At the beginning of the Victorian period most children did not go to school. The rich local landowners would have their children taught at home by a private tutor or governess and send the boys away to public school when they were older.
The businessmen and tradesmen in the area would send their children to a local private school if they could afford it. The children of the poor had to go to work as soon as they were old enough to do a job as the family needed the extra income.

By the end of the Victorian period free schools were in operation across the area and it was now compulsory for all children to attend school somewhere.
To see how some of these changes came about in the area and to find out what difficulties schools had in these early days, choose from the list below.