Quinton National School Infant Log

Beginning Monday June 25th 1877 to end of 1881

By Christopher Holdfield

Bill Yates is a member of the society’s research group. He is presently transcribing the Quinton Church National School Log Books. A painstaking process but a very important society archive which Bill considers a labour of love.

Imformation provided here is already in the public domain. However, please notify us if you have special reasons for wanting an entry removed from this website.

June 25th – 30th, 1877
This week is the end of the 1st Quarter in the School Year. Comparing this quarter with the corresponding quarter last year, there is a slight improvement. First in attendance, last years average was 78, this year 80.
Second in the amount of school fees, last year £6 –7s – 5d, this year £ 7- 12s- 9d.

August 6th – 11th, 1877
A holiday was given on Thursday for the School Festival. The children assembled at 2pm and formed a procession through the village. They were afterwards supplied with tea and cake. Games followed and a number of toys distributed. It was a happy day for the children.

October 29th – November 3rd, 1877
Monday very wet. It commenced raining early in the morning and continued for a greater part of the day. Only 20 children assembled and many of these were obliged to take off their upper garments to be dried.

December 31st 1877 to January 5th 1878
Re-opened School after the Christmas holidays. Only a small number assembled. Weather very cold, roads bad. Whopping Cough and Bronchitis very severe. Average for the week only 50.

January 7th to 12th, 1878
I was absent from school the whole week from illness. The work of the school was carried on by pupil teacher and monitors under the superintendence of Mr Millward.

January 14th to 19th, 1878
A complaint was made to one of the pupil teachers by Mrs McDonald that her boy had been punished. As the complaint had not been made to the Head Teacher, no answer was deemed necessary. The boy had not been punished in any way. He had been compelled to write with his pencil in his right hand.

March 25th to 30th 1878
Received notice that the inspection and examination would take place on the 30th April. Violent snow storms on Thursday, the roads being completely blocked. Children were unable to reach school. School year ends this week.

July 8th to 13th, 1878
Scarlet Fever has broken out. One boy has taken it; a few others kept away from fear of infection.

August 12 to 17th, 1878
Several cases of Fever of an alarming nature have come to our knowledge. The managers have decided to close the school for a fortnight during the harvest and have the rooms thoroughly cleaned and painted. The Revd C H Oldfield cautioned the children not to play with others who were recovering from the fever.

September 9th to 14th, 1878
Fever still on increase, one child belonging to the school has died.

October 28th to November 2nd, 1878
Mrs Neal, whose child had been expelled fort irregularity, came on Monday to ask for his re-admission. The excuse for absence is that they had been suffering from sickness and the strike in the Nail Trade.

January 13th to 18th, 1879
The frost continued with unabated severity. The children suffer very much from the cold. Great distress exists among the parents, some unable to pay the school fees and many without food or the fire.

March 10th to 15th, 1879
This week I have marked John McCulloch as “left”. This boy brought a message from his parents a fortnight ago to say he was too lame from chilblains to attend school.

September 29th to October 4th, 1879
On Monday, one family absent with measles. Thursday, George McCulloch came to school unwashed at 2.30pm, he was sent home. His mother called shortly afterwards, using violent language and threatening to report me to the School managers.

December 6th to 11th, 1879
Thursday-Government inspection commenced at 10am and finished at 3pm. The inspector made the following suggestions in respect to the work of the school.

  1. That Mrs Millward should cease to teach needlework in the Mixed School and give her whole time to the infants;
  2. That to assist the children to read with expression, some lessons, some of the lessons on the Reading sheets should be marked to show the most emphatic words;
  3. A new timetable to be made out to show different the different times of opening the school during the Summer and Winter months;
  4. That the numbers on the books should not exceed 80 and all children under five years of age should be refused admission;
  5. That it would be for the benefit of the boys if they were taught to knit.

January 17th – 22nd, 1881
Monday-several children absent with chilblains. Wednesday the roads were impassable.

February 21st to 26th, 1881
The roads were blocked with snow on Tuesday, children unable to reach school.

March 14th to 19th, 1881
Re admitted Mira Rose, absent since examination in December1880, for want of shoes.

April 4th to 9th, 1881
Very small school assembled. Medical certificates were sent in for the children of two families who are suffering from throat disease. On Saturday a third death occurred from “Croup” or “Diphtheria, viz. Sarah Detheridge. The managers have decided to close the school for as fortnight, and have the room whitewashed and painted.

School Report for the Year Ending November 30th, 1881
The Infants are for the most part very good writers, but their spelling is weak, their reading unintelligent and deficient in expression. The rudiments of Arithmetic are pretty well known. This department like the others is in creditable order. Knitting is well done, by boys and girls alike.

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