Nature of Source
Teacher records offer an insight into the lives and careers of ancestors who taught in schools, colleges and universities. The records may include application forms, employment contracts, training records and even details about the pupils and students they taught. Teaching staff will also be listed in census records if resident at the educational establishment.
Early Teacher Training Records
The history of teacher training in England began with the opening of Battersea Training College in Battersea in 1840 by Sir James P. Kay-Shuttleworth. The college was later taken over by the National Society in 1843.
The first formal attempt to register teachers began with the College of Teachers, established in 1846 in Bloomsbury, London. The college was originally set up to represent the teaching profession and to certify qualified teachers. Later, the college became the College of Preceptors in 1849 after being incorporated by royal charter. In 1998, it was re-launched as The College of Teachers and is now succeeded by the Chartered College of Teaching. The College’s archives, including valuable early teacher records, are held at the Institute of Education Library and Archives and is a useful resource for researching early teaching professionals.
Teachers’ Registration Council (1902–1948)
One of the most significant sources of teacher registers is the Teachers’ Registration Council, established in 1902 following the Education Act of 1899. The register was independent of the Board of Education and operated purely on a voluntary basis, so is far from comprehensive. The register did not become fully operational until 1914 but will include those who began their careers as early as 1870. In 1929, further attempts at teacher registration and provide teachers with a professional status led to the formation of the Royal Society of Teachers. The Teachers’ Registration Council served as its executive body. Registered teachers could now use the initials MRST (Member of the Royal Society of Teachers). The register, containing around 100,000 registrations, lasted up to 1948 and in the following year the council itself was abolished. Unfortunately the first two volumes of each series have been lost (A to Aleflower and A to Boait).
Information Available in Teacher Registers
- Teacher’s name (including maiden names for married women)
- Date of registration
- Registration number
- Professional address
- Academic attainments
- Training in teaching
- Teaching experience
These records are now held by the Society of Genealogists, with indexes and scanned images available online at Findmypast. After 1948, the Teachers’ Registration Council was replaced by the National Advisory Council on the Training and Supply of Teachers, which lasted until 1965.
Teacher Records After 1949
For records of teachers after 1949, researchers may turn to Teachers’ Pensions, which oversees the teacher’s pension scheme. Under certain conditions, information about teachers can be released for research purposes.
From 2000 to 2010, the General Teaching Council for England maintained a legally required register of teachers employed in the public sector but not necessarily for those working in private schools. In Wales, the General Teaching Council was reconfigured as the Education Workforce Council in 2015. In Wales, The General Teaching Council for Wales was reconfigured and renamed to become the Education Workforce Council in 2015.The remaining General Teaching Councils for Scotland and Northern Ireland remain in operation. Members of the public can check online for the Welsh and Scottish Councils for basic details of registered teachers and by post with the Northern Ireland Council. Ireland operates a similar scheme called the Teaching Council and registered teachers can be searched online.
See also
Occupational and Labour Records (Includes links and guidance on calculating historical wage rates and the cost of living)
School Records
University & College Records
Where Found
- Series ED, Records created or inherited by the Department of Education and Science, and of related bodies. Also included are records relating to the administration of teachers’ employment and conditions.
- Series ED 10/61, Teachers’ Registration Council and Royal Society of Teachers including registers of teachers, 1902-1912.
Institute of Education Archive
The Newsam Library. UCL Faculty of Education and Society. The Library holds records of the Institute dating from its creation in 1902 as the London Day Training College. The library also holds an extensive collection of current and historical materials on education including records from the National Union of Women Teachers, the World Education Fellowship and the Assistant Masters Association. A series of guides to the collections are available.
British & Foreign School Society Archive
The archive housed at Brunel University Archives is probably the most important collection in the world on 19th-century elementary education and teacher training. Holding include: material concerning Joseph Lancaster’s work; minute books that date from 1808 and record the work of the Trustees of the Royal Lancasterian Institution; correspondence and pamphlets.
Society of Genealogists
The society holds the Teachers’ Registration Council registers, 1902-1948.
Period Covered
1840 – Onwards
Genealogical Value
- Name and career of teacher.
