homework help victorian schools

When did attending school become mandatory?

It wasn't until 1880 that schooling became mandatory. 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.

What were the schools like?

There could be as many as 70 or 80 pupils in one class, especially in cities. 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.

What did the schools teach?

Typical lessons at school included the three Rs - R eading, W R iting and Dictation, and A R ithmetic.  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.

For maths lessons, children used frames with coloured wooden beads, much like an abacus.  Children learned how to multiply and divide using this apparatus. 

What was a Victorian school day like?

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.

Why did Victorian children write on slates?

Paper was expensive. Children usually therefore wrote on slates with slate pencils. After a lesson was completed, and the teacher checked their work, the students cleared their slates for the next lesson. 

Did Victorian children use pens?

Older children learnt to write on paper. An 'ink monitor' distributed ink to the children, who used pens made out of thin wooden sticks with steel needles.  The pen had to be dipped every few words or it would run dry.

Other websites

School Life In The 1800s . Web Quest

What were Dame Schools?

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Homework is an important part of your child's learning.

On this page

Types of homework, how you can help, homework in secondary school, questions or concerns about homework.

Homework gives your child a chance to:

• work through the things they have learnt at school
• strengthen their long-term understanding of the topic or activity
• develop study skills that they will use for the rest of their life.

Homework is also a chance for you to get involved and help your child’s learning.

The type of homework set for your child will depend on:

• the subject
• the school’s homework policy
• their teacher.

These things will also influence the length of the homework and the level of difficulty. 

Practice exercises

Practice exercises are things like:

• math problems
• essay writing
• practising words and phrases learnt in another language
• practising sports skills
• playing a musical instrument
• other creative tasks.

Practice exercises give your child the chance to:

• apply new knowledge
• understand and go over what they have learnt in school.

Homework that introduces a subject or topic

This type of homework gives your child the chance to learn about a topic before their teacher covers it. This helps your child prepare and understand future lessons.

Examples of this type of homework include:

• reading about history
• reading English texts so that the class can talk about them together
• researching topics for class work
• collecting newspaper articles
• watching the news.

Homework that builds on what they already know

This type of homework is sometimes called extension work or extension assignments.

This type of work helps your child to build on what they already know. It also allows them to do this in their own way.

Examples include:

• writing a book review
• making artwork
• completing science experiments or investigations
• researching local news
• finding information on the internet.

There are lots of ways you can help your child with their homework. 

Find resources on the home work topic

Use the FUSE website  to find teaching materials and resources that can help with homework.

Encourage a homework routine

Help your child to do their homework at the same time everyday.

Some children concentrate better in the mornings. Some are better in the afternoons. Choose a time that works best for your child.

Having a regular homework time will set your child up with good study habits. This will help them throughout school and beyond.

Set up a comfortable space

Your child will find it much easier to do their homework if they have a comfortable space.

This could be a space in their bedroom, in your study or in the family room. If you don't have a space at home you could think about going to a library.

A good homework space:

• is comfortable – not too hot, not too cold and has plenty of fresh air
• has good light – use a good lamp or overhead light if the space is dark
• has all the things they need to do their work: think about stationery, a computer, a printer
• is free from distractions such as the television or computer games.

Think about a study group

Some children study better with others. If you think this would help your child you could start a study group with a few of their friends.

Take turns hosting the group at each house.

Talk to your child about their homework

Don't be afraid to talk to your child about what they are learning.

• what is easy
• what is difficult
• what they find interesting about it

By starting a conversation you will be able to help them plan their homework and suggest resources they can use to help with their work. Encourage them to tackle the difficult work first while they are fresh.

Celebrate their successes and achievements

Attend school events, productions or award ceremonies your child is in. Show them your support.

Your child's homework will become harder and more frequent in secondary school. 

You can help your child create a homework timetable so they can keep track of their work. This should be a task you do together.

Use a diary or a calendar and:

• enter the dates and times of your child's non-homework activities, like sport activities, house work, reading time
• get your child to list all their homework tasks for the week and when they are due
• ask your child to estimate how long each task will take to complete
• break up big tasks into small chunks
• colour-code each subject so that your child can see at a glance what they will work on
• allow 10–15 minute breaks for every hour of study
• allow breaks for mealtimes and encourage your child to eat with the rest of the family – this should be away from their desk or workspace.

Talk to your child's teacher or school if you have questions about homework or you believe your child needs extra help.

Updated 11 December 2023

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The Victorian era

When was the Victorian age?

The time when Queen Victoria reigned is called the Victorian era or Victorian age . She was queen from 1837 to 1901 , and a lot of things happened in Britain during that time.

