Ackworth School - A Quaker School for those "not in affluence".

1820-1829. 

'There was probably no such reading, no spelling so accurate, no grammar so sound, no arithmetical readiness and accuracy so general as those of Ackworth, in the country. True there was no study of the Classics, but, except that which was gained in the highest forms of a few public schools, most of the Latin of schools which then sacrificed everything to it was little more than the parrotwork of memory, to have imitated which would have been little benefit to the Ackworth boy. If he did not study Conic Sections or dive into the Calculus, he mastered the elements of arithmetic and mensuration, and did some good work in algebra and trigonometry.' - History of Ackworth School - Henry Thompson.

Boys: 

Curriculum:

• Religious study (a chapter from the bible was read before breakfast).

• English language.

• Reading.

• Writing.

• Spelling.

• English Grammar (in upper classes).

• English History (as of 1820).

• Mathematics (mainly arithmetic, older boys studied land surveying, Trigonometry, Mensuration and a little elementary Algebra).

• Geography (introduced in 1807 - taught only to sixty of the upper boys - map instruction and the drilling of the rudiments of geography).

• Latin (as of 1825 - taught to twenty of the most advanced scholars).

Manual work:

• Waiting the table.

• Cleaning shows and knives.

• Helping in the bakery and the dairy

• Working in the garden or on the farm.

Girls:

Curriculum:

• Religious study (a chapter from the bible was read before breakfast).

• English language.

• Reading.

• Writing.

• Spelling (one-hour a day).

• English Grammar (in upper classes).

• English History (as of 1820).

• Arithmetic. 

• Housewifery. 

• Needlework (spinning - abandoned in 1817, sewing and knitting).

• Geography (introduced in 1807 - taught only to sixty of the upper boys - map instruction and the drilling of the rudiments of geography).

• Latin (as of 1825 - taught to twenty of the most advanced scholars).

Manual work:

• Mending the linen.

• Waiting at the Housekeeper's table where the members of staff took their meals.

• Taking it in turns to assist the laundress and the mantua maker.

Page updated 8th September, 2015.