School in Tudor England

By Isabella Hu

 

Going to school is usual in modern society, however, it was a privilege in Tudor England. At that time, not everyone could attend school. Our topic today will be “school” during the Tudor period. Who was allowed to attend school? What was school life like? Let’s find out together!

 

At that time, generally only wealthy families could attend school, but in some cases, poorer children could attend school if free places were available. Children attended Petty School (Dame School) at the age of 4, learning how to read and write. The word “Petty” might come from the French word “Petit” which means little or small. These schools were run by locals, and education was done in the house of a teacher rather than a formal school as we know it today. At the age of 7, boys were allowed to attend “Grammar School”, where they were taught Latin, mathematics, logic and rhetoric (the art of speaking professionally). Although girls were able to join a Petty School, they were generally barred from Grammar Schools and were expected to do the housework at home. After finishing their studies at Grammar School, boys had opportunity to go to university about the age of 14.

 

 

In terms of their school life, children usually went to school 6 days a week. The class started from 7 am in the winter and 6 am in the summer, and finished at 5 pm or 6 pm. During the different reigns of the Tudor monarchs, there were some variations in the subjects that children were taught. For instance, they learned maths, literature and geography during Henry VIII reign, when it came to Elizabethan times, kids were able to learn about Greek, logic, history, poetry and law. It is worth noting that children were taught and required to speak in Latin at school! When boys misbehaved in school or didn’t concentrate in class, they would be whipped by their teachers! You might wonder, wouldn’t doing this provoke a backlash from parents? Well, corporal punishment was common at that time, and some noble families would even hire a “whipping boy”, so a child from a poorer family would take the beating on behalf of the rich child. Barnaby Fitzpatrick, who served as the whipping boy for Edward VI, was educated alongside the young prince during their childhood. Even though Barnaby had to take the punishments meant for Edward, the two still became close friends.

 

 

For those children from royal families, their parents would hire a private tutor at home to teach Latin, Greek, French, reading, writing and so on. It means that girls in the royal family also had chance to be educated. Take Elizabeth I and Lady Jane Grey as examples, they both loved learning, and knew at least 3 languages! Other girls were typically taught practical skills like sewing, embroidery, dancing, music, archery, riding, and hunting, rather than academic subjects. They were also taught how to govern the household, and become skilled in all the household duties as it was essential for women at that time.

 

 

The material used for learning to write was typically called a “hornbook”, which was mainly a wooden board with the alphabet or the Lord’s Prayer on the parchment, which was then covered by a transparent layer of cow’s horn. Parchment was expensive and difficult to process, making it not an ideal medium for learning materials, as writing requires repeated practice. The hornbook was in common use in England around 1450, but may have originated more than a century earlier. We also have a replica of this in our Merchant’s House, where is part of our museum!

 

 

It seems that only privileged children were able to attend school. What about those who weren’t allowed or couldn’t afford to go? For poorer children, they became apprentices when they were 7-9 years old, and it lasted for seven years. Parents usually had to pay a tradesman for an apprenticeship, as the children would stay in the master or mistress’s house and be fed, making it expensive to raise an apprentice. Some master or mistress also provided clothes for them. Once they had accomplished their apprenticeship after years of training, they would receive a set of tools for their trade from their master and were able to earn money by themselves. Sometimes they could set up their own business as well!

 

If you are curious about how a merchant manage his shop and daily life, The Merchant’s House at John Moore Museum in Tewkesbury will be a perfect option to learn more!