During the 64 years that Queen Victoria was on the throne, Britain was also going through the Industrial Revolution . Machines for factories were invented that could make things quickly, like textiles – so, there were more textiles around to sell, and more people who wanted to buy them. With the invention of the steam train, the textiles could get to places further away than before.

Life in the Victorian era changed very quickly for a lot of people, and cities became busier and more crowded.

Top 10 facts

• The Victorian era is what we call the time that Queen Victoria reigned: 1837-1901.
• During the Victorian era, the Industrial Revolution was happening – this is when scientific inventions meant that it was easier to make things to sell, and that those things could be sent to places further away than before.
• One big reason why the Industrial Revolution happened was because of steam power – this lead to the invention of steam trains, which made it faster to travel and to send goods.
• A way to make steel from iron was also discovered, which made it easier to make machines for factories and to even build the factories themselves.
• All of these things during the Industrial Revolution meant that lots of products could be made in the same place at the same time – this is called mass production. Before this, it would have been just one tradesman making one thing at a time.
• Also during the Victorian Era, Great Britain became the British Empire . Britain governed many countries, kingdoms and colonies all over the world. Many of these places are part of the British Commonwealth today.
• Before the Victorian era, it took days – sometimes weeks – to travel places. Inventions such as the steam train and the iron steam ship meant that travel took a lot less time, so people started going to places where they wouldn’t have thought to before, like the (modern day) United States of America and India .
• It was also faster to get in touch with other people, even if you were all the way across the Atlantic Ocean. The telegraph and telephone were both invented in the Victorian era , so people didn’t always have to write letters if they had something important to say.
• People started using electricity for the first time in the Victorian Era. The first electrically-lit streetlights, public building and even village were in the UK.
• By 1901, half of all the people who lived in Britain (not including the Empire) lived in cities. This was a huge change because most people had lived in the country around the start of the Victorian era.
• 24 May 1837 Victoria was crowned queen
• 1837 The SS Great Britain, the first iron steam ship, was built and made the Atlantic Ocean crossing

• 30 June 1841 The Great Western Railway from Bristol to London was completed
• 1842 The Mines Act established that women and children younger than 10 years old were not allowed to work in mines
• 1843 Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol and the first Christmas cards were sold
• 1845 The pneumatic rubber tyre was invented
• 1845 London Road in Nottingham was the first road to be paved with tarmacadam (tarmac), which meant roads didn’t have to be covered in cobblestones anymore
• 1847 The Factories Act set limits on the amount of time women and children could work
• 1850 The first public library opened in Manchester – anyone could borrow books for free!

• 1850 The first workhouses opened, giving poor people a place to live in exchange for their work
• 1851 The Great Exhibition took place at Crystal Palace in London
• 1852 The Victoria and Albert museum opened in London
• 1853 The first post boxes were used – painted green, not red!
• 1853-54 An outbreak of cholera in London killed 11,000 people

• 1856 Scientist Henry Bessemer invented a quick way to convert iron to steel, which helped mass production
• 1857 The National Portrait Gallery opened in London; it was the first portrait gallery in the world
• 1857 The Science Museum opened in London
• 1857 A cable was laid in the Atlantic Ocean, between Ireland and Newfoundland, so telegraphs could be sent between North America and Great Britain; it took a few more years to get it working properly, though!
• 1858 India started to be ruled by Britain
• 1863 The London Underground opened, becoming the world’s first underground railway (steam powered)
• 1867 Voting laws gave all men who paid taxes a right to vote
• 1870 The Houses of Parliament in London were completed (they had to be rebuilt after a fire in 1834)

• 1873 The first chocolate Easter eggs were made by Fry, Vaughan & Co. in Bristol
• 1875 A drainage system in London was completed, which improved sanitation in the city
• 1876 Queen Victoria was named Empress of India
• 1877 The first telephones were sold through a company named after inventor Alexander Graham Bell
• 1877 Thomas Edison made the first recording on a phonograph; Queen Victoria was recorded on a phonograph in 1888
• 1878 The first electric streetlights were installed in London
• 1878 The Salvation Army was founded by William Booth to help the poor
• 1880 The Education Act decreed that all children aged 5-10 had to go to school
• 1881 Godalming in Surrey was the first town in the world to have an electricity supply available for everyone to use; also that year, the Savoy Theatre was the first public building in the world to be entirely lit by electricity
• 1882 Thomas Edison opened the world’s first steam-powered electricity generating station in London
• 1883 The first electric railway was built in Brighton
• 1885 The standard bicycle (like the ones we use today) was invented
• 1885 The first motor car was built in Germany by Karl Benz
• 1887 The gramophone was invented by Emile Berliner
• 1887 Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee
• 1891 A law was passed that established every child age 5-13 should have access to a free education
• 22 January 1901 Queen Victoria died and Edward VII became king

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Did you know?

