England, Cheshire, School Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
Most school registers, which are admission and discharge registers, are on printed forms.

Schools for the working class were organized by churches in England, primarily by the Church of England in the early nineteenth century. In 1870, the British government took responsibility for education. In 1880, school was required for children between 5 and 10 years old. Fees were required except for the poorest students. Beginning in 1899, children attended until age 12. The age of mandatory attendance was raised to 14 in 1918 and to 15 in 1948. In between World War I and World War II, working class children attended elementary schools. Middle class children attended grammar schools, and upper class children attended public schools. These records contain about 1.9 million names from 120 schools.

This collection contains Cheshire school records from 1789 to 1908.

The school registers for Cheshire were used to keep track of children who were admitted. They tracked age, name, and address of the parent; name of the previous school the child attended; the child’s academic progress; and the date and reason for the child’s withdrawal from the school.

The school admission and discharge registers were highly reliable sources about a student’s admission and discharge, and, where recorded, his or her academic progress. The child's name, parent’s names, and place of residence should also be highly reliable. During the indexing process some indexers used the information in the age column for a birth date. Therefore, some information that was entered in the birth field may be incorrectly listed in the index.

For a list of the schools included in this collection see the wiki article Schools Included in the Online Collection: England, Cheshire, School Records, 1796-1950

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Records collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
Key genealogical facts found in most Cheshire School records are:




 * Admission number
 * Date of admission or re-admission
 * Date of birth
 * Surname
 * Given name of child and parent
 * Address
 * Name of last school attended
 * Academic progress
 * Date of withdrawal
 * Cause of withdrawal

How to Use the Records
Use these records to find ancestors’ birthdates, name of a parent (usually the father), and where the family lived. These records will also reveal how long a person stayed in the school and possibly what school he or she attended previously.

Record History
Schools for the working class were organized by churches in England, primarily by the Church of England in the early nineteenth century. In 1870, the British government took responsibility for education. In 1880, school was required for children between 5 and 10 years old. Fees were required except for the poorest students. Beginning in 1899, children attended until age 12. The age of mandatory attendance was raised to 14 in 1918 and to 15 in 1948. In between World War I and World War II, working class children attended elementary schools. Middle class children attended grammar schools, and upper class children attended public schools. These records contain about 1.9 million names from 120 schools.

Related Websites
London Family History Center

Related Wiki Articles

 * Cheshire
 * England School Records
 * England

Citations for This Collection
Information about creating source citations for FamilySearch Historical Collections is listed in the wiki article Help:How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
"England, Cheshire School Records, 1796-1950," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 22 March 2012), Fredrick Adams, 29 November 1865; citing School Registers for Aldford, School Records, FHL microfilm, 41 reels, Cheshire Record Office, Chester, England.