*** English school uniform : individual schools alphabetical listings M-Z





English School Uniform: Individual School Alphabetical Listings M-Z

Some information is available on individual schools to illustrate school uniform trends at the various types of schools. Schools have had different uniforms over time, but there is great similarities as so many schools used the same basic styles. This is especually true of the boys' uniforms. There is much more difference over time as schools are constantly updating their uniforms. HBC has acquired information on uniforms at several specific schools over time. Some of these are very well known school hile others are not widely known outside their local community. Schoolwear trends at these schools reflect overall changes in fashion trends. This was especially the case before World War II when states chools generally did not require uniforms. Some schools with uniforms insisted on preserving tradtional styles for their uniforms while other schools decided to keep their uniforms more in line with contemprary fashion. This provides information on how school uniform styles and regulations changed over time. The school information also illustrates the differences in schoolwear at different types of English schools.

M


Marsh Court

Marsh Court was a typical English preparatoty boarding school during the 1980s. The main building like many prep schools was a stately country mannor house. The everyday uniform were grey cord jackets and shorts worn ewith ties and kneesocks. For special occasions they had blazers and short and long trousers.

Monk Fryston

Monk Fryton is a small village in the extreme south of North Yorkshire. The name first appears in the historical record (11th cenrtury). The Monk part of the village name refers to a relationship with a monastary, in this case Selby Abbey. Here we getba good vire of the village school which looks to be quite old. I have no idea how to date it. It probbly dates to before thev19thvcebntury. The village church can be seen pearking out behind the school roof. , with the children standing out in front, proably during the 1900s. The fact that there is not a vehicle in site gelop to date it, but the 1890s is possible. There are about 29 children, One of the girls has brought her little sister along. We supose that bsome teachers permitted this sort of thing. The girls all look to be wearing pinafores. The boys wear suits with Eton collars.


N


New Kings Road School

We are not sure this is the name of the school, but English schools were often known by the name of the street they were on. (Streets in England tend to be shorter than in America.) A HBC reader writes, "My father was born in 1913 and was educated at an elementary school off of the New Kings Road, Fulham, London. Su ch schools were often divided into three parts -- the youngest boys and girls mixed together and then the older boys and girls educated in separate classes. This usually entailed a three-floored building with the infants on the ground floor, the girls in the middle and the boys on the top floor and separate playgrounds. The photograph shows my father's class when he was aged 12 in 1925 so leads me to suspect that it was taken in early autumn as his birthday was late August. There was no formal uniform but pupils were expected to 'dress up' as my recently deceased aunt described it. A study of the photo shows that this would mean different things to different families according to social and economic background particularly with so many war orphans at the time.

North Finchly Girls School

We note a girls school in North Finchly, a London, neighborhood in the 1890s. Few girls attended schools beyond dame schools in the 19th century. This began to change in the 19th century as the Victorians began to change their minds on the importance of educating their daughters. we began to seen schools for girls beinfounded in the mid-19th century beyond fishining schools. Parents continue to see the educatiin of thir boys the mot important, but by the end of the century there were a number of girls' schools offering a variety od curricuka, including academic studies similar to what the girls were receiving. We can see a small class at this school we think in the 1890s. The girls look to be about 8 years old and all all wear fancy dresses without pinafores. The early girls public schools that were operating at the time adopted some of the boys' garmnts like blazers and ties. all the girls here wear dresses and it is clearly a private school. Along with the girls is a boy wearing a sailor suit, presumably the son of one of the teachers at the school.


O

Oldham School

We are not sure which school this is. We know it was located in Oldham, a town in the Greater Manchester area. This is because the photograph appeared in the Oldham Chronicle, we think in the 1950s. The boys look to be about 11-13 years old. They wear blazers with flannel short and long oants. The school cap is done with concentric circles. The uniform coat is a dark duffle coat. It is definitedly not a primary school. Our guess it is either a grammar school or preparatory school which narrows down the number of schools. Our best guess is that it is Oldham Hulme Grammar School, but the destinctive badge which can be seen in the photograph has two owls. That is not correct for Oldham Hulme Grammar. Two possibilities are Farrowdale House Preparatory School, Shaw and Firwood Manor Preparatory School, Chadderton. It is also possible that the school pictured here in the 50s has since closed, quite a few prpatory schools closed in the 1970s. .


P

Park Secondary School

The Park Secondary School was located at Dagenham. We do not know much about the school at this time. We know the Ford Motor Company had a big plant at Dangenham and that Ford endowded a folk dance program at the school. I have been unable to find any further information about te school. I notice some references to Park Modern Secondary School. We are not sure if that means that the school was a secondary modern school or not.

Parkfield Girls School

We know next to nothing about the Parkfield School except that it was located in Horsham. This is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun. Market towns were commonly located on rivers. It is on the fringe of both the Weald (a geological formation) in West Sussex and the London metroploitan area. It is situated between and Brighton on the coast. Based on the available photograph, Parkfield was a small girls' school. Given the age of the girls it may be a small preparatory school. Today girls tend to leave for their senior schools at about age 11 years. Boys leave a little later at about age 13 years. We are not sure that age difference was the case in the 1930s. The photographg shows about 30 girls who look to be 7-14 years old, suggesting a very small school. The girls all wear similar plain white dresses with strap shoes and white hosiery. The white long stockings are a good indicator of the 1930s. This was presumably the girls' summer uniform. There seem to be about 6 women, quite a large number for such a small school. It seems to be some kind of prise day because there are two award cups. We see one boy at the school, presumably the child of one of the head mistriss or one of the teachers. He is one of the younger children. The photograph is not dated, but it looks like the 1930s. The school no longer exists, but there are several schools named Parkfield in England.