Further References
- Chapman, Colin. The Growth of British Education and its Records: Lochin Publishing, 1992
- Chapman, Colin. Basic Facts about Using Education Records: Federation of Family History Societies, 1999
- Cleland, Elizabeth. The Church of Scotland Training College in Aberdeen: Records of the Classes from 1874-75 to 1894-95: Aberdeen, 1896
- Cowper, Alexandrina Stewart. SSPCK Schoolmasters, 1709-1872: Scottish Record Society, 1997 (Society in Scotland for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge)
- Craigie, James. A Bibliography of Scottish Education before 1872: Scottish Council for Research in Education, 1970
- Dobson, David. Scottish School Masters of the Seventeenth Century: Heritage Books, 2007
- Elverstone, Robert. Absent Through Want of Boots: Diary of a Victorian School in Leicestershire: The History Press, 2014
- Harwood, Elain. England’s Schools: History, Architecture and Adaptation: English Heritage, 2010
- Jacobs, Phyllis M. Registers of the Universities Colleges and Schools of Great Britain and Ireland: Institute of Historical Research, 1964
- Mccall, Alison. Aberdeen School Board Female Teachers 1872-1901: A Biographical List: Aberdeen & N.E. Scotland Family History Society, 2007
- May, Trevor. The Victorian Public School: Shire Publications, 2009
- May, Trevor. The Victorian Schoolroom: Shire Publications, 1994
- Oates, Jonathan. Tracing Your London Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians Pen & Sword Books, 2011
- Ogilvie, Joseph. The Church of Scotland Training College in Aberdeen: Records of the Classes from 1895-96 to 1905-07: Albany Press, 1907
- Oldham Hughes, Walter. The Register of Tonbridge School from 1820 to 1886: Beecroft, 1886 (available to download or read online at the Internet Archive)
- Steed. H.E. The Register of Tonbridge School from 1826 to 1910: Rivingtons, 1911
- Torrance, D. Richard. Scottish Trades, Professions, Vital Records and Directories: A Selected Biography: Scottish Association of Family History Societies, 1998 (The book contains a bibliography of works which contain lists of Scottish people trades people including students and teachers)
- Webb, Cliff. An Index of London Schools and their Records: Society of Genealogists, 2007
- Wilkes, Sue. Tracing Your Ancestors’ Childhood: Pen and Sword Books, 2013
- Willis, Richard. The Struggle for the General Teaching Council: RoutledgeFalmer, 2005 (Limited preview available from Google Books)
- Woolf, Alex. Past in Pictures: A Photographic View of Schools: Wayland, 2014
Websites
The National Archives Research Guide
How to look for records of Schools. This is a guide to searching for records created by and about individual schools.
The National Archives Research Guide
How to look for records of Historical education policy and administration: teacher training. This guide will help you to find historical government administration and policy records on teacher training which are now held by The National Archives.
The National Archives Research Guide
How to look for records of Education history records held by other archives. Use this guide if you are researching the history of education in the UK and are interested in collections which are held by archives other than The National Archives.
The National Archives Research Guide
How to look for records of Historical education policy and administration: technical and vocational further education and schools of art. Use this guide for advice on how to find records of government policy on technical and vocational further education, as well as the teaching of art, between 1836 and 1997.
UCL Bloomsbury Project
History of the College of Preceptors, also known as College of Teachers/Society of Teachers
Institute of Education Archives
Researching Family History. Was your ancestor a teacher? This guide might help you trace them.
Unlock Your Past
Tracing an Old Occupation. History of Scottish education and how to find your ancestral teacher in pre-19th century records.
Findmypast Blog
How School Records Can Help You With Your Genealogy Research.
Building on History
The Church in London: Researching Schools
Online Databases
Findmypast
Teachers’ Registration Council Registers 1914-1948. The records give details of nearly 100,000 people who registered their details with the council, who taught in England and Wales between 1870 and 1948. More than half of those are women.
Findmypast
Trade Union Membership Registers. Digitised images of original records books from 9 different trade unions from the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick. Search for an individual in the records including admission books, annual reports and membership lists and include details about individual members such as payments made, benefits received and the names of spouses. The unions include the Incorporated Association of Assistant Masters in Secondary School, 1919 and the National Union of Teachers, 1914-1920.
Findmypast
Yorkshire, Sheffield Social and Institutional Records 1558-1939. List of pupil teachers, 1877-1881.
Society of Genealogists Digital Collections
Teachers’ Registration Council, 1902 and 1949. The dataset is available online to members. Non a member you can still carry out an initial search but to view the full record details you will need to join.
The Genealogist
Official List of Registered Teachers, 1917.
The Genealogist
First World War Occupational Service Records. Service records of skilled professionals who were part of membership organisations, professional bodies and unions. Datasets include: members of the National Union of Teachers; members of the Institute of Electrical Engineers; Lawyers from the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple
British Newspaper Archive
Educational Times, 1847-1851, 1853-1881, 1883-1894, 1897-1923Search the journal of the College of Preceptors. This monthly publication provided guidance for teachers, giving advice on teaching methods, as well as providing information on exams and news from schools and universities. Woman Teacher, 1919-1961. The weekly paper of the National Union of Women Teachers.
CD Roms
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