They use entries from the official Log Books or diaries of local schools. Although some schools were opened at much earlier dates, official records did not have to be kept by most until 1863, and many of the oldest have not survived.
The Log Books can often tell us quite a lot about home life in those times as well as about the routine of the school itself.
The children from poor families had to go to work as soon as they were old enough to bring extra income, and often missed lessons to help with farm and other jobs for their parents.
