The City of Bath Technical School in Bath, Somerset, England had various roles from the late 19th century until 1970. It obtained its official name when technical schools were formally introduced in Bath between the years 1892 and 1896, and at first was housed in a new extension of the Guildhall. The school was transformed in the early 20th century, when it was combined with several other institutions, and then evolved through various sites and roles until its closure at Brougham Hayes, Lower Oldfield Park in 1973 after being renamed in 1971 as Culverhay School.
Chronology
19th century The City of Bath Technical School has a complex history. Its evolution into a specialist school stems from early experiments in Technical Education in Somerset. Its creation arose out of the need to encourage young people to take an interest in the Sciences, and for them to be made aware of the Technical innovations that were occurring in the 19th century.
In 1832 the Somerset Industrial School for Boys was founded to accommodate boys at Brougham Hayes on the Lower Bristol road. It was aided in 1833 by the First Treasury Grant for Education (£20,000 for education of poor children). To be housed in a building which had originally been built as a barracks. The stated object of the home was "to reclaim abandoned boys, and to rescue those whose unhappy circumstances would inevitably lead them to crime and profligacy", inmates being drawn not only from Somerset but also from places at a considerable distance.Bath Central Library Kellys directories 1927, 1931 (publisher unknown). Retrieved 21 August 2009 (As the Somersetshire Home for Boys, it was still in existence in 1927, but had evidently closed by 1931.)
In 1851 the first government grant was introduced for technical education, followed in 1866 by the passing of the Industrial Schools Act 1866 (29 & 30 Vict. c. 118). The Somerset Certified Industrial School (previously known as the Somerset Industrial School), attendance rose to 180 pupils. The Elementary Education Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. 75) put in place the first statutory system of education in England, which was mainly elementary. The school leaving age at that time was 10 years. In 1884 there was a royal commission on Technical Education which was known as The Bryce Report.
The Technical Instruction Act 1899 was passed, and in 1890 a scheme was introduced called "Whiskey Money", under which local authorities could raise additional funds and use them for technical education. In 1892 technical training was started in Bath in a rented part of a large town house in Green Park, located near to the Somerset & Dorset line railway station, and a short distance from the city centre.Post Office: Bath directory, (publisher unknown) 1895 p.639
In 1893 the school leaving age was raised to 11 years. In 1896 the Bath Municipal Technical College opened in a newly built north wing of the Guildhall,Bath Central Library offering evening classes in various newly formed Technical Schools. Among other schools of that era, the Bath School of Art at The Paragon and the Technical School at Green Park were moved into this new building. The Board of Education Act 1899 established the Board of Education to supervise the education system in England and Wales.
20th century 1900 saw the school leaving age raised to 12 years. The Education Act 1902 laid down the system of secondary education, abolished school boards, and replaced them with the local education authorities of county and county boroughs councils. In the following year, 1903; the Bath Education Committee was formed and took over from the Bath and Twerton school boards.Publications: Martindale, N. (1994), " Local authorities as landlords of tenanted non-residential property ", University of East London, Byrne, T, 1994, 'Local Government in Britain', 6th edition, Penguin. JS3111.B9. 1906 saw the introduction of the Education (Provision of Meals) Act 1906, under which education committees were authorised to spend money on meals for children. A report on technical education (the Haldane Report) was prepared. In 1907 the Education (Administrative Provisions) Act 1907 was passed, requiring local education authorities to provide medical inspection of children in elementary schools.
In 1910 Long Acre, Walcot was taken over as additional accommodation for technical training mainly as a domestic science college. In 1914 the Old Jail at Twerton was converted and opened as Twerton Technical Institute. 1 Stuart Place (formerly known as East Twerton Terrace), Caledonian Road Twerton, was built in 1842 as the governor's house in front of the jail built to replace the Bath City Gaol in Grove Street. It was one of the earliest single-cell prisons in the land; each cell was by by high and each had a water closet.Historical Directories Post Office Bath directory 1864-5, p.481, image 484 The jail had closed in 1878 and in 1883 the Governor's House became a Technical Institute. Five years later in 1888 the jail became Goddards Sweet Factory; the factory closed in 1901 and the premises remained empty until 1914 when the entire premises, including the former Governor's House was refurbished and taken over as an outpost of the Bath Technical College catering for a wide range of technical classes.
In 1916 a Junior Commercial Day School opened at the Bath Technical College. In 1917 the General School Certificate and Higher School Certificate were introduced. In 1918 the Education Act 1918 introduced a national system of public education. The school leaving age was raised still further to 14 years. 1920 became the year that state scholarships were instituted in many schools in Bath. In 1926, a report of the committee on the education of the adolescent was commissioned (The Hadow Report), the first government report to suggest the integration of the secondary and elementary systems in England.
