href='#Page_81'>81</a>, <a href='#Page_90'>90</a>, <a href='#Page_92'>92</a>, <a href='#Page_93'>93</a>, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— High School, <a href='#Page_93'>93</a>, <a href='#Page_94'>94</a>, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a>, <a href='#Page_135'>135</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— Modern School, <a href='#Page_93'>93</a>, <a href='#Page_94'>94</a>, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Birmingham endowments, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>, <a href='#Page_90'>90</a>, <a href='#Page_91'>91</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Blue-stocking Club, <a href='#Page_11'>11</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Board of Education Bill, <a href='#Page_240'>240</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Boarding-houses, <a href='#Page_152'>152</a>, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a>, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Boarding-schools, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a>, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a>, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a>, <a href='#Page_162'>162</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Bodichon, Madame, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>, <a href='#Page_40'>40</a>, <a href='#Page_84'>84</a>, <a href='#Page_107'>107</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Bostock, Miss, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a>, <a href='#Page_84'>84</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Bryce, Mr., <a href='#Page_47'>47</a>, <a href='#Page_84'>84</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Buss, Miss, at Queen’s College, <a href='#Page_30'>30</a>; - <ul> - <li>gives evidence before Schools’ Inquiry Commission, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a>, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a>;</li> - <li><span class='pageno' id='Page_254'>254</span>an educational pioneer, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a>;</li> - <li>President of Schoolmistresses’ Association, <a href='#Page_48'>48</a>;</li> - <li>transforms the North London Collegiate into a public school, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a>;</li> - <li>procures endowment for it, <a href='#Page_86'>86</a>, <a href='#Page_87'>87</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c012'>Buss, Frances Mary, Schools, <a href='#Page_87'>87</a>, <a href='#Page_88'>88</a>.</li> - <li class='c003'>Cambridge Examinations, Junior and Senior, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a>, <a href='#Page_34'>34</a>, <a href='#Page_40'>40</a>, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a>, <a href='#Page_51'>51</a>, <a href='#Page_109'>109</a>, <a href='#Page_167'>167</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— —— Higher Local, <a href='#Page_34'>34</a>, <a href='#Page_51'>51</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— position of women at, <a href='#Page_113'>113</a>, <a href='#Page_114'>114</a>, <a href='#Page_126'>126</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— Triposes opened to women, <a href='#Page_110'>110</a>, <a href='#Page_111'>111</a>, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Camden School, <a href='#Page_87'>87</a>, <a href='#Page_191'>191</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Cardiff College, <a href='#Page_141'>141</a>, <a href='#Page_145'>145</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Careers open to women, <a href='#Page_162'>162</a>, <a href='#Page_163'>163</a>, <a href='#Page_246'>246</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Chapone, Mrs., <a href='#Page_11'>11</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Charitable Trusts Acts, <a href='#Page_83'>83</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Charity Commission, <a href='#Page_83'>83</a>, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a>, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>, <a href='#Page_174'>174</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Cheltenham Ladies’ College, <a href='#Page_30'>30</a>, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a>, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a>, <a href='#Page_34'>34</a>, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>, <a href='#Page_37'>37</a>, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a>, <a href='#Page_94'>94</a>, <a href='#Page_135'>135</a>, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Christ’s Hospital Girls’ School, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>, <a href='#Page_97'>97</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Church Schools’ Company, <a href='#Page_58'>58</a>, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>City of London Girls’ School, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Clergy Daughters’ Schools, <a href='#Page_17'>17</a>, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Clough, Miss, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a>, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a>, <a href='#Page_81'>81</a>, <a href='#Page_109'>109</a>, <a href='#Page_116'>116</a>, <a href='#Page_247'>247</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_255'>255</span>Cobbe, Miss, her reminiscences of school, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_16'>16</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Co-education at University of Wales, <a href='#Page_176'>176</a>; - <ul> - <li>at Polytechnics, <a href='#Page_177'>177</a>;</li> - <li>in Organised Science Schools, <a href='#Page_187'>187</a>;</li> - <li>in Higher Grade Schools, <a href='#Page_206'>206</a>;</li> - <li>in Welsh Intermediate Schools, <a href='#Page_224'>224</a>, <a href='#Page_227'>227</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c012'>College Hall, London, <a href='#Page_134'>134</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>County Councils, educational work of, <a href='#Page_172'>172</a>, <a href='#Page_177'>177</a>, <a href='#Page_237'>237</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Curriculum of Girls’ Schools, <a href='#Page_67'>67</a>, <a href='#Page_71'>71</a>, <a href='#Page_72'>72</a>, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a>, <a href='#Page_162'>162</a>.