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According to Tacitus, in 78 AD, Governor Agricola established schools for the sons of local chieftains.
Three-tier system: Reading, writing, arithmetic.
Rules of composition, study of literary texts. Theory and practice of public speaking.
Education was available only to a tiny stratum of the population. The majority of the population remained Celtic and illiterate.
With the departure of the Romans, their educational system practically disappeared. -
Augustine's Arrival in Canterbury and foundation of the first post-Roman churches and schools. Grammar Schools: To teach Latin to future priests. The Royal School in Canterbury is considered the oldest in England. Singing Schools (Song Schools): To prepare boys for singing in choirs. Monasteries (for example, in Whitby) became the main centers of literacy and education, trained clergy and copied books. Some girls from noble families were educated in monasteries (for example, in Hartlepool).
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Alcuin's York School since 776, became the intellectual center of Europe, setting new cultural standards. It included grammar, rhetoric, law, poetry, astronomy, arithmetic, geometry, music, and the Holy Scriptures.
All subjects were focused on Church service (for example, astronomy for calculating the date of Easter,).
His work at the court of Charlemagne helped to revive education in Continental Europe, which indirectly influenced the further development of English schools. -
King Alfred the Great recognized the catastrophic decline of literacy and made conscious efforts to restore it. He visited monasteries in Athelney and Shaftesbury. He organized education in the royal house for his children and the sons of the nobility, where they taught them to read and write in Latin and English. He encouraged translations and writing in English to make knowledge more accessible.
His efforts laid the foundation for the revival of education under his successors. -
Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, promoted the renaissance of education and opposed excessive corporal punishment. Elfric wrote the first English grammar of the Latin language ("Anglo-Latin Grammar"), which made learning more accessible. The limitations of the system: Education was still mainly monastic and prepared by the clergy. Education for lay people and girls remained a rare exception.
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The conquest connected England with Europe, bringing new intellectual trends and strengthened ties with the church.
The Normans introduced a stricter administrative system. Charters have appeared in which schools are mentioned as separate institutions for the first time.
French became the language of the aristocracy and the courts, while Latin remained the language of scholarship.
During the reorganized cathedrals (London, York), positions of scholastics responsible for schools appeared.