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School attendance medals

School attendance medals

These medals were awarded to Joseph Voogt for good conduct and attendance at St James’ School in Liverpool. The silver medal was awarded for good conduct and attendance for three years in 1885 and the gold after four years in 1886. In 1888, he also received a certificate that was ‘the highest and final award’ for ‘punctual and regular attendance extending over a period of not less than five years’.

Attendance at school had always been a problem. Children would normally have to work from a young age. A child’s wages could mean the difference between hunger and starvation for a family.

The Sandon Act of 1876 and the Mundella Act of 1880 made education compulsory throughout England. The School Boards were expected to police these acts. Children had to attend school until they were thirteen, but could leave at age ten if they could pass their Standard 5 exam. Truancy was common. The parents were often either unable or unwilling to do without the extra wages a working child brought in.

Many headmasters punished the truants with the cane, but as the child was often absent through necessity the punishment was unfair and had little effect. The School Boards, such as the Liverpool Council for Education, would visit these children at their homes and could take the parents to court. Often, when this happened, the magistrate would let the family off with a fine, which was less than the child’s wages.

The School Boards offered medals to the children who frequently attended school, and the museum has many such examples in our collection. The children themselves seem to have thought little of the honour. The museum also has medals for Joseph’s brothers and sisters, and from this we can see that his parents made sure that their children all attended school regularly.

Schools in Liverpool today still reward good attendance. St James School in Bootle gives a certificate and book tokens in the end of year awards to those who have the best attendance records.

The Certificate and Medals are part of the Social History collection of the former Museum of Liverpool Life, but are not currently on display.

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