</li> - <li class='c003'>Davies, Miss Emily, an educational pioneer, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a>; - <ul> - <li>Secretary to Local Examination Committee, <a href='#Page_40'>40</a>;</li> - <li>gives evidence before Schools’ Inquiry Commission, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>;</li> - <li>works to obtain endowments for girls, <a href='#Page_84'>84</a>;</li> - <li>foundress of Girton, <a href='#Page_104'>104</a>;</li> - <li>Mistress of Girton, <a href='#Page_108'>108</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c012'>Day Schools, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a>, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— —— at Polytechnics, <a href='#Page_184'>184</a>, <a href='#Page_185'>185</a>, <a href='#Page_186'>186</a>, <a href='#Page_187'>187</a>, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Defoe on Women’s Education, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Degrees for Women, attempts to obtain, at Cambridge, <a href='#Page_110'>110</a>, <a href='#Page_113'>113</a>; - <ul> - <li>at Oxford, <a href='#Page_120'>120</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c012'>Domestic Economy Schools, <a href='#Page_178'>178</a>, <a href='#Page_179'>179</a>, <a href='#Page_180'>180</a>, <a href='#Page_181'>181</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— —— evening classes, <a href='#Page_181'>181</a>, <a href='#Page_182'>182</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Dual Schools. <em>See</em> Wales.</li> - <li class='c003'>Edgeworth, Maria, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a>, <a href='#Page_14'>14</a>, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Education Bill of 1896, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a>; - <ul> - <li>Colonel Lockwood’s, <a href='#Page_240'>240</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c012'>—— Company, <a href='#Page_157'>157</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— Department, <a href='#Page_196'>196</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Elementary Education Act, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a>, <a href='#Page_225'>225</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Elizabeth. <em>See</em> Queen Elizabeth.</li> - <li class='c012'>Elizabethan England, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Endowed Schools before the Conquest, <a href='#Page_78'>78</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_256'>256</span>Endowed Schools for girls, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a>, <a href='#Page_91'>91</a>, <a href='#Page_97'>97</a>, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a>; - <ul> - <li>three grades of, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c012'>—— —— assisted by grants of Technical Education money, <a href='#Page_191'>191</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Endowments, of Convents, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a>; - <ul> - <li>Association to promote their application to the Education of Women, <a href='#Page_84'>84</a>;</li> - <li>their distribution, <a href='#Page_98'>98</a>;</li> - <li>share of girls in, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>, <a href='#Page_84'>84</a>, <a href='#Page_91'>91</a>, <a href='#Page_97'>97</a>, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c012'>Euphues, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Evening Continuation Schools, <a href='#Page_211'>211</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— —— —— Code, <a href='#Page_212'>212</a>, <a href='#Page_213'>213</a>, <a href='#Page_214'>214</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Ex-standard classes, <a href='#Page_199'>199</a>.</li> - <li class='c003'>Fitch, Mr., <a href='#Page_44'>44</a>, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a>, <a href='#Page_84'>84</a>.</li> - <li class='c003'>Games for girls, <a href='#Page_152'>152</a>, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a>, <a href='#Page_155'>155</a>, <a href='#Page_156'>156</a>, <a href='#Page_164'>164</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Girls’ Public Day School Company, <a href='#Page_56'>56</a>, <a href='#Page_57'>57</a>, <a href='#Page_66'>66</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Girton College, <a href='#Page_106'>106</a>, <a href='#Page_107'>107</a>, <a href='#Page_108'>108</a>, <a href='#Page_110'>110</a>, <a href='#Page_114'>114</a>, <a href='#Page_115'>115</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Governesses’ Benevolent Institution, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Grammar Schools, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Grey, Mrs. William, <a href='#Page_54'>54</a>, <a href='#Page_56'>56</a>.</li> - <li class='c003'>High Schools, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a>; - <ul> - <li>difference between English and American, <a href='#Page_60'>60</a>;</li> - <li>general features of, <a href='#Page_61'>61</a>;</li> - <li>organisation, <a href='#Page_62'>62</a>;</li> - <li>buildings, <a href='#Page_63'>63</a>;</li> - <li>curriculum, <a href='#Page_72'>72</a>;</li> - <li>methods of teaching in, <a href='#Page_73'>73</a>;</li> - <li>results on the pupils, <a href='#Page_73'>73</a>, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a>, <a href='#Page_77'>77</a>;</li> - <li>training of the teachers, <a href='#Page_73'>73</a>;</li> - <li>after careers of the girls, <a href='#Page_77'>77</a>;</li> - <li>hours of work in, <a href='#Page_152'>152</a>;</li> - <li>their relation to elementary schools, <a href='#Page_241'>241</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c012'>Higher Grade Schools, <a href='#Page_199'>199</a>, <a href='#Page_200'>200</a>, <a href='#Page_201'>201</a>, <a href='#Page_203'>203</a>; - <ul> - <li>at Leeds, <a href='#Page_204'>204</a>, <a href='#Page_205'>205</a>;</li> - <li>at Cardiff, <a href='#Page_206'>206</a>;</li> - <li>needs of girls at, <a href='#Page_207'>207</a>, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c012'>Hilda, abbess of Whitby, <a href='#Page_3'>3</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Hitchin Ladies’ College, <a href='#Page_105'>105</a>, <a href='#Page_106'>106</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Holloway College, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>, <a href='#Page_121'>121</a>, <a href='#Page_131'>131</a>, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a>, <a href='#Page_133'>133</a>.</li> - <li class='c003'><span class='pageno' id='Page_257'>257</span>Intermediate Schools. <em>See</em> Welsh Intermediate Schools.</li> - <li class='c003'>King Edward’s Schools. <em>See</em> Birmingham endowments.</li> - <li class='c012'>King’s College, Ladies’ Department, <a href='#Page_135'>135</a>.</li> - <li class='c003'>Lady Margaret Hall, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a>, <a href='#Page_120'>120</a>, <a href='#Page_121'>121</a>, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Lecture-system, <a href='#Page_25'>25</a>, <a href='#Page_72'>72</a>, <a href='#Page_73'>73</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Local Customs and Taxation Act, <a href='#Page_169'>169</a>, <a href='#Page_217'>217</a>, <a href='#Page_235'>235</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Lockwood, Colonel. <em>See</em> Education Bill.