Patcham C.S. Schools

Here we have a class portrait from the Patcham C.S. School taken in September 1951 (figure 1). It is clearly the Second Form of a secondary school. At this time, however, we have no idea what "C.S. means. Wecare not even sure where Patcham is. We think it is in England, but are not sure. We have no idea what a "C.S." school is. We thought it might mean Catholic School, but then the word School would not be repeated again. "S" could mean Secondary, but we do not know what "C" means. It crossed our mind that it might mean Church of Scotland as there are many Church of England schools. A Scottish reader tells us that Scottish schools were not so identified. Thus we simply do not know at this time what kind of school the Patcham C.S. School is. Hopefully our English readers will help us here.

Poplar Primary School

We are unsure about the actual name of the primary school, but we know it was in Poplar, a neigborhood in the London East End. It may have been an Anglican COE school. Poplar is best known today as the setting for the popular'Call the midwives' TV series. We believe that the school was located on or near East India Road. We are unsure if this was where the school or photographic studio was located, but they are likely to have been close. The road was named after the Est India Docks where ships paryicipating in the India trade icked. Thus you have streets like Clove Crescent, Nutmeg Lane, Coriander Avenue, Oregano Drive, Rosemary Drive and Saffron Avenue. Poplar was damaged by German bombing in both World Wars. A primary school was hit by bombers in World War I incemsing British public opinion. This and other incidents is why Britain had the first modern air defense system when the Germans cme again in World War II. Here we have a group of children celebrating some even. Given their age abd the way they are dressed up, it may be a First Communion group. Most of the boys are wearing suits. We see both single and ouble-breasted jaxkets as well as some American-style junior Eton jackets. The potard-back portait is undated, but we would guess the early-1930s.

Portland Secondary School

Here we have a charity event at the Portland Secondary School in Noewood. There are several plaves in England named Norwood. This is probably the constiuency in South London. We have not been able to find any information on the Portland Secondary School. We see a reference to the Porrtlnd Road Secondary Scgool in Noewood. We are not sure if this is the same achool. All we know for sure is that it was a coed school. Secondaru schools in England varied, but many had intakes bginning with 11 year olds, The photograoph is unf=datesm, but was probably taken bout 1980. The press caption read, "Pupils at Portlabd econdary School, Norwood, taking part in a sponsored marathon yestrday to raise money for Shelter, the national campaign for the homeless. Some 200 boys nd girls returned voluntrily to school for a day of non-stop knitting, football, chess, guitar playing, dancing and 'press-ups'. More than 30,000 school children tried in similar ways last week to raise � 100.000 for Shelter." The school uniform was a white shirt and tie with dark skirts and pants. The younger boys wore short pants. The girls wore white knee socks.


Q

Queen Anne's School

The origins of Queen Anne's School at Caversham date back to the end of the 17th century. Eight citizens of Westminster founded the Grey Coat Hospital for the children of the borough (1698). They wanted to create a school that would provide a "nursery for loyal citizens, honest workers and solid Christians". Queen Anne the last Stuart monarch granted the Charter (1706). She created The Royal Foundation of Queen Anne to help provide for the school. It was not until two centuries later that the issue of educating girls was addressed. The Governors used part of the endowment to found a boarding school for girls at Caversham (1894). The school was named after Queen Anne. A deep red rose, Queen Anne's favorite flower, was chosen as the school's emblem. The Queen Anne's girls reportedly originally wore a cardinal red hooded cloak.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital School

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital School in Bristol is a thriving independent school for boys aged 11 to 18. It was founde over 400 years. John Carr, a Bristol merchant whant who died in 1586, provided in his will for the establishment in Bristol of a bluecoat school on the lines of Christ's Hospital, already flourishing in London. The School's charter was granted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1590 and specifically charged it with "the education of poor children and orphans". This special and continuing responsibility is still maintained by the School's emphasis on pastoral care and by the use of its endowment income to provide a large number of day and boarding assisted places for those whose parents' means are limited. The School opened in 1590 and for years was know locally as the City school. It continued through various vicissitudes as a boarding school until 1920 when day boys were first admitted. In 1945 it became a two-form entry grammar school on the direct grant list of the then Ministry of Education. The Government decided in 1975 to end the direct grant, and the School is now fully independent, with 470 day boys and 70 boarders. In 1984 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II graciously agreed to become the School's Patron, a fitting prelude to the commemoration in 1990 of its 400th anniversary.

Queen Ethelburga's College

Queen Ethelburga's College is a co-ed boarding and day school in North Yorkshire. The school used to be a girls only school and many of its rules date back to that period. They accept children from kindergarten to sixth form. It's prep is right in the middle of the main school and is known as Chapter House. British private schools, especially the boarding schools, have been accused of being spartan in the past but many are now acutely aware that boarders and their parents demand more comfortable residential quarters than was formerly the case. Queen Ethelburga's has taken this to extreme with many of their dorms being twin or single occupancy with en-suites, televisions and fridges provided. The sixth form even having their own apartments. One question that has to be asked about schools with facilities like this is does having especially comfortable bordering quarters affect the school community, with students preferring their dorms to getting involved in school activities. A report we received from a past student of the school was that many students simply do not integrate with each other and there was a lack of community which is a big feature of the best schools and warned against parents and boarders being taken in by outward shows as it is the atmosphere, people and standard of care which is most important. Their experience was one of just being a number and source of revenue but the schools management were able to sell the school and its amenities to be more that they were in reality. They went on to say that it was of course very nice to have your own satellite TV and phone in your room but it also led to feeling more isolated. Many pupils thought that the school accommodation was very comfortable but more designed for hiring to groups in holidays rather than for them and that the money would have been better spent on books and teaching resources which were rather poor in comparison. Do not judge a school on first impressions of facilities or uniform. Talk to as many of the staff and pupils as you can to get a true picture. This particular school was recently forced to alter its claims for examination results by independent inspectors as they were very misleading. Uniform: Senior Boys: royal blue V neck pullover, white Shirt (sleeves were not allowed to be rolled up), school tie, grey or black trousers, dark socks and black shoes Junior Boys (Chapter House): Brown V neck jumper, yellow shirt, brown shorts or trousers, fawn socks and shoes. No blazers. Sports kit is whites for PE and summer sports with blue rugby top, socks and black shorts for games. Girls wore similar but with longer length skirts. In Chapter House the younger boys wear brown caps and the girls boaters. In the summer the girls wear summer gingham dresses. The sixth form wear suits or other suitable 'smart office dress' as their uniform similar to the dress code for the staff. Female teachers are banned from wearing trousers by the owner much to the despleasure of some of the teachers.

