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Education

The following abstract of the establishments for education, and the number of scholars attending the same in the county of Bedford, is taken from returns presented by command of his Majesty to the House of Commons, during the present Session (1835). We have kept it distinct from the other part, as the returns are made on a different principle.

Number of Infant Schools : 36
Number of infants from 2 to 7 years old in above schools : 623
Being : 97 males ; 104 females ; 422 sex not stated

Number of Daily Schools : 208
Number of children from 4 to 14 years old in above schools : 6,009
Being : 3,140 males ; 1,897 females ; 972 sex not stated

Total number of schools : 244
Total of children under daily instruction : 6,632

Number of Sunday schools : 198
Number of children from 4 to 15 years old attending Sunday schools : 15,918
Being : 6,783 males ; 7,604 females ; 1,531 sex not stated

Maintenance of Schools

By endowment :
0 infant schools
37 daily schools with 1,410 scholars
8 Sunday schools with 875 scholars

By subscription :
2 infant schools with 95 scholars
27 daily schools with 1,061 scholars
189 Sunday schools with 15,023 scholars

By payment from scholars :
32 infant schools with 486 scholars
130 daily schools with 2,761 scholars
1 Sunday school with 20 scholars

By subscription and payment from scholars :
2 infant schools with 42 scholars
14 daily schools with 777 scholars
0 Sunday schools

Schools established by Dissenters included in the above :
1 infant school with 27 scholars
9 daily schools with 958 scholars
69 Sunday schools with 6,743 scholars

Of the infant schools, one at Silsoe, containing 77 children, is supported by Earl de Grey.

Daily scholars being usually admitted at boarding schools (of which 16 appear in the returns to be established in Bedfordshire), and the boarders being in fact (according to the words of the returns) daily scholars, such boarding-schools are included in the foregoing abstract. Lace and straw-plat schools, which are numerous in this county, are not included in the abstract, although at many of them the children are taught to read.

Of the Sunday-schools 57 are kept at places where no other school exists, and the children instructed in them, 3,110 in number, cannot therefore attend any other school. At other places part of the children taught in Sunday-schools attend other schools also, but the proportion of these is not given in the returns.

The increase of schools since the year 1818 has been as follows :-

Infant and other daily schools 108 containing 2,643 scholars.
Sunday-schools 121 containing 11,180

There are lending libraries of books attached to 17 schools in Bedfordshire.

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