</li> - <li class='c003'>Makins, Mrs., <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Manchester High School, <a href='#Page_89'>89</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Manual training, <a href='#Page_74'>74</a>, <a href='#Page_158'>158</a>, <a href='#Page_171'>171</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Mary Datchelor School, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Maurice, F. D., <a href='#Page_22'>22</a>, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Modern Schools for girls, <a href='#Page_189'>189</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Montagu, Mrs., <a href='#Page_11'>11</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley, <a href='#Page_11'>11</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>More, Hannah, <a href='#Page_11'>11</a>, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a>, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a>, <a href='#Page_163'>163</a>.</li> - <li class='c003'>National Union for the improvement of Women’s Education, <a href='#Page_54'>54</a>, <a href='#Page_55'>55</a>, <a href='#Page_56'>56</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Newnham College, <a href='#Page_108'>108</a>, <a href='#Page_109'>109</a>, <a href='#Page_110'>110</a>, <a href='#Page_114'>114</a>, <a href='#Page_115'>115</a>, <a href='#Page_116'>116</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Norman Conquest, effect on Education, <a href='#Page_3'>3</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>North London Collegiate School, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a>, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a>, <a href='#Page_64'>64</a>, <a href='#Page_68'>68</a>, <a href='#Page_87'>87</a>, <a href='#Page_135'>135</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>North of England Council, <a href='#Page_48'>48</a>, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a>, <a href='#Page_50'>50</a>, <a href='#Page_108'>108</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Nunneries, education given in, <a href='#Page_3'>3</a>, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a>.</li> - <li class='c003'>Organised Science Schools, <a href='#Page_187'>187</a>, <a href='#Page_201'>201</a>, <a href='#Page_202'>202</a>, <a href='#Page_204'>204</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Owens College, Manchester, <a href='#Page_136'>136</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Oxford Association for the Education of Women, <a href='#Page_116'>116</a>, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a>, <a href='#Page_118'>118</a>, <a href='#Page_119'>119</a>, <a href='#Page_120'>120</a>, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Oxford Halls for Women, <a href='#Page_116'>116</a>, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_258'>258</span>Oxford Home Students, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a>, <a href='#Page_124'>124</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— Local Examinations, <a href='#Page_40'>40</a>, <a href='#Page_50'>50</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— Position of Women at, <a href='#Page_118'>118</a>, <a href='#Page_119'>119</a>, <a href='#Page_120'>120</a>, <a href='#Page_124'>124</a>, <a href='#Page_126'>126</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— University Examinations, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— and Cambridge Joint Board, <a href='#Page_51'>51</a>, <a href='#Page_68'>68</a>, <a href='#Page_69'>69</a>; - <ul> - <li>Higher Certificate of, <a href='#Page_69'>69</a>, <a href='#Page_70'>70</a>, <a href='#Page_116'>116</a>;</li> - <li>Lower Certificate, <a href='#Page_70'>70</a>, <a href='#Page_71'>71</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c003'>People’s Palace, <a href='#Page_174'>174</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Pfeiffer Charity, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Physical training, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a>, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a>, <a href='#Page_158'>158</a>, <a href='#Page_159'>159</a>, <a href='#Page_160'>160</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Polytechnics, <a href='#Page_176'>176</a>, <a href='#Page_183'>183</a>, <a href='#Page_184'>184</a>, <a href='#Page_194'>194</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— Battersea, <a href='#Page_178'>178</a>, <a href='#Page_182'>182</a>; - <ul> - <li>Borough, <a href='#Page_178'>178</a>;</li> - <li>Regent Street, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a>, <a href='#Page_175'>175</a>, <a href='#Page_177'>177</a>, <a href='#Page_178'>178</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c012'>Private Schools, <a href='#Page_163'>163</a>, <a href='#Page_164'>164</a>, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a>, <a href='#Page_167'>167</a>, <a href='#Page_168'>168</a>, <a href='#Page_242'>242</a>.</li> - <li class='c003'>Queen Anne, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— Elizabeth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— Victoria, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a>, <a href='#Page_19'>19</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Queen’s College, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a>, <a href='#Page_22'>22</a>, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a>, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a>, <a href='#Page_25'>25</a>, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a>, <a href='#Page_245'>245</a>.</li> - <li class='c003'>Reading School, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Reformation, its effect on Women, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a>, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Reid, Mrs., <a href='#Page_27'>27</a>, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Renaissance, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Revised Code, <a href='#Page_197'>197</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Revival of Girls’ Education, <a href='#Page_1'>1</a>, <a href='#Page_19'>19</a>, <a href='#Page_248'>248</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Roedean School, <a href='#Page_197'>197</a>.