3 - The supremacy of the Harpur Trust in elementary education

Summary

“Bedford is rapidly becoming the metropolis of education in England.”

The Daily News August 31st, 1883

The New Scheme Established

The new Board of Governors of the Harpur Trust met for the first time in December 1873, and Mr. S. Whitbread, m.p., was elected Chairman, a post he was to hold for more than twenty years. From the point of view of elementary education this was a fortunate choice, as he was keenly interested in its welfare. Although the business of the first meeting was mainly of a formal nature, one question concerning elementary education was raised. Mr. and Mrs. Turnley were giving up the Hawes Street School, and offered to let it to the Harpur Trust. No decision was taken then, but at a meeting held on January 7th, 1874 it was decided to accept the offer, and to engage the existing teaching staff for one year.

Initially the Governors set up two committees for the schools, one for the Grammar School, and a joint one for the Modern and the Elementary Schools. The first task of this latter Committee was to divide up the existing buildings in Harpur Street between the Modern and the Elementary Schools. This was no easy task, and in March they advised the Governors to put off a final decision until midsummer. They did, however, suggest that the elementary schools should have the buildings then occupied by the General Preparatory School, the Girls’ School, and the Hospital (which was to be closed). This led to a serious discussion, during which Mr. Whitbread made a speech strongly supporting the Trust’s development of the elementary section. His idea was that they should aim to make elementary education under the Trust better than it would have been under the 1870 Act. He foresaw that if the town’s population continued to increase as rapidly as it was then doing a school board would at some time become inevitable, but felt that if they could keep the elementary education under the control of the Trust they would be able to ensure that the clever children were moved up from the elementary schools into the Modern School. All the Governors, however, did not share this liberal point of view.