Children at Work

Early Victorian factory workers were treated like slaves and forced to behave  as if they were machines. Men, women and even children worked as long as 12 hours a day for six days a week! Overseers watched them to make sure they did not break the rules or fall asleep. Wages were low, especially for women and children. This was because factory owners wanted to make as much money as possible.

 

Children who had no parents were often taken in to factories to live and work. Some factory owners were cruel and gave them dirty rooms and scraps of food in return for long hours of labour. Children from poor families also worked in factories. They had to earn money to thelp their parents. Small children were given the job of crawling under dangerous machines to oil them or pick up threads. Many children fell asleep while working. Not surprisingly, many young workers died before the reached the age of sixteen.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/victorian_britain/victorian_children_at_work/

Going To School

At the start of Queen Victoria's reign few children went to school. Some attended Sunday school which were run by churches which taught reading, writing and Bible stories. Gradually, more and more children started to attend schools, perhaps for half of each day. However, over time the church could not provide enough places and other schools were opened by rich factory owners.

It wasn't until 1880 that schooling became compulsory. All children had to attend a school until they were 10 years old. In 1889, the school leaving age was raised to twelve, and in 1891, the school's pence fee was abolished and schools became free. There could be as many as 70 or 80 pupils in one class, especially in cities.The day usually began with prayers and religious instruction. Morning lessons ran from 9a.m. to 12p.m. Children often went home for a meal, then returned for afternoon classes from 2p.m. to 5p.m. The teachers were very strict.

Children were often taught by reading and copying things down, or chanting things till they were perfect.In many Victorian schools pupil-teachers helped with the teaching. The pupil-teachers were boys and girls of 13 and over. After five years of apprenticeship they could themselves become teachers.

Typical lessons at school included the three Rs - Reading, WRiting and Dictation, and ARithmetic. In addition to the three Rs which were taught most of the day, once a week the children learned geography, history and singing. The girls learned how to sew. Schools did not teach music or PE in the way that schools do now. Children sometimes did 'drill' in the classroom. Drill was a series of exercises that were done by the side of a desk.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/victorian_britain/children_at_school/

Victorian Times

 

 

Queen Victoria reigned between 1837 to 1901, during which times Britain went through many important changes.

• Industrial towns continued to grow 
• New steam trains rattled across the countryside
• Laws were passed to improve peoples live
• Working men were allowed to vote
• Children were stopped from working in horrible conditions and went to school for the first time

Your quality of life during the Victorian times depended on whether you were rich or poor.

• Wealthy Victorians enjoyed a good and easy life
• Poor Victorians had a rough and hard life, often ending up in the workhouse or early death.