</li> - <li class='c003'>Scholarships at Cambridge, <a href='#Page_116'>116</a>; - <ul> - <li>at Oxford, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c012'>—— of Technical Education Boards, <a href='#Page_178'>178</a>, <a href='#Page_191'>191</a>, <a href='#Page_192'>192</a>, <a href='#Page_193'>193</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— in Welsh Schools, <a href='#Page_223'>223</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>School Boards, <a href='#Page_197'>197</a>, <a href='#Page_198'>198</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Schoolmistresses’ Associations, <a href='#Page_48'>48</a>, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_259'>259</span>Schools’ Inquiry Commission, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_43'>43</a>, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a>, <a href='#Page_47'>47</a>, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a>, <a href='#Page_82'>82</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Secondary Education Commission, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>, <a href='#Page_198'>198</a>, <a href='#Page_209'>209</a>, <a href='#Page_226'>226</a>, <a href='#Page_234'>234</a>, <a href='#Page_235'>235</a>, <a href='#Page_237'>237</a>, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Sidgwick, Henry, <a href='#Page_108'>108</a>, <a href='#Page_109'>109</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— Mrs., <a href='#Page_109'>109</a>, <a href='#Page_116'>116</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Sinclair, Catherine, <a href='#Page_16'>16</a>, <a href='#Page_17'>17</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Skinners’ School at Stamford Hill, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a>, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Social Science Congress, at Glasgow, <a href='#Page_40'>40</a>, <a href='#Page_84'>84</a>; - <ul> - <li>at Leeds, <a href='#Page_54'>54</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c012'>Somerville College, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a>, <a href='#Page_120'>120</a>, <a href='#Page_121'>121</a>, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>South Kensington Department of Science and Art, <a href='#Page_200'>200</a>, <a href='#Page_201'>201</a>, <a href='#Page_202'>202</a>, <a href='#Page_203'>203</a>, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a>, <a href='#Page_209'>209</a>, <a href='#Page_210'>210</a>, <a href='#Page_213'>213</a>, <a href='#Page_214'>214</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>St. Hilda’s, Cheltenham, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— Oxford, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a>, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a>, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>St. Hugh’s Hall, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a>, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a>, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>St. Leonard’s School, St. Andrews, <a href='#Page_94'>94</a>, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a>, <a href='#Page_154'>154</a>, <a href='#Page_155'>155</a>, <a href='#Page_156'>156</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>St. Paul’s School, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>State the, its relation to Education, <a href='#Page_195'>195</a>, <a href='#Page_196'>196</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Stuart Court, its influence, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>.</li> - <li class='c003'>Technical Education Acts, <a href='#Page_170'>170</a>, <a href='#Page_171'>171</a>, <a href='#Page_235'>235</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— —— Boards, <a href='#Page_190'>190</a>, <a href='#Page_237'>237</a>; - <ul> - <li>Cheshire, <a href='#Page_190'>190</a>;</li> - <li>London, <a href='#Page_129'>129</a>, <a href='#Page_175'>175</a>, <a href='#Page_176'>176</a>, <a href='#Page_178'>178</a>, <a href='#Page_192'>192</a>, <a href='#Page_193'>193</a>;</li> - <li>Surrey, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c003'>Universities, rise of, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a>; - <ul> - <li>admission of Women to, <a href='#Page_103'>103</a>, <a href='#Page_148'>148</a>;</li> - <li>at London, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a>;</li> - <li>Victoria, <a href='#Page_136'>136</a>;</li> - <li>Durham, <a href='#Page_139'>139</a>;</li> - <li>Wales, <a href='#Page_139'>139</a>;</li> - <li>Scotland 147;</li> - <li>Ireland, <a href='#Page_147'>147</a>;</li> - <li>foreign countries, <a href='#Page_147'>147</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c012'>University College, Liverpool, <a href='#Page_136'>136</a>, <a href='#Page_137'>137</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_260'>260</span>University College, London, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a>, <a href='#Page_134'>134</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— Colleges, provincial, <a href='#Page_135'>135</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— —— of Wales, <a href='#Page_140'>140</a>, <a href='#Page_141'>141</a>, <a href='#Page_143'>143</a>, <a href='#Page_144'>144</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— Extension, beginnings of, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a>, <a href='#Page_50'>50</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— for Women, <a href='#Page_106'>106</a>, <a href='#Page_133'>133</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— of London, examinations for Women, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>; - <ul> - <li>degrees, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>, <a href='#Page_126'>126</a>, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a>, <a href='#Page_128'>128</a>, <a href='#Page_129'>129</a>, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a>;</li> - <li>reorganisation, <a href='#Page_135'>135</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c003'>Victoria. <em>See</em> Queen Victoria.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— University, <a href='#Page_136'>136</a>.</li> - <li class='c003'>Wales, University of, <a href='#Page_139'>139</a>, <a href='#Page_140'>140</a>, <a href='#Page_141'>141</a>, <a href='#Page_142'>142</a>, <a href='#Page_143'>143</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Welsh Intermediate Education Act, <a href='#Page_170'>170</a>, <a href='#Page_217'>217</a>, <a href='#Page_235'>235</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— —— Schools, two kinds of, <a href='#Page_223'>223</a>; - <ul> - <li>dual, <a href='#Page_225'>225</a>, <a href='#Page_226'>226</a>, <a href='#Page_227'>227</a>;</li> - <li>curriculum of, <a href='#Page_220'>220</a>, <a href='#Page_221'>221</a>;</li> - <li>compared with High Schools, <a href='#Page_221'>221</a>, <a href='#Page_222'>222</a>;</li> - <li>fees, <a href='#Page_228'>228</a>;</li> - <li>present condition of, <a href='#Page_232'>232</a>, <a href='#Page_233'>233</a>;</li> - <li>County Governing Bodies 218, <a href='#Page_238'>238</a>;</li> - <li>Joint Education Committees, <a href='#Page_219'>219</a>;</li> - <li>Central Board, <a href='#Page_220'>220</a>, <a href='#Page_228'>228</a>, <a href='#Page_229'>229</a>;</li> - <li>its examinations, <a href='#Page_230'>230</a> 231.