A dressmaking lesson at Hayfield Public School on Old Rutherglen Road in the Gorbals, 1916. The school opened in 1903. This well-lit and well-equipped classroom has two sewing machines and the cupboards on the left are full of fabric. A man (the headmaster?) stands at a desk and a teacher can be seen at the back of the room. A blackboard shows the pattern which the girls have to follow.
The curriculum in Glasgow School Board classes had to conform to the Scottish Education Department's Code. There was an increasing emphasis on the teaching of "domestic subjects" for girls from the 1870s, with needlework, cookery, laundry work and household management considered important subjects in equipping girls for their adult lives. Non-academic subjects for boys included "manual training" in subjects such as woodwork, as well as drill and physical exercise.
Part of the Hayfield Public School was subsequently occupied by the Good Shepherd Convent.
Reference: D-ED 5/6/8
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
blackboards, classrooms, convents, cookery, dressmaking, girls, Glasgow School Board, Good Shepherd Convent, Hayfield Public School, Hayfield School, headmasters, laundry, primary schools, pupils, school curriculum, schools, Scottish Education Department Code, sewing machines, teachers