General Chat

I was evacuated and went to local schools

Even in the mid forties I wasn’t at a local school as I had passed the 11 plus and went to a grammar school that’ was several miles away

One of my old schools, in Horrabridge, Devon is now 'The Old School Guest House' - a 3-star hotel/Bed and breakfast :-(

I was very lucky when I went back to Ireland about 20 years ago with my mum she wanted to show me where she and her brothers went to school it was not used as a school any more but what surprised me was how small it was and the iron gates were still there that my grandfather had made ( he was a blacksmith )

As it's school in the 1930's, there's every chance they were evacuated.
My mum ended up in a private school in Bournemouth (she was evacuated from Southampton), Despite doing genealogy, she never mentioned this to me, I found out about it after she died.

Thank you everyone

This is quite handy for state schools:

https://www.findmypast.co.uk/articles/britain-national-school-admission-registers-and-log-books-school-list

In the 1930's the school leaving age was 14, so most children started at the local elementary school, the infants from 5-7, mixed boys and girls, then junior boys or junior girls. The alternatives were faith schools or sending your child to a private i.e. fee-paying, school.

At the age of about 11 most children sat an exam (later called the 11+) to try and get a place at grammar school. As places were limited, there was a lot of pressure and in many cases children who didn't get a place were labelled failures. Those who didn't pass stayed at the same school and left at 14. (In the town where I lived the names of those who passed the exam were published in the local paper, in order.)

Later, in the 1940's, the leaving age was raised to 15, and secondary modern schools and technical colleges began to appear.

I must point out that the above applies only to England and Wales, as Scotland had a different system (and still does).

As others have said, the first thing you need is an address and then (unless it's a village) the names of local schools. These can often be found in street directories.

Good luck.

Also don't forget, if your parents were brought up in a faith they may have gone to a specific school in the area, not the nearest, eg my grandfather was Catholic so my mum went to the Convent school.

There are a few on Findmypast, but generally earlier, eg "England, Cheshire School Records, 1782-1950" I can find my uncle but that was 1925.

You can get the 1930s address in two ways
(a) from the 1939 mini census ( Ancestry, FindMyPast)
(b) ER Electoral Roll - London and quite a lot of the provinces are on line.
Of course you may know the address from other sources

As Maggie says most of the time children went to the nearest school but not always especially with education after 11 when they may have attended a technical high school or a 1904 grammar school There is also the possibility of a school giving priority to various religions. Universities usually have the school of their undergraduates recorded but the info is rarely on line..

Unfortunately a great many state schools from the 1930s no longer exist - the name has changed, the building is now a mosque / apartment block , the old school has been demolished, become a museum ... Fortunately the local history society will be able to give you name and address of schools in the area of interest. Most of the public schools are where they have been for a century or more. That does not apply to "prep" schools for children 6-13 which have as varied a history as state schools.

Working out yr FH often involves a great deal of digging, don't expect it all to be easy online with a few clicks!

good luck

In the1930's if children went to 'state school' it was the nearest.

Can anyone help me please how Can I find out where my parents went to school in the 1930s

Does anyone know of a site which holds records

Thank you