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c012'>Welsh, Miss, <a href='#Page_116'>116</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Westfield College, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>, <a href='#Page_130'>130</a>, <a href='#Page_131'>131</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Whisky-money, <a href='#Page_170'>170</a>, <a href='#Page_217'>217</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Winchester College, <a href='#Page_78'>78</a>, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Women teachers, <a href='#Page_244'>244</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Wotton, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Wycombe Abbey School, <a href='#Page_157'>157</a>, <a href='#Page_158'>158</a>.</li> - <li class='c003'>Yorkshire Board of Education, Ladies’ Honorary Council of, <a href='#Page_48'>48</a>, <a href='#Page_88'>88</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>—— College, Leeds, <a href='#Page_136'>136</a>, <a href='#Page_138'>138</a>.</li> -</ul> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_261'>261</span><span class='small'>Printed by <span class='fss'>T.</span> and <span class='sc'>A. Constable</span>, Printers to Her Majesty at the Edinburgh University Press</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class='c013' /> -<div class='footnote' id='f1'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r1'>1</a>. G. Hill, <cite>Women in English Life</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f2'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r2'>2</a>. L. Eckenstein, <cite>Women under Monasticism</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f3'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r3'>3</a>. Sir Th. Overbury.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f4'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r4'>4</a>. Mary Astell. <cite>An Essay in Defence of the Female Sex.</cite></p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f5'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r5'>5</a>. Defoe. <cite>Essay on Projects.</cite></p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f6'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r6'>6</a>. Mrs. Makins. <cite>An Essay to Revive the Ancient Education of -Gentlewomen</cite>, 1673.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f7'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r7'>7</a>. Mary Astell. <cite>A Serious Proposal.</cite></p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f8'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r8'>8</a>. Hannah More. <cite>Strictures on Female Education.</cite></p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f9'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r9'>9</a>. <cite>The Complete Governess.</cite> A Course of Mental Instruction for -Ladies.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f10'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r10'>10</a>. <cite>Autobiography of Frances Power Cobbe.</cite></p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f11'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r11'>11</a>. <cite>Examiner.</cite></p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f12'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r12'>12</a>. Mr. Hammond’s Report.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f13'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r13'>13</a>. A. F. Leach.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f14'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r14'>14</a>. Emily Davies, <cite>Higher Education of Women</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f15'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r15'>15</a>. <cite>Special Reports on Educational Subjects, 1896–97.</cite></p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f16'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r16'>16</a>. See <cite>Handbook to Courses Open to Women in British, Continental, -and Canadian Universities</cite>, by Isabel Maddison, B.Sc., Ph.D.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f17'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r17'>17</a>. In character, not of course in size</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f18'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r18'>18</a>. <cite>Report of Royal Commission on Secondary Education</cite>, vol. i. -p. 98.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f19'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r19'>19</a>. <cite>Report</cite>, vol. i. p. 75.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f20'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r20'>20</a>. <cite>Report</cite>, vol. i. p. 1.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f21'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r21'>21</a>. <cite>Report</cite>, vol. i. p. 274.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f22'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r22'>22</a>. Preface to <cite>Return of the Pupils in Public and Private Schools in -England, and of the Teaching Staff in such Schools on June 1, 1897</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c004' /> -</div> - -<div><span class='pageno' id='Page_262'>262</span></div> -<div class='section ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div>New One=Volume Novels.</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><em>Crown 8vo, cloth, 6s. each.</em></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Eden Phillpotts</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Children of the Mist.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Constance Smith</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Prisoners of Hope.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Marguerite Bryant</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>A Woman’s Privilege.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Roma White</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The Island of Seven Shadows.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Esther Miller</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The St. Cadix Case.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Francis Gribble</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Sunlight and Limelight.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Basil Thomson</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The Indiscretions of Lady Asenath.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>A. E. W. Mason</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Lawrence Clavering.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Fred T. Jane</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The Lordship, the Passen, and We.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Lady Helen Craven</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Katharine Cromer.