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Find your family's school records

Explore millions of historical school registers from Britain and beyond at Findmypast.

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UK National School Registers 1870-1914

Exclusive to Findmypast, this amazing collection of records includes admission registers and log-books from over 1,500 schools across England and Wales. In them, you'll find essential information for your family tree including the names of the pupils, their parents and addresses. And if you're lucky, you could even find out if your ancestor was top of the class in their school reports or playing truant with documented reasons for absence.

3 quick tips for making the most of school records

Add the details to your family tree

Colourful tidbits like exam results will bring your family tree to life.

Always check the original document

Transcripts gives you the most vital information. Images reveal even more.

Admission registers or log-books?

Check both. They're in the same collection but contain different details.

Best days of their lives

I've only connected to Findmypast in the last three weeks but already discovered hundreds of pages on my great aunt's education records. She was a headmistress and I now have a much better understanding of life in an elementary school in the early 1900s.

Lain

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Findmypast school records - frequently asked questions

What can school records tell me about my family's past?keyboard_arrow_down

Most family records detail your relatives' lives during adulthood. School records are some of the few surviving documents that can reveal exciting details about their childhoods too. Nowhere else will you discover how often your ancestor was absent from school, how they performed in class and what was going on in their young lives, day-to-day.

Where have the UK school records come from?keyboard_arrow_down

A groundbreaking initiative between Findmypast, The National Archives and the Archives and Records Association have made these records available online for the first time and you won't find them anywhere else. The records cover 41 counties in England and Wales and come from the following archives and associations:

  • Anglesey Archives
  • Barrow-in-Furness Record Office, Cumbria
  • Bedfordshire & Luton Archive Services
  • Bolton Archives
  • Caernarfon Record Office
  • Cambridgeshire Archives
  • Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies
  • Ceredigion Archives
  • Cheshire Archives & Local Studies
  • Conwy Archive Service
  • Cumbria Archive and Local Studies Centre, Whitehaven
  • Denbighshire Archives
  • Devon Heritage Services, Exeter
  • Durham County Record Office
  • Explore York Libraries and Archives
  • Flintshire Record Office
  • Glamorganshire Archives
  • Gwent Archives
  • Hackney Archives
  • Hampshire Archives
  • Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies
  • Huntingdonshire Archives
  • Isle of Wight County Record Office
  • James Allen's Girls' School
  • Kendal, Cumbria
  • Kingston Borough Archives
  • Lambeth Archives, Minet Library
  • Lancashire Archives
  • Lincolnshire Archives
  • Liverpool Maritime Museum
  • Maynard School, Exeter
  • Medway Archives
  • Merton Heritage & Local Studies Centre
  • North Devon Record Office, Barnstaple
  • North London Collegiate School
  • Northamptonshire Record Office
  • Oldham Local Studies & Archives
  • Pembrokeshire Archives
  • Plymouth and West Devon Record Office
  • Southampton Archives
  • Stockport Archive Service
  • Suffolk Record Office, Bury St Edmunds
  • Suffolk Record Office, Ipswich
  • Suffolk Record Office, Lowestoft
  • Surrey History Centre
  • Sutton Archives
  • Tameside Local Studies & Archives Centre
  • The Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland
  • Tower Hamlets Local History Archives & Library
  • Trafford Local Studies Centre
  • Wandsworth Heritage Service, Battersea
  • West Glamorgan Archive Service, Swansea
  • West Sussex Record Office
  • Westminster City Archives
  • Wigan Archives & Local Studies
  • Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre
  • Wirral Archives Service
  • Wrexham Archives
Which schools are covered in these records?keyboard_arrow_down

Over 1500 schools across England and Wales are included. View a full list and the years their records cover.

What other school records are available?keyboard_arrow_down

Explore these equally-fascinating collections to discover even more about your family's school days.

Looking for something else? Try our A-Z of records to see what you can find.

Search online school records now

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