Giles Drew Author
giles@gilesdrewauthor.com
Giles spent almost all his working life teaching in English state schools. He retired in 2008 having spent the previous 16 years as Head Teacher of St Edward's Church of England Comprehensive School, Romford, in the London Borough of Havering. This school was established as part of the Charity School Movement of the early 18th century, and one of Giles's retirement projects has been to research this long history and show how closely it has mirrored the development of our national system of education over 300 years.
How did the public education system which now educates 93% of children in the UK begin? How did it evolve so that admission to 25% of state primary and 6% of state secondary schools is still controlled by the Church of England? Who were the politicians and other personalities, both national and local, who played decisive roles in this development?
To understand our public education system one must understand its fascinating and unlikely history.
The first part of this story, 'so excellent a Work', is now available. It will be of interest to all those with a commitment to our system of state education, to those with an interest in the history of London and one of its frequently overlooked Boroughs, and not least to those who were educated at St Edward's Primary or Secondary School.
Upcoming Events
It is hoped that Efficient or Cheap?, the follow up to 'so excellent a Work', will be published this summer. The final revisions were completed in February and work will now start on the index and the illustrations. It is subtitled 'How the Victorians created our public education system' and covers the period from 1835 to 1903 when Parliament finally took responsibility for public education and introduced state funding, inspectors, a national curriculum, secular board schools, and (in 1880) nationwide compulsory education. These years also saw the dominance of the Church of England challenged by those who campaigned for a totally secular system of public education. Who were the school managers and the teachers in Romford who had to cope with all this change and challenge? They lived through a period which began with one school in the town teaching 97 'scholars' and ended with ten schools teaching 2,400 children. For these reasons the scope of Efficient or Cheap? is very much wider than that of 'so excellent a Work'. It finishes with the acrimonious passing of the 1902 Education Act which introduced the system which would outlast the century and still underlies important aspects of public education in the 21st century.
Past Events
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'so excellent a Work' was published at the end of November 2023. The picture shows Giles speaking at the book launch at St Edward's Church in the Market Place, Romford, on Saturday 20 January 2024
27 February 2024
Talk to Shenfield Library Group and Guests:
'From Charity Schools to Free Education'
19 November 2024
Talk to Chadwell Heath Historical Society:
'The Charity School at Romford, 1710 - 1834'