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>C. M. Campbell</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Deilie Jock.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div><span class='pageno' id='Page_263'>263</span></div> -<div class='section ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div>The Isthmian Library.</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><cite>Illustrated, post 8vo, cloth</cite>, 5s. <em>a Volume</em>.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>VOL. I.</p> - -<p class='c015'>By <span class='sc'>B. Fletcher Robinson</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Rugby Football.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>With Chapters by <span class='sc'>Frank Mitchell</span>, <span class='sc'>R. H. Cattell</span>, <span class='sc'>C. J. N. -Fleming</span>, <span class='sc'>Gregor MacGregor</span>, <span class='sc'>C. B. Nicholl</span>, and <span class='sc'>H. B. -Tristram</span>.</p> - -<p class='c006'>VOL. II.</p> - -<p class='c015'>By <span class='sc'>A. C. Pemberton</span>, Mrs. <span class='sc'>Harcourt Williamson</span>, <span class='sc'>C. P. -Sisley</span>, and <span class='sc'>Gilbert Floyd</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The Complete Cyclist.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>VOL. III.</p> - -<p class='c015'>By <span class='sc'>Garden Smith</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The World of Golf.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>With Chapters by <span class='sc'>Van Tassel Sutphen</span>, Miss <span class='sc'>Pascoe</span>, &c.</p> - -<p class='c006'>VOL. IV.</p> - -<p class='c015'>By <span class='sc'>R. C. Lehmann</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Rowing.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>With Chapters by <span class='sc'>Guy Nickalls</span> and <span class='sc'>C. M. Pitman</span>.</p> - -<p class='c006'>VOL. V.</p> - -<p class='c015'>By <span class='sc'>R. Allanson Winn</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Boxing.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>VOL. VI.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ice Sports.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>VOL. VII.</p> - -<p class='c015'>By <span class='sc'>Montagu S. Monier Williams</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Figure Skating.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>VOL. VIII.</p> - -<p class='c015'>By <span class='sc'>W. B. Thomas</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Athletics.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>With Chapters by <span class='sc'>R. R. Conway</span>, <span class='sc'>A. C. M. Croome</span>, <span class='sc'>G. S. -Robertson</span>, <span class='sc'>C. N. Jackson</span>, and <span class='sc'>W. M. Fletcher</span>.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><em>Other Volumes are in preparation and will be duly announced.</em></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div><span class='pageno' id='Page_264'>264</span></div> -<div class='section ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div>Works on History, Travel, &c.</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Harold Spender</span> and <span class='sc'>H. Llewellyn Smith</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Through the High Pyrenees.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>With Maps and numerous Illustrations from Sketches and -Photographs. Demy 8vo, cloth, 16s.</p> - -<p class='c014'>By Judge <span class='sc'>O’Connor Morris</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ireland—‘98 to ‘98.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A History of Irish Politics and Irish Movements during the -Last Hundred Years. Demy 8vo, cloth, price 10s. 6d.</p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“This work can be unreservedly recommended. Judge O’Connor Morris has a -thorough mastery of his subject; and his deductions are as a rule candid, impartial, -and convincing.”—<cite>Literature.</cite></p> - -<p class='c007'>“No one who has given attention to Irish affairs, will read his book without -interest, nor, we think, without profit.”—<cite>Glasgow Herald.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Ella C. Sykes</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Through Persia on a Side Saddle.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>With a Map and numerous Illustrations from Photographs. -Demy 8vo, cloth, 16s.</p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“A very bright, picturesque, and entertaining narrative of travel in comparatively -untrodden ways.”—<cite>Daily News.</cite></p> - -<p class='c007'>“Written with shrewdness and humour and a touch of pleasant fancy.”—<cite>Standard.</cite></p> - -<p class='c007'>“One of the most delightful books of modern travel in Iran.”—<cite>Scotsman.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>F. H. S. Merewether</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Through the Famine Districts of India.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Being an Account by Reuter’s Special Correspondent of his -Experiences in Travelling through the Famine Districts of -India. Profusely Illustrated. Demy 8vo, cloth, 16s.</p> - -<p class='c014'>By Professor <span class='sc'>W. S. Lawton</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The Successors of Homer.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Being an Account of the Greek Poets who followed from -Homer down to the time of Aeschylus. Crown 8vo, cloth, -gilt top, price 5s.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Eighteenth Century Letters.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Edited by <span class='sc'>R. Brimley Johnson</span>, with Introductions by eminent -scholars. Illustrated with Photogravure Portraits of the -writers. Crown 8vo, half-parchment, gilt top, price 6s. each -volume.</p> - -<p class='c015'>SWIFT, ADDISON, STEELE. With an Introduction by -<span class='sc'>Stanley Lane Poole</span>.</p> - -<p class='c015'>JOHNSON AND CHESTERFIELD. With an Introduction -by <span class='sc'>George Birkbeck Hill</span>, D.C.L.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><em>Other Volumes are in preparation, and will be duly announced.</em></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div><span class='pageno' id='Page_265'>265</span></div> -<div class='section ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div>RECENT POPULAR 6s. NOVELS.</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>J. C. Snaith</span>, Author of “Mistress Dorothy Marvin.”</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Fierceheart the Soldier.