English school building
Figure 1.--The Boys' High School, Roisebank looks more like a preparatory school than a state secondary school, but we think it may have been a state school.

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Rodborough Infant School

The Rodborough Infant School was located in or near Chalford. An infant school is the term used in England for a mix of nursery school/kindergarten/early primary school This varied over time and from school to school. Early infant schools were fee paying schools, but exceptions might be made made for poor children. After the 1870 education reforms the Government took on the financing of these schools. Education was made compulsory fof children beginnking t age 5 years, but younger children were accomodated depending on space and staffing. We are not entirely sure about the scocial ckass cmposition of the children. One source suggests tht they were a major source of child care for working-class mothers employed outside the home during he late-19th century, but we cannot yet substantiate this. We have a c;ass portrait taken in the early-20th century. It is not dated, but thge clothing and mount style suggest ot was taken about 1905. The children look to be about 5-years old. Some of the children are clearly younger. A few of the boys wear sailor suit and one boy wears has a Funtleroy collar. The girls wear pinafores. This may be the class for the younger children at the school. We are not sure how large the school was and how many classes there were at the school.

Rosebank Boys' High School, West Hartlepool

We note the Boys' High School Rosebank, West Hartlepool during the 1930s. Hartleppol in Durham first appears in history during the early medieval period. It began as a monestary and subsequebnt fishing village. It developed into a seaport abd subsequent rail station. It was bombarded by German ships during World War I. We are not sure just what kind of school theBoys' High School was. We note no informtive postings on the internet. British schools had a variety of names. We know about academically selective grammar schools and less academically rigorous secondary modern schools. We are not sure just where high schools fell into that continum. A posting by an alumnus suggests to us that it was an academically rigorous school comparable to a grammar school. Hopefully our British readers can tell us just vwhat a high school meant during the 1930s. A photograph of the grounds look more like a private school, but we think 'high school' was only used for state schools. There was also a Girls High School. Sometime after the War. the two were apparently combined as we begin go note references to just the Rosebank High School.

Royal College of Music

We did not realize that the Royal College actually had a formal school uniform. We have no information on the school uniform other than a 19th century portrait of Sir William Sterndale Bennett by Childe. HBC at this time is unsure what age boys attended the school and if there were differences as to the age of the student. We are unsure in fact, just what school William attended. According to the current Royal College of Music, located on Prince Consort Road in London, it was not founded until 1882, after Sir William's death. The current Royal College of Music enjoys an international reputation as a conservatoire where performers, conductors and composers are trained to the highest international standards. This would not seem to be the kind of school which would require a school uniform. The College is located within London's artistic, scientific and cultural center, in South Kensington, next to Imperial College, directly opposite the Royal Albert Hall, near the Royal College of Art and a five minutes walk from the Science, Natural History and Victoria and Albert Museums. The College was founded by Edward VII while still Prince of Wales. The College has, as a result, been linked with the Royal family. Its patron is currently Her Majesty The Queen. For 40 years, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother was President; in 1993 HRH The Prince of Wales became President.

Royal Naval School

The Royal Naval School was established in Camberwell, London (1833). It was formally constituted by Parliament in the Royal Naval College Act (1840). It was a charitable institution, established as a boarding school for the sons of officers in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. It was one of a range of steps in professionalizing the training of Royal Navy officers. It was established along the lines of a public (elite secondary boarding) school with a miliitary twist. This can be seen with the uniform with included an Eton jacket and collar. The Navy constructed a monumental purpose-built school building designed by the respected architect, John Shaw Jr. It was constructed at New Cross/Lewishan in south-east London (close to Deptford and Greenwich), both areas with strong naval connections. The new building was opened (about 1844). The school outgrew the building and relocated to Mottingham (1889). The building continued to be used at a school. It was purchased by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths for £25,000. It was re-opened by the Prince of Wales (July 1891) as the Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute (July 1891). It was more commonly known as the Goldsmiths' Institute. It became the main building of Goldsmiths College (1904). It was bombed by the Luftwaffe during World war II. The Royal Naval School remained at Mottingham until it closed (1910). That building is today occupied by Eltham College. The Royal Naval School is notable for the number of its graduates who achieved prominence in military and diplomatic service. A memorial to those lost invarious conflicts is located in Goldsmith's College. Other people with the same name were opened in Malta and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). The Navy also formed The Royal Female School for the Daughters of Vocal and Marine Officers (1840). The name was later changed to The Royal Naval School or RNS.

Rugby School

Rugby School was and still is an independent boarding school in Warwickshire. This is in the middle of England. These schools are called public schools in England even though they are exclusive private schools. Rugby is one of the most famous of these schools. The school was founded in 1567 by Lawrence Sheriff, a local resident, as a boys' boarding school. Sheriff was one of the Gentlemen of the Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen), a grocer, and Second Warden of the Grocer's Compoany. The school was endowed with estates in the Rugby area and in London suburbs. The school did not, however, for a variety of reasons, get the full benefit of those endowments until 1653. Rugby School is renowned as the school where the modern game of Rugby football developed during the 19th century. It was also the setting for Tom Broen's Schooldays which introduced one of the great boy characters in British literatute, Tom Brown.

Runcorn Primary School

Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in Cheshire. It is located southeast of the Liverpool southern bank of the River Mersey. This wear the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. We have found a photograph that looks to date to the mid-1930s. It is a coed school. The children look to be about 10 years old. The boys seem to be wearing suits, some of the vests, or what look like sweater shirts. Most of the boys are wearing ties with their sweater shirts. They also wear shirt psnts and as far as we can tell knee socks. The girls are waering simple dresses. We can't tell nuch more about the dresses. Several of the girls are wearing long stockings. By this time boys are no longer wearing long stockings. The photograph was taken in the school yard, but we can't see much of the school.

