College of Preceptors

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0366 COP
Held at	: Institute of Education   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/sites/ioe ›
Full title	: College of Preceptors
Date(s)	: 1847-2008
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: c 100 boxes
Name of creator(s)	: College of Preceptors x College of Teachers
Detailed catalogue	: Click here to view repository detailed catalogue

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

The College was formed as the Society of Teachers in 1846, by a group of private schoolmasters from Brighton who were concerned about standards within their profession, and was incorporated by Royal Charter as the College of Preceptors in 1849. It pioneered a system for the formal examination and qualification of secondary school teachers and many teachers have acquired the qualifications of the College: ACP (Associate), LCP (Licentiate) and FCP (Fellow). It was also one of the first bodies to examine and provide certificates for secondary school pupils of both sexes, from all over England and Wales, at different levels, and in a wide variety of subjects. Through its publications, meetings, lectures and discussions, the College also participated in debates on examinations, standards and a wide range of professional and educational issues, particularly those affecting private schooling. Many influential educationists have been associated with the College, either as members of Council or as lecturers or advisers, including Joseph Payne (1808-1876), Frances Mary Buss (1827-1894), and Sir John Adams (1857-1934). The College continues to provide in-service qualifications for teachers and is now called the College of Teachers (since 1998).

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Administrative records of the College of Preceptors and College of Teachers, 1847-2008. Including constitutional, legal and membership records, 1847-1998; published calendars and registers, 1880-1940 and 1972-1987; Council records, 1848-1979; committee records including the finance committee, 1874-1966; examinations committee, 1885-1958; Education[al] committee, 1874-1919; Affiliation Committee, 1919-1920; special committees, 1885-1967; Executive Committee, 1931-1946; academic board, 1968-1981; Finance and General Purposes/Educational Times Committee, 1913-1980; House Committee, 1957-1964; Advisory Boards, 1955-1980; and Constitution Committee, 1979; financial records, 1874-1944; examination records, [1860]-1962; press cuttings, 1914-1974; papers regarding conferences and events, 1896-1945; publications, 1847-2010; administrative papers of the College of Teachers, 1997-2002; photographs and illustrations, [1754-1990s]; and papers and photographs relating to award ceremonies, 1973-1992. there is also a small amount of mixed-media material and information relating to historical studies of the College.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

Arranged as outlined in the Scope and Content.

Conditions governing access:

Open, subject to signature of Reader Application Form. All material containing personal data has been closed under the Data Proctection Act (1998). All administrative records have been closed for 50 years from the last date on the file. Some records are too fragile to be access by researchers. Information from fragile records can be provided on request.

Conditions governing reproduction:

A reader wishing to publish any quotation of information, including pictorial, derived from any archive material must apply in writing for prior permission from the Librarian or other appropriate person(s) as indicated by the Archivist. A limited number of photocopies may be supplied at the discretion of the Archivist.

Finding aids:

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

In October 1991 the records of the College up to 1945 were acquired via Professor Richard Aldrich. Later accessions were made in February and November 2003 when the College moved into the Institute of Education (Gordon Square) and small accessions have been made regularly ever since.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Publication note:

College of Preceptors [1896] Fifty years of progress in education: a review of the work of the College of Preceptors from its foundation in 1846 to its jubilee in 1896. Chapman, J V (1985) Professional Roots: The College of Preceptors in British Society. Theydon Bois Publications Ltd.

Description Notes

Archivist's note:

Rules or conventions:

Date(s) of descriptions:
Created 10/11/1999, modified 12/6/2000