The Village Schools, by Nigel Peake
Booklet published by the Westbourne Local History Group, 40 pages. A5 size booklet (N6501X1)
Westbourne is a small village in the Chichester area of West Sussex, and lies close to the border with Hampshire, and this booklet provides a fascinating short history of schools in the village from the early 19th century onwards.
From the opening page: In these days of community schools and colleges, Oxbridge and the Open University, it is hard to accept that a little over 200 years ago the simple prospect of teaching village children the alphabet threw large sections of the population of this country into paroxysms. Learning to read, they forecast, would lead to anarchy among the labouring classes. It would make them insolent to their superiors. It would encourage sedition and rebellion. It was against this background of supposedly informed debate by the leaders of public opinion that a few courageous men and women struggled doggedly to introduce even the most elementary form of education. Their perseverance won through, however, and although the early schools were poor affairs, haphazardly attended, they established the principle that access to the world of learning should be opened to the very poorest children....
Condition of the booklet is generally very good. The covers are clean and bright, the staple spine is tight and intact, and all pages are clean, intact, unblemished and tightly bound.There is a small price sticker on the rear side cover.
| Condition | New |