Records of Bath Education Authority

The records in this sub-fonds relate to Bath City Council's responsibility for different aspects of education from the late nineteenth to the late twentieth centuries.

The Council's earliest responsibility was for technical education: the Technical Education Act of 1889 enabled county boroughs (of which Bath was one) to levy a rate to provide such education. The Council took advantage of the opportunity offered by the Act, and the Science, Art and Technical School opened in 1894 in a building at the north end of the Guildhall.

The Education Act of 1902 gave the Council responsibility for providing education at other levels. This Act marked a major change in the provision of education, transferring to local authorities substantial powers and responsibilities. County boroughs, including Bath, were given responsibility for providing elementary education: they took over the schools which until then had been provided by local school boards, and also (by agreement) schools which had been provided by religious denominations; denominational schools which wished could remain independent of council control, but they were aided by a contribution towards their maintenance. In addition, county boroughs were permitted to provide secondary (grammar school) education if they wished. From 1903 onwards, when the Act came into force, the provision of education was a significant part of the responsibilities of the Council - and one which grew substantially during the course of the twentieth century. Acting as the Bath Education Authority, the Council provided elementary schools across the city, some with senior departments for older pupils. It also gradually provided secondary (grammar school) education for a limited number of pupils, first within the Science, Art and Technical School, and then in new buildings: the City of Bath Girls school was opened in 1922 and the City of Bath Boys School in 1932.

The 1944 Education Act introduced free secondary education for all; it was intended that selection at the age of 11 would allocate pupils to either a grammar, technical, or 'modern' school, according to aptitude and ability. In practice different local authorities introduced slightly differing systems. Bath Education Authority adopted the tri-partite system for boys (grammar, technical and 'modern' schools), but a bi-partite system (grammar and 'modern' schools) for girls. A major school building programme was undertaken between the 1950s and the early 1970s: 12 new infants or junior schools were built, 4 secondary schools were rebuilt on new sites, and several other secondary schools were enlarged. The Technical College moved to new premises on Avon Street (it later left local authority control, becoming independent as the City of Bath College).

In 1965, local authorities were asked by the government to plan for a move to comprehensive secondary education. In 1967, Bath Education Committee approved a scheme for changing to comprehensive schools, and selection at 11 was abolished in 1973.

In the local government reorganisation of 1974, Bath City Council lost its responsibility for education, which was transferred to Avon County Council. Responsibility for education was returned when Bath & North East Somerset Council was created in 1996. However, following the Academies Act of 2010 most secondary and a small number of primary schools have left Council control and become independent academies.

A voluntary committee organised a Children's Dinner Fund for needy children from 1904, but a school meals service for all was not set up until after the Second World War. The first School Meals organiser was appointed in 1946; kitchens and dining rooms were built in schools, or space was adapted to provide them.

This description was compiled with reference to:

The Education Committee of Bath City Council, 'Unwillingly to School. An Account of the Education Service of the City of Bath 1870-1970' (Bath, 1974)

The Records
Given the importance of education in the responsibilities of the Council throughout the twentieth century, the quantity and significance of the records which have survived and been transferred to the Record Office is disappointing. Some records were transferred to Avon County Council on re-organisation in 1974, although a small number have since been returned. No records post-1996 have been received by the Record Office.

The records include:
-Financial and accounting records
-staff records
-a small amount of records relating to school meals
-a small amount of filing and miscellaneous material, including deeds and records relating to forward planning and reorganisations

The records are not yet catalogued in detail. Please contact the Record Office for more information.

Related records
Minutes of the Education Committee and its sub-committees

Note that the records of school boards (1870-1902) and of individual schools are catalogued separately