English grammar school
Figure 2.--English boys at Grammar schools in the early 1970s wore blazers and ties. This is the St. Augustine Boys' Grammar. Most boys wore long trousers, but a few boys still wore short trousers.

S


SPJS

Here we have a 4th grade post-card back school portrait. Many English school portraits were donne as post-card back portraits. We do not know the name of this school except for the initials -- SPJS. We suspect it is something like St. Paul Junior School. Which we suspect is an Anglican School. What we know for sure is that the class portrait was taken in 1926 which was written on the back. There were no uniforms, but many but not all of the boys wear suits. Many are wearing sweaters or some kind of jersey shirts that only parially button up. Several of the boys are wearing them. Only the boys wearing suits wear ties. They all wear short pants and mostly knee socks. A few have colored bands. This would gradually become more common. The stripes would be done in the school colors. This may not be the case here.

S.H. School

We have not yet been able to determine the name of this school. We only see the intials 'S.H.' on the blazer breast pockets. The 'H' probably means Hall or House, reflecting the fact that many private schools were open in the old manor houses of country estates with some of the adjoining grounds. Here we have an undated school portrait from we think the 1970s, but this is a little difficult to tell. Many prep schools at the time were shifting over from single gender schools to coed. We see boys and girls of a junior school who are about 6-8 years old. Most of the boys, but not the girls are wearing blazers The photographer's credit is for the Wayland studio in Blackheath. It is deinitely a private school. Provenance thus suggests that this may have been a pre-prep school or the junior division of a prep school locvated in the area between Blackheath and Brockley (London SE3 and SE4). There are 67 children in this photograph, which is too large for a class and more in line with the pupils of a small preparatory school or one section of the school. The portrait is mounted on a card.

St. Augustine Boys' Grammar

St. Augustine is a Catholic boys' grammar school located near Manchester. Most grammar schools were single gender schools. The uniform at St. Augustine's was the a edestinctive stripped blazer and tie. A few younger boys wore short trousers, but they were not required. Most boys wore long trousers. There was a school cap, but few boys wore it.

St. Clement's Anglican Primary

St. Clement's was an early Liverpool primary school. We believe it was an Anglican school and associated with St. Clenent's Church. The original two-story building was built on Upper Stanhope St (1841). There were both Junior and Infant departments listed in the 1859 Directory. We are not sure what this meant in terms of age range at the time. Upper Stanhope Street became the present Beaumont Street. It also was located on Church Street, which was just a lane to get to the Church. In the mid-19th century there were open fields to the rear which were generally filled in as the city expanded and enveloped the school and church. Church St eventually became Dove Street (1860s). The separate infants' department was an one-story extension built adjacent to the original building (1863). A Primary School before World War II included a program for younger teenagers up to about 14 years of age. Most students at the time did not go on to secondary schools. Authorities closed the Junior School when the upper floor of the original building collapsed during the end of term concert (December 1934). The Junior pupils were moved to Tiber Street as an annex. The St Clement's buildings were used for Air Raid Precautions (ARP) training. This became an increasing concern in the later 1930s. The juniors' building was eventually demolished. The infants' department building continued to be used. It became an annex to Tiber St. Primary amd subsequently Dove Street County Primary (1970). St. Clement's School was finally closed (1997). The children moving to Tiber St. Primary.

St. Hugh's Preparatory School (Woodhall Spa)

St. Hugh's School at Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire was founded by the Forbes family (1925). Many preparatory schools were founded in the late-19th and early 20th century as small family undertakings. St. Hugh's seems a fairrly standard preparatory school. The school became a Charitable Trust (1962). Many similar schools became charitanle trusts as this time. A HBC reader has provided some information on his time at the school in the late-1960s. The school is associated with the Church of England although children of all denominations attend the school. The school now has some excellent facilities, both teaching, sports, and recreational facilities. There are mopdern classroomsand an extensive library. A modern library is a weakness at many British prep schools. Most prep schools have expanded the music program in recent years and St. hugh's now has a Music School with auditorium and practice rooms. There is also a large Hall with stage and lighting for plays and other drama productions. A new addition is an Information Communication Technology suite with modern computers. There are also workshops for Art, Pottery and Craft Design & Technology. The children also enjoy a range of recreatiinal facilities, including a heated indoor swimming pool, a superb multi purpose sports hall, a rifle range and extensive pitches for the wide range of games played at the school.

St. Mary's School (Mortimer)

Here we we see a class at St Mary's School, Mortimer, probably meaning Mortimer Common whichj took its name from the hisoric Mortimer family which came close to seizing the English crown twice. The portrait is undated, but looks like the mid-1950s to us. Mortimer is located near Reading, an area of Berlshire west of London. The photograph show a well dressed group of children. It looks like a small class of about 20 pupils. The boys wear seaters and suits. The girls wear mostly blouses and skirts. They look to be about 9 years old. We suspect that was an Anglican (COE) school.

St. Mary's Infant School (Stoke)

This is the St. Mary's Infant School in Stoke. We think that maeans Stoke-on-Trent, a city in the industrail Midlands. The religious names means that it is probably a Church of England (COE) School, but it could be a Catholic school. The portrait is undated, but thet eachers baloon sleeves suggest the portrait was taken about 1895. It is a large-sized cabinet card (15.5x20.5 cm). -It is not a classic style, but a card with red ruling. We are not sure what infant school meant at the time. It late came to mean a primary school. Looking at the children here, it looks like a Kindergarten with children about 5 years old. As with many schools for younger children, it was coeducational. Note that it is Class II meaning that there was a younger class. Many boys wear sailor suits or other suits. Two boys and one girl look to be weating pinafores. The girls wear dresses, some wear lace collars.

