Schools and education in Tower Hamlets

Before 1870 there was no compulsory schooling. Most education was given by charitable and religious bodies. They focused on literacy, numeracy and religious instruction. Examples include

• National Schools linked with the Church of England
• endowed establishments funded through bequests made by individuals.

The Public Elementary Education Act 1870 led to universal schooling. The Act enabled for the building of new schools in Tower Hamlets. A new pan-London local education authority managed education. This body evolved and changed names during the 20th century:

• School Board for London (SBL) 1870-1904: created by the Public Elementary Education Act 1870. SBL left a lasting legacy in its school buildings. You can explore these across Tower Hamlets and other inner London Boroughs.

• London County Council (LCC) 1904-1965: the LCC took over the SBL in 1904. The LCC’s Education Committee oversaw the work of the Education Officer and Education Department. They introduced nurseries, special schools, evening classes and polytechnics.

• Inner London Education Authority 1965-1990: on 1 April 1965, the Greater London Council took over from the LCC. Education in inner London came under the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA).

• London Borough of Tower Hamlets (from 1990): education transferred from the ILEA to the inner London Boroughs. Tower Hamlets Council runs local schools and related services today.

The main sources include property and planning files including plans to school sites. Key series are:

• Town Planning files from the Borough Engineer and Surveyor and successors. This large series includes new sites for education and changes to existing school buildings, ref: L/THL/D/1/1

• Building Control files

• Evidences of title and other deeds to former London County Council and Greater London Council properties. These were later held by Tower Hamlets’ Legal Section, ref: T/THL/J/1/1. For example, deeds for Wood Close School, Bethnal Green, 1847-1903 ref: L/THL/J/1/1/15

Also held are records of local libraries which play a major role in education. These include Bow Library (ref: SMS/H) and Whitechapel Library (ref: L/THL/H/2)

The records can searched on our online catalogue.

You can research archives of associations, youth clubs, institutes and settlements. They include

The records can searched on our online catalogue.

• Brady Club, a Jewish youth organisation,1924-1981, ref: S/BRA
• Cambridge and Bethnal Green Boys Club later known as New Cambridge Boys' Club, 1936-1987, ref: S/NCB
• Dockland Settlement No. 2, Isle of Dogs. Learning for young people included holidays, camps and sports, 1924-1969, ref: I/DST
• East London Schools Sports Association, minutes, 1950-1977, ref: S/ELS
• Highway Clubs (Incorporated), records 1886-1986, ref: S/HWC
• National Union of Teachers: East London Teachers Association, 1902-1971: minutes, registers and printed material, ref: S/ELT
• Oxford House Settlement, Bethnal Green. Founded in 1884 by Keble College, Oxford to house former college pupils and tutors. They aimed to learn about ‘the real condition of the labouring classes’ in East London. 1886-1984, including records of clubs and associations, ref: I/OXF
• St Katharine and Shadwell Trust, records on education and training, 1990-2013, ref: I/SKS
• St Margaret's House, Bethnal Green. A settlement running clubs and other activities. 1872-1988, ref: I/SMH
• Scout Association: Poplar Branch, minutes, 1945-1959, ref: S/MIS/5
• Sunday School Union: East London Auxiliary, 1895-1996: minutes, reports, statistics, finance, photographs and printed material, ref: S/ELA
• Tower Hamlets Institute of Adult Education, 1898-1991: including records of predecessors Bethnal Green Adult Education Institute; Bethnal Green Men's Institute; Lansbury Adult Education Institute, Bow; and Olga Street Women's Institute, Bow; ref: I/THI

• Papers of individuals including:
• Peter Aylmer, teacher and representative on the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA), ref: P/AYL;
• Reverend Dan Greatorex, Vicar of St. Paul, Dock Street, Whitechapel and manager of St. Paul's School. Diaries, 1852-1892, ref: P/GXT;
• Edith Ramsay (1895-1983), educationalist and community worker, especially on adult education, ref: P/RAM;
• Research and photographs of Bradley Snooks relating to the history of Bow, 1980s-2000. Includes local Bow schools and other places of education, ref: P/SNO

Research sources on the history of education in Tower Hamlets and London in our Local History Library. Most material is under subject code 800. Themes include

• teachers’ associations
• parents’ unions and strikes
• exhibitions and festivals
• art and technical schools
• evening and commercial institutes
• further education
• special schools and centres
• play centres
• school sports.

Highlights from our Local History Library collection include:

• Published histories on schools and places for higher education. These include Queen Mary University of London and its predecessors.
• Serial publications including school magazines, newsletters, and annual reports.
• School journey books. These describe trips outside the borough. They are often written by the children themselves. There are also accounts of school evacuations during the Second World War. Wartime life can also be explore in school archives such as Parmiter's School (collection reference: I/PAR).
• Photographs illustrating school life, including class photographs and school buildings
• Newspaper cuttings and ephemera
• Directories help trace schools and other educational centres. These include those issued by the LCC, ILEA and Tower Hamlets Council. Maps show the locations of schools in Tower Hamlets. For example the LCC’s 1947 London School Plan, ref: LCM2673.

The London Archives holds important archives of local authority schools in Tower Hamlets. They include school registers, minutes, plans and policy files.

Management changed over the period 1870-1990 as follows

• Boards of Guardians for the Poor of London and Middlesex
• School Board for London (SBL)
• London County Council (LCC)
• Middlesex County Council (MCC)
• Inner London Education Authority (ILEA).

During this period, schools were issued registers and log books by the local authority. Completed volumes were often returned. These are at The London Archives, series ref: LCC/EO/DIV05. Tower Hamlets came under Educational Divisional Area 5. This included schools in Bethnal Green, City of London, Poplar and Stepney.

The London Archives also has archives of key East End educational organisations. These include

• Beaumont Institution and People’s Palace, Mile End. This was a public hall ‘for the recreation, amusement and education of the people of the East End of London’, ref: A/BPP

• Toynbee Hall which still operates today in Commercial Street, refs: A/TOY and ACC/2486

Explore their research guides on

• Sources for the history of education
• The Evacuation of Children from the County of London During the Second World War.