| Description | BOROUGH ROAD COLLEGE
Joseph Lancaster set up his first school in 1798, from which evolved the 'monitorial' system whereby older children taught the younger ones.
1810 - The Committee of the Royal Lancasterian Institution for the Education of the Poor of Every Religious Persuasion
1814 - became the British and Foreign School Society
1817 - new building on Borough Road, Southwark, London opened, a teacher training establishment and schools accommodating 500 boys and 300 girls.
Known as Normal School, training was brief - 3 or 6 months.
Numbers of students (men and women): 1818 - 44; 1828 - 87; 1838 - 183; 1840 - 207
1842 - new Normal College* at Borough Road built and formally opened. Accommodation for 45 men and 30 women, lecture theatre, dining room, several classrooms for use of students, large schoolrooms for boys and girls and other offices. Instruction in English, geography, history, mathematics, 'Natural Philosophy', 'Natural History', singing and drawing. Women's courses were similar but with less academic work and emphasis on needlework. Practice in schools during the day was followed by instruction in the evening. Students could attend the junior class for three months and the senior class for a further three months, many left after the junior class.
*St. Mark's, Chelsea was founded by the National Society in 1841 and took the title Normal College or Training College in a deliberate attempt to organise on collegiate lines, modelled on the ancient universities. The title 'college' was gradually adopted by other teacher training institutions but at first 'Normal School' and 'Normal College' were interchangeable. By 1860 'Training College' had been generally adopted in preference to 'Normal College'.
1846 - 'Teacher's Certificate' introduced. At age 13, promising boys and girls were indentured as 'pupil-teachers' to schools of approved standard for 5 years apprenticeship. Grants made to teachers who supervised their work. Pupil-teachers were examined annually by the HMIs. At 18 they competed for 'Queen's Scholarships', tests assessed by HMIs and Principal of the preferred college. Successful candidates were awarded a scholarship, worth £20 or £25, at a Normal College for a minimum of one year's training. Annual exams held and Certificates of Merit awarded, called Teacher's Certificate. These gave the candidates a State recognised qualification and entitled the college to a grant of £20 for each student who passed his first exam year, £25 if he passed a second year and £30 if he qualified for a third year (unlikely). The qualified teacher would receive an annual augmentation grant provided the school inspector reported favourably on his work. Exams were held at Christmas in a prescribed list of subjects including English grammar, history, geography, arithmetic, geometry, algebra, reading, penmanship, physical science and singing.
1851 - first students sat for the Teacher's Certificate at BRC.
(This continued to 1861 when the Dept. of Education issued a 'Revised Code' which reduced public expenditure on education. Money was to be given to grant aided schools solely on the results of an annual examination of each child in the 3 Rs by an inspector together with the record of school attendance. Reduced grants meant that colleges were obliged to charge fees.)
1889 - lease of Borough Road site bought by London County Council to house a new south London polytechnic.
1890 - Borough Road College took over site of the International College, Spring Grove, Isleworth and the road was renamed Borough Road, Isleworth.
West London Institute of Higher Education 1976.
Osterley campus of Brunel University 1997.
Campus sold.
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