St. Michael's College (Tenbury)

St. Michael's College was founded in 1854. It was endowed by Sir Frederick Ouseley, a rich bachelor baronet, who was influenced by the Tractarians as an undergraduate at Christ Church. He was a talented musician and wanted to utilize them in the service of the Church of England. He became a CoE priest. He was Precentor of Hereford Cathedral and Professor of Music at Oxford, where helped to rebuild the music program. At St. Michael's he collected a noted library of music and musical manuscripts . His primary focus was on training boys who as organists and choristers helped to maintain the tradition of English cathedral church music. The school website explains, "He, who had known Mendelssohn and Elvey, and employed Stainer as organist at St. Michael's, and influenced Parratt, established a musical tradition which has lived on and which has had a greater indirect influence on the Church of England�s music than any other single institution." Ouseley operated St. Michael�s as the parish church of the district, with a resident choir and organist. We visited the school in the 1980s just befire it closed. The school choir peformed at a very high standard. The biys were, however, disapointed that so few people attended their performances. The College closed in 1985, and is now run as the UK base of King's College Madrid

St. Pancras, N. School

This London primary school was St. Pancras N. We think the N. means North. London is a big city. There may have been ore than one St. Pancras schools. The religious name suggests it was an Anglican or perhaps Catholic school. The photograph is notdated, but it looks like the late-1920s or early-30s. The children look to be about 8 years old. Primary schools at the time did not require uniforms. Schools with a religious association were largely maintained by state funding. The photograph shows the children receiving their morning milk. I recall this in my American elementary school. We had to bring milk money to school. We are not sure about England. The school was located on Torriano Avenue, L.C.C.J.M & I School N.W.5. It looks like the children are coming together in a central location to get their milk. Notice the boy's snake-clasp belt. Very ommom in English sjools.

St. Peter's Court Preparatory School

St. Peter's Court School was preparatory school located in Broadstairs Kent. Thanet, the Eastern tip of Kent. Severral prep boarding schools were located there. The schools were located there because the climate in the south along the coast was seen as a healthy place for children. Not only were there other prep schools in Westgate, Ramsgate and Broadstairs. Convalescent homes were also opened there. The Royal Sea Bathing Hospital, a treatment center for Tuberculosis was also located there. St. Peter's was a prestigious school, serving as a 'feeder' prep school for Eton and some important public schools. Prince George (a son of George V) attended the school, although he did not live with the boarders. This of course reflects the prestige of the chool. We note two aristicractic Scottish boys, sons of the Viscount of Stonehaven, attending the School in the 1920s (Ian and Greville) before going on go Eton. Like other schools along the southern coast, it was evacuated during World war II. The school closed after World war II during the Wilson Labour Government. Not only did the Labour Government introduce polices that adversely affected private schools, but the Socialist economies policies were a major factor in the stagnant economy which also adversely affected private schools.

St. Pius X School

This catholic secondary school in Derbyshire had a kilt uniform for both the boys and girls. A student in 1994 explains the uniform regulations. The kilt was apparently not very popular with the boys.

St. Wulfric's

St. Wulfric's was located at Eastbourne. It was the preparatory school attended by Gavin Maxwell, the Scottish naturalist and author of Ring of Bright Water (1960). One of his lesser known works is The House of Elrig (1965), his childhood reminsences. Ot includes a short section on his time at St. Wulfric's. He explains that the uniform was a green jersey (sweater) and corduroy breeches. He recalls that his breeches rubbed with a "purring noise" as the boys walked. His description provides some insights on prep school life in the mid-1920s. Two insightful episodes were supervision of letters home and confrontation with a prefect over a special inkwell.

Seaford College Preparatory School

Seaford College Preparatory School was the school attended by Anthony Buckeridge, the creator of "Jennings". A photogtraph od Anthony and two mates illustrates the school uniform during the 1920s. Note the school caps with the crest and circular white patern. Interestingly, a Norfolk Jacket was worn rather than a blazer. Ehile at school for lessons the boys appear to have worn their jumpers, ewhoich did not require a tie rather than their jackets. Also notice the jumpers (sweaters), a popular style at the time, but different than the more common style which developed--the "v" neck sweater which could be worn with a tie.

Sedburgh School

A HBC reader who attended Sedburgh School, a prestigious public school, in the 1960s reports that the school required short pants and kneesocks even for senior boys. He recalls discussing the uniform with the headmaster who would only allow changes in blazer buttons for the older boys. The unifiorm was changed when a a senior boy at the school made a telephone date with a young lady in London and showed in the schools short pants uniform. The incident made the English tabloids. Another Sedburgh old boy reports attending the school 1977-83 and he writes, "I can assure you that shorts had gone out before my time. However it is true that we had a very basic uniform with an open-necked light blue shirt with no buttons and a floppy collar. After my time the uniform was smartened up with a more conventional tie and stiff- collared shirt. This is a shame as I think we rather prided ourselves on our scruffy uniform!"

Sefton Park School

Thanks to the photographer's board, we know that this is the Sefton Park School primary school. We wondeered who Sefton was, but apparently it wasa Celtuc work meaning marshy area--a place name adooted by the schools. The only problem with that is that there were two such schools. omne in Bistol and one in Liverpool. We have no idea which one this was, there is no way to tell. It does tell us, however, that it was a substantial school because there seem to at least two classess for each standard (grade). We at first thought that it was a girls' school because the first portait we found was an all girls' class. But than we found an all boy's class taken at the same time. So apparerntly this was a coed school with separate boys' and girls' classes. The portrait is undated, but looks to have been taken about 1930. The clothes look fairly ,odern, but the hightop shoes the boys wear suggest the 1920s or early-30s. There was no uniform, but several of the gurks wear school uniforn items inckuding the gym frock. Almost all of the boys wear suits.