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“Mr. Snaith has given us a romance that for terse, pregnant phrasing, exceptional -character, and recurring and vivid depiction of dramatic situation, is the best thing -of its kind we remember to have seen for a long time.”—<cite>Observer.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Max Pemberton</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Christine of the Hills.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“Assuredly he has never written anything more fresh, more simple, more alluring -or more artistically perfect.”—<cite>Daily Mail.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Eden Phillpotts</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Lying Prophets.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'><em>Third Edition.</em> Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“An excellent novel.... A piece of serious and admirable work.... Not unworthy -of a place with George Eliot’s ‘Adam Bede’ and ‘Mill on the Floss.’”—<cite>Pall -Mall Gazette.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Isabel Clarke</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The Episode of Alethea.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“The author deals with admirable taste and tact with the situation.... The -story is one of high merit from beginning to end.”—<cite>Scotsman.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Esther Miller</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The Sport of the Gods.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“It is very well told.... The novel is exciting, and preserves its interest to the -end.... Excellent story.”—<cite>Athenæum.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'><span class='pageno' id='Page_266'>266</span>By the late Mrs. <span class='sc'>J. K. Spender</span>, Author of “Thirteen Doctors,” etc.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The Wooing of Doris.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“Has much to commend it to novel-readers. A clever plot; well-drawn characters—such -are the leading features of a novel by which the reputation of its much-regretted -writer is fully sustained to the last.”—<cite>World.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>J. C. Snaith</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Mistress Dorothy Marvin.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A Romance of the Glorious Revolution.</p> - -<p class='c015'>Illustrated by <span class='sc'>S. Cowell</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“The author has succeeded in making his story intensely interesting.... -One of the very best adventure stories we have had for a long time past.”—<cite>Speaker.</cite></p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘Mistress Dorothy Marvin,’ most delightful and winsome of women, and one of -the freshest and most unhackneyed heroines whose acquaintance we have had the -pleasure of making for a very considerable period.... Mr. Snaith has a great gift -of observation, and his book is a remarkable picture of the age it is intended to -depict.”—<cite>World.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Stanley Weyman</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>My Lady Rotha.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A Romance of the Thirty Tears’ War.</p> - -<p class='c015'>Illustrated by <span class='sc'>John Williamson</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“No one who begins it will lay it down before the end, it is so extremely well -carried on from adventure to adventure.”—<cite>Saturday Review.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Frank Barrett</span>, Author of “The Admirable Lady Biddy Fane.”</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>A Set of Rogues.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A Romance of the Seventeenth Century.</p> - -<p class='c015'>Illustrated by <span class='sc'>S. Cowell</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“He has related the adventures of a set of rogues ... with so pleasant a tongue -and in such attractive fashion that it is impossible for mere flesh and blood to resist -them. His set of rogues have won our entire sympathy, and his narrative our -hearty approval.”—<cite>Pall Mall Gazette.</cite></p> - -<p class='c007'>“Another capital story.... Strongly recommended. Stirring tale this, without -a dull chapter in it, and just enough human sentiment in it to soften down the -roguery.... Let the honest reader procure the book.”—<cite>Punch.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'><span class='pageno' id='Page_267'>267</span>By <span class='sc'>E. F. Benson</span>, Author of “Dodo.”</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Limitations.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“Mr. Benson has written an interesting and truly human book. His range is -much wider than it was; his character-drawing has gained in depth, delicacy, and -precision; while the sparkling dialogue which we enjoyed in ‘Dodo’ has lost none -of its old brilliancy.”—<cite>Daily Telegraph.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Francis Gribble</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The Lower Life.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“A very remarkable novel, well thought out, well sustained, and inspired from first -to last.”—<cite>National Observer.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>G. B. Burgin</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Tomalyn’s Quest.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“Mr. Burgin has just scored a second shining success with ‘Tomalyn’s Quest,’ a -tale of the keenest interest.”—<cite>Daily Telegraph.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>W. L. Alden</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The Mystery of Elias G. Roebuck.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“Mr. Alden has the true gift of humour.... It is impossible to read the collection -of short stories without genuine enjoyment.”—<cite>Times.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>C. R. Coleridge</span> and <span class='sc'>Helen Shipton</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ravenstone.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“The love interest of ‘Ravenstone’ is twofold, and is admirably sustained -throughout this bright, vigorous, and refreshing story.”—<cite>Daily Telegraph.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By X. L., Author of “<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Aut Diabolus aut Nihil</span>.”</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The Limb.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='sc'>Mr. Gladstone</span> writes: “Pray accept my thanks.... I was so imprudent as to -open it at once, and since that act have found great difficulty in laying it down.