Elizabethan Education

• Education in Elizabethan England was only to prepare people for the roles they were expected to take on in the future. Less than 20 percent could read and write
• In the early 1500s, many humanists argued that education was valuable and not just to prepare people for future roles. Therefore, education opportunities in Elizabethan England grew
• Protestants argued that people should be able to read so they can study scriptures. This led to literacy rates improving as it was prioritised in education
• The growth of the printing press in the 1500s led to books being less expensive, giving people more opportunities to read
• The growth of trade in Elizabethan England encouraged people to be able to read, write and understand maths so they could record transactions properly
• Parish schools were for children up to ages of 10. They were ran by the church and set up by clergy. They usually taught basic literacy to children of yeomen and farmers
• Private tutors usually taught the children of nobility.
• Petty schools were for ages up to 10 years. They ran privately from peoples homes and were attended by children of gentry, farmers, yeomen, merchants and craftsmen
• Grammar schools were for boys from ages 10 to 14. They required charged fees, but scholarships were offered for poorer families
• In grammer schools, students were taught the bible, debating, Latin, French, Greek and Philosophy
• In grammar schools, the sons of the slightly less wealthy such as yeomen and craftsmen were taught mainly reading, writing and maths
• Scholarships were often given to poorer families as an education was seen as very important
• Many girls did not get an education as it was believed they did not need it. Girls from richer families attended Dame schools, which were ran by wealthy women in their homes
• Universities were for people aged 14 to 15. The two universities were Oxford and Cambridge. The highest possible university qualification was the doctorate
• In universities, people learned astronomy, geometry, music, or logic and rhetoric