• The Victorian era is named after Queen Victoria, who was queen from 1837-1901. People who lived during the Victorian era are called Victorians .
• Before the 19th century it used to take people 12 hours to travel between Birmingham and London if they were riding in a horse-drawn coach. Steam trains meant they could make the journey in under six hours!
• The police force was set up during the Victorian era by a man called Robert Peele (which is why we sometimes call the police "bobbies"!).
• Electric light bulb
• Steam and electric trains
• Rubber pneumatic tyres
• Sewing machines
• Postage stamps
• Chocolate Easter eggs
• Christmas cards
• In 1851 the Great Exhibition was a huge collection of all kinds of inventions and art from Britain as well as places like America and Russia . The money that was made from people paying to see the Great Exhibition was used later to build museums in London, like the Science Museum.
• the first electric street lights were in London
• the first building lit with electric lights was a theatre in London
• the first village to have its own access to electricity was Godalming in Surrey.
• At the beginning of the Victorian era in 1837, more people lived in the country than in cities. By the end of the Victorian era in 1901, half of the British population lived in cities. Find out more about life under Queen Victoria.

See if you can spot all the following in the gallery below:

• Queen Victoria
• Alexander Graham Bell
• Joseph Wilson Swan
• Volks Electric Railway in Brighton
• A steam engine used in a factory
• A map of the British Empire in 1897 (all the red areas)
• People riding a penny-farthing bicycle
• The SS Great Britain ship (Photo Credit: mattbuck via Wikimedia Commons)

When the Victorian era began, Britain was going through the Industrial Revolution. Scientists had learned how to use steam to create power, and from that came a whole list of other inventions that used steam power to make machines operate.

One of these machines was the steam train, in the early 1800s. It meant that travelling was a lot faster than using a horse and carriage, and that goods could be transported much more quickly than using the canal system.

This was good because more and more goods were being made! For instance, the textile industry was growing thanks to the invention of machines that could do the spinning and weaving instead of people, meaning it took much less time to produce. This is called mass production , and it was a key factor in the Industrial Revolution. It wasn’t a case anymore of just one person making one item – machines could do the same job in a fraction of the time.

While all this was going on, Britain was becoming bigger. The British Empire was the term used to describe all of the places that were under British rule, and during the Victorian era, this got so big that one poet said ‘the sun never sets on the British Empire’ (meaning that wherever the sun was shining at the time, it would be shining on something that belonged to Britain). Many countries that were part of the British Empire are now part of the Commonwealth.

The Great Exhibition in 1851 celebrated not just great accomplishments from around the world, but also within Britain and the British Empire.

Names to know:

Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859) – a famous engineer who build steam ships, bridges, tunnels and even helped with the Crystal Palace used to house the Great Exhibition James Watt (1736-1819) – a Scottish engineer who invented an improved steam engine used in factories and mines Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) – most famous for inventing the telephone Thomas Edison (1847-1931) – an American inventor who made the phonograph and helped Joseph Wilson Swan (1828-1914) in Britain create the first electric light bulbs. Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) – Prime Minister in 1868 and again from 1874-1880 William Gladstone (1809-1898) – Prime Minister four different times between 1868 and 1894, which is more than any other prime minister; he supported laws that allowed more people to vote W. H. Fox-Talbot – an inventor who found ways to take photographs using negatives Robert Peel (1788-1850) – Prime Minister from 1834-1835 and 1841-1846, who set up the Metropolitan Police Force in 1829.

Related Videos

Just for fun...

• Quiz yourself on the Victorians!
• Watch a Horrible Histories video about the Victorian age:  Queen Victoria - British Things Song
• Read English Heritage's Kids Rule! guide to Victorian England magazine to learn all about the Victorians
• Travel back in time to a Victorian house
• Print out some Victorian scenes to colour in
• Did  life really improve in Victorian times ?
• Follow along with loads of Victorian recipes 
• Listen to a radio play about Prisoner 4099 , 12-year-old William Towers who was caught stealing two rabbits (possibly for food for his family) in 1872 and sent to Wandsworth prison

Best children's books about the Victorians

Find out more:

• A children's guide to Victoria's reign , with information about the Queen Victoria's family , the  British Empire , Victorian architecture and Victorian cities
• Watch a  BBC Bitesize clip about the history of the steam engine
• A guide to some  great Victorians  and their lives
• See a BBC Bitesize introduction to the British Empire
• Read fiction books set in Victorian times
• Victorian Britain  information and links from the National Archives
• A BBC bitesize introduction to The Victorian Era
• Understand the impact of the steam engine on Victorian life
• Life in the workhouse, including a guided tour
• Read about workhouses in Victorian times
• Find out about  crime and punishment in Victorian times
• Information about Victorian prisons
• Watch a BBC Bitesize video about the Industrial Revolution and what life was like in Britain before, during and after industrialisation
• Find out about famous Victorian author, Charles Dickens
• Read about the Great Exhibition , which embodied Prince Albert's desire to showcase the wonders of industry from around the world
• Look closely at William Powell Frith's painting Ramsgate Sands (Life at the Seaside) , 1852-4, to see an image of Victorian life
• Consult a Victorian inventions timeline (1837 to 1901)
• Read about Victorian transport in Preston , including trams and stem engines
• Explore posters, newspapers, illustrations and more that showcase Victorian Britain

See for yourself

• Look at an online collection of Victorian objects , including carbolic soap, candle snuffers, clothes wringers and oil lamps
• See posters, British Exhibition tickets and other items from the height of the British Empire at the Museum of London
• Learn more about the amazing inventions around the Victorian Era at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester
• Walk around Buckingham Palace in London to see evidence of Victorian life: a route map highlights all the places of interest
• At York Castle Museum, Kirkgate is a recreated Victorian cobbled street with a schoolroom, police cell and Hansom cab
• At Blists recreated Victorian Town  you can meet some "real" Victorians in their authentic shops and cottages, buy Victorian goods and watch tradespeople in action  

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Victorians KS2 Planning and Resources

Subject: History

Age range: 7-11

Resource type: Unit of work

Last updated

27 August 2022

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Victorians KS2 planning and resources. Each lesson plan has every resource needed to teach it:

Lesson 1 - Victorian homework project and presentation. Lesson 2 - Victorian changes - social, political. Lesson 3 - Diamond nine on Victorian inventions and social changes. Lesson 4a - Thomas Barnardo. Lesson 4b - Schools in Victorian times and in modern Britain. Lesson 5 - Compare technology in Victorian Britain and modern Britain. Lesson 6 - Victorian slang. Lesson 7 - Victorian terminology.

There is a PDF of all of the files and an editable version of each file.

The unit is designed to be used with Year 5 or 6.

You can find more History lesson plans, worksheets and other teaching resources on the Save Teachers’ Sundays website.

Note: This unit was updated on 27th August 2022. Please download the most recent version of it if you bought it before this date.

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School operations

The purpose of this policy is to ensure all schools work with their school communities to develop and communicate a considered homework policy.

• Victorian government schools are required to have a homework policy and communicate it to staff, parents/carers and students.
• The content of this policy is not prescribed, but should be evidence-informed and comprehensive, and must be developed in consultation with the school community.
• School council approval of a school’s homework policy is not required.
• A homework policy template is available on the School Policy Templates Portal External Link (staff login required); schools are encouraged to adapt this template to suit their needs.

Victorian government schools are required to have a homework policy.

The content of this policy is not prescribed by the Department, but should be evidence-informed and comprehensive, outlining:

• a rationale for the elements of the school’s policy
• the responsibilities and expectations of teachers, students and parents/carers in setting, completing, monitoring and responding to homework

The school’s homework policy must be developed in consultation with the school council, as representatives of the school community, and school staff and students. School council approval of a school’s homework policy is not required.

Victorian government schools must periodically communicate their homework policy to staff, parents, carers and students through available communication channels (such as the school newsletter, or by placing the policy on the school’s website).

The setting of homework can be seen as one way of:

• complementing and reinforcing classroom learning
• fostering good lifelong learning and study habits
• developing self-regulation processes such as goal-setting, self-efficacy, self-reflection and time management
• supporting partnerships with parents/carers by connecting families with the learning of their children

The effectiveness of homework can be enhanced when:

• it is set at an appropriate level for each student, supporting those who are experiencing difficulty and extending those of high-ability
• it is related to essential learning at school
• choice in tasks is provided
• it is assessed by teachers, either formally or informally, with feedback provided
• it supports students to have a balance of school-related and non-school related activity in their lives (i.e. where the amount of homework set provides sufficient additional time for students to engage with family, sport and recreation, cultural pursuits and employment, where appropriate)

Definitions

Homework Tasks assigned to students by school teachers that are meant to be carried out during non-school hours.

Reviewed 11 January 2024

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Policy last updated

15 June 2020

Teacher Professional Practice Unit