Sherington Primary School

Sherington Primary School Greenwich was founded during World War I (1917). It is still an operating school in the same building. The school describes itself in 2017 as, "A larger than average, ethnically and economically diverse, two form entry Primary School with a nursery and Children's Centre. We pride ourselves on our high achievement and inclusive community." We have found a classroom image of a second year class. It is not dated, but looks to us like it was taken about 1930. It was a mixed gender school. The class has about 25 children. Many of the boys wear suits or shirts with ties. The girls wear prim dresses. Onegirl wear a gym frock which Americans call a jumper.

(The) Shrubery

An English reader named John Thompsom writes, "My senior school was called The Shrubbery. It had Kindergarten, Junior and Senior departments and was accommodated in two large 18th or 19th Century houses on the outskirts of Cambridge (The English University city). Unfortunately the school no longer exists. It had always been run by the same family, and I think it closed down when my headmaster retired around 10 or 15 years ago. There has been at least one reunion, which I was not able to attend, but I'm hoping there may be others in the future." This is a good example of a substantial number of small private schools, many of which have since disappeared because they were owned by the headmaster. A reader writes, "My wife Dagmar Wallfried (maden name) was a member of staff from the mid-40s up to 1952 under the headmistress Mrs Living-Taylor and her husband John. She was a refugee from Germany and taught amongst other subjects music and French. She remembers a lot of pupils by their names from those days and has some interesting papers witnessing pupils schoolwork. For a year or so she had her niece Maria living with her in Cambridge who visited shrubbery School as well and who also remembers a lot of pupils from that time. Because I am married to her now for 50 years I myself know a lot of stories from those 'good old days' and have even met Mr and Mrs Living-Taylor in Cambridge and was invited by them to lunch at the Universitiy Arms in the 1980s. We would like to get in touch with somebody who is trying to bring together as many old fellows and pals as possible to exchange memories as well as news from each others life." Anyone interested should contact the HBC webmaster for details.

South Shields/Westoe/Harton

This school is a little complicated. It has had quite a few different names, including South Shields High School for Boys, the Westoe Secondary School or Westoe Higher Grade School, South Shields Grammar-Technical School for Boys or the present-day Harton School. I am not sure just what kind of schools these were. Some of the early schools may have been technical schools or Secondary Moderns. Perhaps the school had two diffeent streams, technical and academic. We do know that Harton is a comprehensive school. The uniform has varied over time, but by the 1950s had become a blazer.

Southport Truant School

An English reader tells us, "I was in Southport Library. I looked at a book about living in this area 100 years ago which would be the turn of the 20th century. One of the stories was about a Truant School. It was a boarding type school. The children who were sent there had been 'Street Arabs' Today we would call them street children. They did a 3 month period of correction. There were two men who toured the area and caught children who were playing in the street at times when they should have been in school. There were two sections to the school, separate facilities for Protestant and Catholic children. It was a boys only school. Most of the street children were boys. Unfortunately photographs exist of the building but not of the pupils who attended this school. The sections which dealt with the school makes interesting reading. One section is about how the school came into being. The other piece is about a boyhood memory of this school. The person writing it lived near the school he was not a pupil there.

Steyning Grammar School
Figure 3.--This is part of a school portrait of Steyning Grammar School just after World War II (May 1947). During the War, school uniform standards were often hard to maintain, but here the boys look well kitted out.

Steyning Grammar School

Steyning Grammar School like quite a number of British schools has an amazing hustory. The school dates back to the 17th century. It was founded and endowed as a grammar school by William Holland, an Alderman of Chichester (1614). The townn of Steyning has existed since Anglo-Saxon times. It os located in West Sussex near Horsham in the South Downs, four miles north of the Channel town of Shoreham-by-Sea. A grammar school in modern times was an acacademically selective secondary schools. Children who did well in he 11-plus exam were channeled into the grammar schools. As part of educational reforms, most grammar schools were converted into comprehnsives (1960s-70s). It was felt at the time that this would expand educational opportunity. Steyning Grammar was merged with Steyning Secondary Modern School to form a comprehensive school (1968). The combined school thus shares two sites in Steyning. The original histoic half-timbered Church Street site housed years 7 and 8 (not to be confused with age groups) until the 2021-22 academic year finished. At his time the group ('Lower School') transferred to the Towers site in Upper Beeding close by. The main Shooting Field accomodated years 9-11 and the sixth form college. A third lower school site opened in Storrington (September 2017 after the closure of Rydon Community College (September 2017). The Steyning Leisure Centre was used for some of the PE ckasses. School governors over the oppositionn of many teachers voted to convert the school to an academy as part of the Bohunt Trust. This converted to a private or independent school as the British tend to use. This is a rare example of a schoolm opting out of the state system. We are not sure why this decision was taken. The Bohunt Education Trust runs eight schools, including other secondary schools in Worthing and Horsham.

Stoke House

Stoke House School was a preparatory school. We have no current information on the school. It prepared boys for Eton. The school was located at Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, not far from Windsor and Eton. We have a photograph taken by an Eton photographer in 1900. It is of the Stoke House Cricket X1 : Summer Term.

Suffield Park School

Suffield Park School was a preparatory school located in Cromer, Norfolk. HBC is not sure about the current status of the school. A portrait taken in the late 1890s illustrates that there was no actual uniform for these privileged boys but they did maintain a certain "style" as most boys wore Norfolk suits--rather appropriate considering the location of the school.

T

Talbot Catholic Girls School

Here all we have to fo is a photograph which identifies a class as form VII at the Talbot Girls School. This proibably means that it was an 8 year primary and this were the next to oldest class. the girlswoiulkd have been about 12 years old. Catholic is not wht is written on the skate, but the statue in the middle of the portrait could be nothing other than a Catholic School. The portrait is undated, but we would guess the late-1890s. A protective pinafore or smocks seems to have been required, but a few girls came to school with just a dark dress which also seems to be required. We have been unable to find any information about the school. We believe it was named Talbot because the school was in Port Talbot. situated insouthern Wales on Swansea Bay/Irish Sea, about 8 miles from Swansea. The location suggests the oresence of Irish Catholic immigrants. The Port Talbot Steelworks was the major econoic activity. It became one of the biggest steelworks in the world.

