‘Attendances and Pence Account from May 20th 1849 to November 15th 1856’

Description:By 1849 the school register was being kept by the Schoolmistress Mrs. Twigge. Each page is headed ‘Mrs Twigge’s Attendance Account’.

This attendance and pence account reveals that girls were attending the school as well as boys by 1849. Entries for June to July 1849 record that there were 36 boys, 18 ‘Junior Boys’ and 32 girls, totalling 86 pupils. The presence of the ‘Junior’ category suggests that the school was providing an education for children of a range of ages. The pence account tells us that pupils were now only paying one and a half to two pence per week to attend the school.

By 1849 the school appears to have extended its activities to include excursions for the children. The accounts for July 15th to August 12th 1849 state that on Thursday 2nd August ‘the Sunday School had an excursion to Sandon Park by train’.

Accounts for August 12th to September 30th show how the agricultural calendar affected life at the school. The document states ‘the harvest holidays commenced Aug[us]t 29th and continued 3 weeks ending Sept[embe]r 17th’. The attendance register reveals that some of the boys and girls at the school had agricultural responsibilities during this time, entries noting that some pupils were absent from the school for ‘Gleaning’.

At other times in the year a number of female pupils at the school were absent because they were at work ‘Nursing’. Between November 25th and December 23rd 1849 Anne Sharpe was absent ‘nursing’ and between February 3rd and March 2nd 1850 Emma Mason had the same responsibility for three weeks.

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