School Time

In the Victorian period Bruce Castle was a boarding school. This is a school that you have to live at, only going home in the holidays! Over 120 boys lived at Bruce Castle - no girls were allowed.

Bruce Castle was very different to most Victorian schools.

Most Victorian schools:

• were not much fun
• mainly taught the 3Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic)
• made children copy from a blackboard
• were very strict
• hit children with a cane

Bruce Castle School:

• much more fun
• taught geography, history, science, French, Latin, Greek
• let children learn gymnastics and swimming
• ran a School Council with children helping to decide rules 
• rewarded children with small metal tokens