Schools in Victorian Times was

Although lots of schools were built during the Victorian era, not a great deal of money was spent on taking care of the buildings. Victorian schools were often quite shabby and in need of repair.

How did Victorian schools look like?

In the first half of the 1800s, classes were massive. Sometimes there were more than 100 pupils in every class. The floor of the schoolrooms was tiered (a bit like in a cinema). Also the children sitting at the back of the room were higher up than those sitting at the front. This meant that all of the children had a good view of the teacher and the blackboard, but it also meant that the teacher had a good view of them. And the windows in a Victorian classroom were high up (to stop pupils looking out of the window) and the rooms were lit by gaslights. As a result, the schoolrooms were gloomy and often stuffy.

What were Victorian classrooms like?

The most important lessons were the ‘three Rs’ – reading, writing and arithmetic (maths). PE lessons were called ‘drill’ and usually took place in the playground. The children didn’t get changed for PE and the lessons involved lots of jogging on the spot, marching, stretching and lifting weights (dumbbells). In the afternoons the girls and boys did different lessons. The boys were taught

woodworking (and some schools also taught farming, shoe-making and gardening). The girls were taught how to cook meals, how to do embroidery and how to complete housework (such as washing and ironing).

What did Victorian children learn?