THE RISE OF GRAMMAR SCHOOLS

THE RISE OF GRAMMAR SCHOOLS

Basic provision for education in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was made by the grammar schools, which made it possible for intelligent ordinary working- and middle-class boys to receive a traditional classical, literary education that would act as a passport to good professional jobs in commerce, the law or the Church.

During the reign of Elizabeth I the number of grammar schools expanded considerably. Protestantism emphasised the importance of education as a means to encourage ordinary people to read the Bible. It also placed responsibility on those with the necessary means and influence to help the poor and disadvantaged.

Throughout England the new merchants, traders and property owners, many of whom had become wealthy as a result of the Reformation, donated and bequeathed large sums of money for the foundation of schools. Successful scholars of humble background were even able to apply for places at the prestigious universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Dartford Grammar School, founded in 1576, provided a small number of boys from ordinary working class homes with the opportunity to receive a proper education.