Besides John Beddoes' Grammar School (founded 1565), there was a charity school in Presteigne looked after by Thomas Legge, of nearby Willey, in the later 18th century, and other small private schools in the early 19th century.
The majority of children at the beginning of Victoria's reign were from poor families and had no education at all.

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.
Records do survive for some of these new schools and they can provide a fascinating glimpse of Victorian school life in a rural area.