Blaby is a village situated five miles south of Leicester city centre.
Daily schools for poorer families in 1818 (population 829 in 1811)
In 1818, there were no day schools for poorer families. It was commented that ‘the poorer classes cannot afford to pay for the education of their children; and if a daily school could be established, for their gratuitous instruction, it would doubtless be well attended.’
Daily schools in 1833 (population 1,001 in 1831)
There were two day schools in 1833, with 39 boys and 31 girls. Their education was paid for by their parents.
Daily schools connected to the Anglican Church in 1846-7
There were no Anglican Church day schools in 1846.
20th century
In Blaby there were two schools shortly after 1902. These were the National School and the Evening School.
The National School was receiving grants from the Board of Education from little over £60 to almost £300 in the first decade of the twentieth century. In order to receive these grants, the school would have had to pass inspections, thus showing the relative competence of the school in this era. In 1902 the school received £123 of building grant, suggesting improvements and perhaps extensions to the building. It is not clear as to how large the school was prior to this but in 1904 the school was able to cater for a maximum of 322 pupils, though it seems that the average attendance seemed to range between 270 and 280.
The evening school has fewer sources available for it, though it is clear that it provided secondary education. It was an evangelical school, suggesting a particular form of religious education. We are unclear as to the size of the school yet we do know that the Board of Education provided grants to a certain number of pupils. In 1903 there were 46 pupils receiving grants, and in 1906 this had risen to 74.
Sunday schools
In 1818
In 1818 there were two Sunday schools, both of which were supported by contributions: one belonging to the Established Church (where 130 children attended) and one attached to the Methodist Church (where 40 children attended).
In 1833
In 1833, there remained the Established Church Sunday school which consisted of 60 boys and 70 girls who were instructed gratuitously. There was a second Sunday school, though this was not this was connected with Particular Baptists instead of the Methodists. This consisted of 65 boys and 60 girls which was supported by an annual collection.
Anglican Sunday school in 1846-7
There was one Anglican Sunday school in 1846 with 71 boys and 70 girls attending. There were two masters and one mistress. The school was estimated to have spent £15 annually for the upkeep of the school.
In 1851 (population 1,003)
There were three Sunday schools in 1851,. On Mothering Sunday, that attached to the parish church was attended by 109 people in the morning and 113 in the afternoon. The Baptist Sunday School was also attended by 109 people in the morning and 111 in the afternoon. The Wesleyan Branch Sunday School was the smallest, with just 30 people attending that morning, and 26 in the afternoon.
Return to A History of Leicestershire Schools: A-Z
Sources
- Education of the Poor Digest, Parl. Papers 1819 (224)
- Education Enquiry, Parl. Papers 1835 (62)
- National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church, Result of the Returns to the General Inquiry made by the National Society, into the state and progress of schools for the education of the poor … during the years 1846-7, throughout England and Wales ( London, 1849).
- 1851 Ecclesiastical census