Trottiscliffe Church of England Primary School

Trottiscliffe is a small villag east of Lonson in LKent. The Pilgrims' Way runs near Trottiscliffe. he historical route taken by pilgrims from Winchester in Hampshire to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent. The village is notable for the nearby neolithic long barrow known as the Coldrum Stones as well as its medieval church. We have no historical informatiion on the school. The current building looks to have been built in the post World War II era. Trottiscliffe Primary School is a Church of England school with a standard uniform. We see them experimenting with reflective clothing in 1968.

W

Warren Hill Public School

An album contains a collection of photographs from the Warren Hill Public School in Eastbourne. The photographs date from about 1885 to the early 1900s. They are mostly portraits of individual boys. Amateur snpshots were not common before the turn of the 20th century. There is one snapshot of boys boxing nd a gymnasium shot. There are sports photograhs, a football team, and playing cricket. All the portraits were named and dated and some have been researched. Major General Merton Beckwith-Smith DSO MC was the father of Princess Diana's Lady in Waiting and whose grave in a Japanese prisoner of war camp was searched for and found on the Princess's instructions. Sir Robert Campbell was Ambassador to France and involved in Operation Catapult. This was Britain's World War II attack on the French fleet to make sure it could not fall in NAZI hands. E.W. Mann was a Kent cricketer. Unfortunately we have been unable to find information about the school itself.

Watts Naval Training School

The Watts Naval Training School was located in North Elmham (Norfolk), It was subsidized by a British charity helping abandoned or orphaned children--Barnardos's. Bernado's was also involved with orphan transports to Australia. The school was founded in 1903 and closed in 1953. Although it was not a true military school it was run with a naval ethos. There was an informal connection with the Royal Navy and many boys enlisted in the Navy when they finished school. The Navy was happy to get recruits with some familiarity with naval discipline and skills. The boys wore Royal Navy-styled uniforms and were subject to a strict discipline regime. The boys from April to October were barefoot not only for the military drill, but for all school activities. Royal Navy ratings went barefoot for centuries and it was still common in the 19th century. This was a common practice on the Royal Navy training ships because of this tradition. We have a photograph, taken in early 1950s, showing the boys during a lesson.

Warwick House School

Warwick House appears to have been a preparatory school located in Swansea during the 19th century. Sansea is a city in Wales. We do not believe the school is currently operating, but we are not sure when it closed. We do note CDV portaits from the Andrews Studio of the boys, probably from the 1870s. The boys look to be about 8 and 11 years old, confirming that the school was a preparatory school. The boys wear long pants suits, neck ties, with mortar board caps. The boys are dressed alike, probably because there were brothers. Prep schools at the time usually expected the boys to wear suits, but not actual uniforms.

Wellington Grammar School

A HBC reader has submitted photographs from his school, Wellinton Grammar School. The school was of course named after the famed general. We have no information on the school at this time. We do know that it was operating in the 1930s. An Old Boy from the school has placed the World War II Roll of Honor on the internet. The school should not be confused with the public school, Welington School. The available photographs submitted are from the 1960s. The boys wore a uniform of dark suits and could choose either long or short trousers.

Wennington School

Wennington School was a private boarding school founded in 1940 during World War I. It was a private, progressive, co-educational boarding school somewhat unusual at the time. The school was founded by Kenneth and Frances Barnes. The school operated until 1975. It had an unusual uniform of bugenday blazers and green corduroy short trousers. I have not noted another school with a uniform quite like this.

Westholme School

A Brirish reader mentions the Westholme School which is still a thriving school. He tells us, "In Blackburn the Westholme School was an all girls school which allowed boys to attend the infant department until they were 7 years old. A boy I knew who lived near me went to this school during the 1950s. It was a fee paying school. Four girls who lived near me also attended the school. If I recall the uniform was green. Green coduroy trousers for boys and a matching blazer. The girls wore a light green dress."

Westleigh School

This cabinent card shows a class at the Westleigh School. We see the school name on the chalkboard the boy in the center is holding. The school is located in Bideford, Devon. Bideford is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon. The school issome kind of primary school. The children look to be about 10-12 years old. The boys wear suits. Some of the girls wear pinafores. One of the nost interesting aspects of this portrait is the hobnails that many of the boys have in their soles. A hobnail is a short nail with a thick head used to increase the durability of the sole. They are usually associated with boots, but were also used on the heavy high-top shoes children wore at the time. The trm 'tackety boots' was also used, but more in Scotlnd than southern England. The purpose of course was to make the shoes last longer. The portrait does not look like the full school, but neitherdoes it look like a single year form group. Perhaps the children were divided in a younger and older group. The fact that boys and girls were grouped together suggests that it was a small school. The portrait is not dated, but we would guess was taken in the 1880s.

English grammar school parade
Figure 3.--This was Whitgift Grammar School Founder's Day in 1920. It honors the laying of when the foundation stone of what came to be called the Whitgift Alms House. The boys and masters here parade through Croydon headed by the OTC Band a followed by the boys of the Whitgigt Grammar and Middle Schools. They laid wreaths at the War Memorials and thn marched to the church. Also at the churh aging brethern and sister of the almshouses. After the blessing and service, the Congregation filed by Whitgift's tomb.

Whitgift School

Whitgift School is today a private day school with a small boarding unit in South Croydon south of London. In addition to Trinity School of John Whitgift and Old Palace School it is owned and operatd by the Whitgift Foundation, a charitable trust. It is associated with the Church of England. It is one od several schools dating back to Tudor times. The school was founded by the Archbishop of Canterbury John Whitgift during the final years of Queen Elizabeth's rule (1596). This was when thefoundation stomeof what came to be called the Whitgift Alms House was laid. It opened 4 years later (1600). It was funded by the Whitgift estate and subsequent Foundation. Whitgift sought to create a hospital and school in Croydon for the "poor, needy and impotent people" from the parishes of Croydon and Lambeth. It is today Croydon's oldest school. It is a private school, but not aublic school because it began as a charity institution. The school was originally situated in North End, Croydon. The school was moved to its current site, Haling Park (1931). After World War I, aristocratic families found it increasingly difficult to keep up palatial esates. Many had to be sold and several were turned into schools. Haling Park was the home of Lord Howard of Effingham--the Lord High Admiral of the Fleet who sailed against the Spanish Armada. The school becane a direct Grant Grammar School (1871). It was called Whitgift Grammar School. The School relinquished its direct grant and became a fully private school -- Whitgift School (1946).