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘The Limb’ is unquestionably one of the most fascinating books of the season.”—<cite>Birmingham -Daily Gazette.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'><span class='pageno' id='Page_268'>268</span>By <span class='sc'>Roma White</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>A Stolen Mask.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“A capital story, and Mrs. Roma White tells it with a delicate humour and a -spontaneous brilliancy as rare as they are delightful. ‘A Stolen Mask’ is a novel -that stands high above the average, and can be strongly recommended. It is a long -time since we have come across anything so thoroughly fresh and bright.”—<cite>Pall -Mall Gazette.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Francis Gribble</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The Things that Matter.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“Is an extremely psychological study.”—<cite>Times.</cite></p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is a very amusing novel, full of bright satire directed against the new woman -and similar objects.”—<cite>Speaker.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>G. B. Burgin</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The Judge of the Four Corners.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“A delightfully humorous sketch, full of the purest fun, and irresistibly laughable.”—<cite>Saturday -Review.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Eden Phillpotts</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>My Laughing Philosopher.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Illustrated by <span class='sc'>George Hutchinson</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“We commend to the notice of any one wanting a good laugh ‘My Laughing -Philosopher,’ whose varied character-sketches amply prove Mr. Eden Phillpotts to -be endowed with those two excellent gifts of humour and imagination.”—<cite>Spectator.</cite></p> - -<p class='c007'>“The book will be welcome to every one who likes a book from which a man can -get a good laugh.”—<cite>Scotsman.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Leslie Keith</span>, Author of “The Chilcotes,” “‘Lisbeth,” etc.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>For Love of Prue.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“Plot and Incident in this present story are alike remarkable ... altogether we -heartily commend ‘For Love of Prue’ as a sensible, humorous, and thoroughly -wholesome book.”—<cite>Speaker.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Dorothea Gerard</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Lot 13.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Crown 8vo, cloth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a><i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i></p> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“A bright, buoyant, and bustling story, with plenty of local colour derived -from the scenery and the society, black and white, of a West Indian plantation.”—<cite>Times.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<div><span class='pageno' id='Page_269'>269</span></div> -<div class='section ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div>SCARLET NOVELS.</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div>A SERIES OF POPULAR NOVELS BY WELL-KNOWN AUTHORS.</div> - <div class='c004'><em>Crown 8vo, uniform scarlet cloth, 3s. 6d. each Volume.</em></div> - <div class='c003'>ANTHONY HOPE’S SOCIETY NOVELS.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Comedies of Courtship.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“He is undeniably gay in the best sense of the word, now and then almost -rollicking. An admirable example of what we mean by gaiety in fictional literature.”—<cite>Daily -Telegraph.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Half a Hero.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“The book is delightful to read, and an excellent piece of work.”—<cite>Standard.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Mr. Witt’s Widow.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“A brilliant little tale.... Exhibits unborrowed ingenuity, plausibility, and -fertility in surprises.”—<cite>Times.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Max Pemberton</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>A Gentleman’s Gentleman.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“This is very much the best book that Mr. Max Pemberton has so far given us.”—<cite>Daily -Chronicle.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Richard Pryce</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The Burden of a Woman.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“The conception and execution of this interesting story are excellent. A book -to read and remember with pleasure.”—<cite>Lady’s Pictorial.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>C. R. Coleridge</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Amethyst.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“Extremely amusing, interesting, and brightly written.”—<cite>Guardian.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>F. Frankfort Moore</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Two in the Bush and Others Elsewhere.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“Carry the reader on from page to page till criticism is forgotten in enjoyment.”—<cite>Daily -Graphic.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c014'>By <span class='sc'>Roma White</span>.</p> - -<div class='ph3'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Punchinello’s Romance.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div> - -<p class='c007'>“We give Roma White the warmest of welcomes into the world of fiction.... -Admirably and irresistibly comic, without anything in the nature of force or even of -apparent exaggeration, ready at the least moment to run into equally true pathos.”—<cite>Graphic.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c004' /> -</div> -<div class='tnotes'> - -<div class='section ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - - <ol class='ol_1 c003'> - <li>Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. - - </li> - <li>Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed. - </li> - </ol> - -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Renaissance of Girls' Education in -England, by Alice Zimmern - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GIRLS' EDUCATION IN ENGLAND *** - -***** This file should be named 62774-h.htm or 62774-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/7/7/62774/ - -Produced by Richard Tonsing, MFR, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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