In 1927, a new daytime Junior Technical School opened at Bath Technical College (to supplement the original adult evening classes), and in 1929 a Junior School of Art – Bath School of Art and Design – followed, with the Junior School of Homecrafts being established in 1933. On the Ordnance Survey map of 1932 a large field is shown in front of the Somerset Boys' Home and by 1934 it had been transformed to become a hockey pitch and tennis courts for the Domestic Science College. In 1934 the Domestic Science College moved from Long Acre, Walcot to Brougham Hayes and in 1935 Bath Technical College moved from the North Wing of the Guildhall to Lower Borough Walls, taking over the buildings that were vacated when the Royal United Hospital moved to the new hospital in Combe Park.A potted History of the RUH . Retrieved 20 August 2009Medical Heritage Retrieved 20 August 2009
In 1936 the Education Act 1936 is passed, providing financial help to local authorities for building new church schools. Two years later, the report of the committee with special reference to grammar schools and technical high schools (The Spens Report) recommended expansion of technical schools in England to keep pace with the ever-changing logistical requirement of the many outposts in the British Empire. The need to maintain a dominant role (with the aid of advanced technology) was deemed a necessary step to take just one year before the outbreak of World War 2.Education Resources Information Center. Retrieved 20 August 2009
Second World War In 1939 the Admiralty took over many large buildings in Bath, including the Domestic Science College and the hockey pitch and tennis courts, and did not return them until late 1944. The pitch and courts were transformed when the Admiralty erected hutments upon them. In the Second World War, Messrs. W.G. Walters, a light engineering firm, took over part of the Twerton Institute and erected a temporary building in front of the former Governor's House.
In 1942, C .J. (Bill) Hayman transferred from the West Central School to Bath Technical School. In the following in year, 1943, a report from the committee on the curriculum and examinations in secondary schools (The Norwood Report) was published. A blueprint of the Education Act 1944 advocated that there be three types of secondary school. In 1944 the Education Act 1944 was passed by Parliament. It replaced almost all previous legislation and laid the foundations for the current education systems. In 1945 St. Peter's Church Hall in Dorset Street, Twerton and the nearby annexe were leased for five years by the City Council.
Postwar It was December 1945 before the Bath Technical College resumed control of the entire building at Stuart Place and by September 1946 it was called the headquarters of the School of Building. The Twerton Institute remained an important part of the Bath Technical College; metal-work and wood-working classes were held there for the pupils of the Bath Technical School. After the Second World War, the College began a new life with the Departments of Engineering, Commerce, Languages and Home craft all based at the Lower Borough Walls while the Department of the Building stayed on at the Twerton Institute and took over the hutments at Brougham Hayes. In 1946 Bath City Council published its plans for education in response to the requirements to the Education Act 1944, which proposed that the Secondary Technical School (at the Bath Technical College) would become a separate school. By 1947 the Bath Education Committee had erected more hutments at Brougham Hayes and redecorated the existing hutments. This school separation came into operation at St Peters Hall, Twerton in September 1947 when the first 52 11-year-old pupils were admitted.City of Bath Technical School (1997 Private publication) Jefferies, Malcolm held at Somerset Records Office – B.&.N.E.S. ref 0411/1 to 0411/1/13 (Not available online) The Further Education Sub-Committee (of the Bath Education Committee) agreed in 1947 that, in view of the use of St Peter's Hall in September by the eleven-year-olds, a second classroom could not be made available to East Twerton Junior School, next door to the hall. They continued to use this building until Weymouth House in the city centre became available in September 1949.
In February 1948, the Council appointed Henry Burt Toft BSc, as Principal of the Technical College and Headmaster of the Secondary Technical School; he took up his duties when Major L.J. Castle retired in May 1948;. He was then Headmaster, Royal Latin School, Buckingham and a former rugby international having captained the Barbarian F.C., Lancashire and England. Mr Toft was not in post long before a decision was made to allow him to concentrate on the College by appointing a separate Headmaster for the Secondary Technical School and the Council in March 1949 decided to advertise for this new post. Thomas John Nicholas MA BSc, headmaster of the Secondary Technical School, Wigan was appointed; he was 44 when he started in September 1949. Mr C. J (Bill) Hayman then became the deputy headmaster. A press report at the time said, "When the Bath Training College for Domestic Science moves out of the Brougham Hayes building, the Secondary Technical School will move in".