Winchester School

Winchester College is one of England's best known public schools, mean a fee-paying private residential secondary school. Winchester is not the oldest school in England. It is, hoever, the oldest school in contuinual operation. William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, founded the school (14th century). William served as Chancellor to Edward III and Richard II, the boy king. The foundation charter was granted in 1382. Construction of the buildings began in 1387 providing what are now sone of the oldest and most destinctive medieval school buildings continully in use. William was one of England's great medieval architectural and artistic patrons. The Winchester buildings are an architectural treasure. Winchester and New College Oxford were in the 14th century schools on an unheard of level. It is the oldest of the original nine English public schools. The school thus served as a model for for Eton and King's College, Cambridge, two other major public schools (15th cebntury). The first actual scholars arrived in 1394. Scholars meant bright boys from modest families being provided a charity education. The school at its beginning had a Warden (headmaster) and 10 Fellows, 2 schoolmasters, 3 chaplains, 70 Scholars and 16i Quiristers (choristers). Note that there were more chaplains than scchoolmasters, presumsably the boys' religious training was thorough. Most of the original buildings and insitutions still exist. The archives of the College provide aunique historical record of education from the late-medieval era to modern day. The Pilgrims' School is a preparatory school which care for the younger boy. The quiristers now attend the Pilgrim's School and they continue to sing in original Chapel. Winchester College now has 70 scholars and 600 'Commoners' who are taught by 80 full-time teachers or 'dons'.

Wortley School

Wortley is a very village near Barnsley, in the western part of South Yorkshire. The village has an interesting history. It was mentioned Domesday Book as Wirtleie (1086). It grew as a settlement becuse it was located where the Sheffield to Halifax road crossed the Cheshire to Rotherham roasds. Its develooment was limited because regular fairs and market days did not develop, in large measure because the monks in Barnsly did not want competition for their fairs and markets. The parish church of St. Leonard's dates back to the medieval period, but was rebuilt during the 18th century. The village is famous for two modern matters. First is the Wortley Top Forge dating to the Industrial Revolution. Second is storied highwayman Swift Nick (John Nevison, 1639-84). There were several schools in Wortley. Whilke Wortly itself is a small villge it is surrounded by an urbanized area. The small secondary school has recently closed and been demolished. The image here shows very young children in 1920, porobably a class portrait. They are a coed group and look to be the same age group as the modern Wortley Lower Primary School. We are not sure about the buildings involved. The 1920 portrait is notable for the bright white collars the boys are wearing.

X



Y


York Minster School

The history of the sing school at York Minster is a fascinating account. It is arguavly the oldest school in Britain, quite a clim to fame. A complete history is unavailable, but a great deal of information is available during many historical periods. Choir or song schools are some of Britain's earlist schools. Presumably some schools exosted during the Roman era, butthere is no surviving information on indivisual schools and none survived the Anglo-Saxom invasions. Christianity itself was extinguished. As Britain was reChristinized, the first schools would have been those attached to monastaries or cathedrals. One of those was a song school at York. The origins are lost in the fog of early Anglo-Saxon history. Scholars have developed two principal theories. One theirizes that James the Deacon founded it (627 AD). Another dates the song school to Norman tumes (12th century). The Normans raised the early York Minster and built the magnificent modern cathedral in the center of York. It is of course possible that song schools existed at both times. In modern times the Sing Schooll was closed (1887) and reponed (1903). We do not have a lot of information on uniforms throughout the school's history. We note a boy in 1913 wearing a turle-neck sweater with the crossed keys that are the symbol of the school. We note boys in the 1980s wearing both grey suits and cherrt red blazers.

Z


Zion House School

This was a school in the early 19th century. We know nothing about it except that the famed poet Percy Shelley was sent there at age 10. He was miserable there. We do not know if this was entirely the school's fault. Shelley was event nore miserable at the public school he attended--Eton.


Figure 4.--We believe that this Eastbourne preparatory school was photographed about 1920. The boys are very well kitted out, but there are two major differences in some of their uniforms.

Unknown Schools


Unknown Eastbourne Preparatory School

A HBC reader has porwarded us a fascinated portrait of a preparatory school, we believe in Eastbourne. Unfortunately we do not know the name of the school, although we hope to learn which one it was because the portrait was taken in the front of the main building at the school. The portrait was taken by Lavis who had a studio at Eastbourne in Sussex. The portrait is undated, but our HBC contributor estimates that it was taken about 1902-03. The portrait is interesting in that all the boys are wearing the same identical suits, or virtually all. There are a few obvious variations in the school cap. Few of the early prep school portraits we have seen show the boys so uniformily outfitted. Curiously a bow in the window looks out at the others and he is wearing a smock.

Unknown School

This school was photographed in 1964. We believe that it is an English grammar school, but in fact have no information about the school. The available image clearly shows the school badge on the blazers, so hopefully our English readers will help us identify it. The photograph appears to be the new entrant First Form boys, but a few look a bit older. All of the boys but one wear short trousers with their blazers, but as one boy, next to the form master, wears long trousers--we are not sure what the school uniform regulations were.

Other

HBC would be interested in any information our English readers may choose to contribute about their primary or secondary school. Please feel free to contribute whatever you may recall about your school uniforms and scgool uniform regulations. We are especially interested in what you and your friends thought about the uniform at the time.









HBC--SU






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Created: December 17, 2000
Last updated: 4:37 PM 12/11/2023