A-Z Challenge: R is for Ragged Schools

1818: John Pounds sets up the first Ragged School.  The name at least does give you some idea of what they were - schools set up to provide free education for the poor.

1844: Lord Shaftesbury organises an official union of Ragged Schools.

The Ragged School movement grew out of recognition that charitable and denominational schools were not beneficial for children in inner-city areas. Working in the poorest districts, teachers (who were often local working people) initially utilised stables, lofts, and railway arches for their classes. There was an emphasis on reading, writing, arithmetic, and study of the Bible. The curriculum expanded into industrial and commercial subjects in many schools.

1844-1881: around 300,000 children went through the London Ragged Schools alone.

1990: "A Ragged School Museum is housed in a group of three canalside buildings that once housed the largest Ragged School in London. It occupies buildings that were previously used by Dr Thomas Barnardo and is located on Copperfield Road in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets." [Wikipedia]