Great Britain has a proud tradition of education, and nowhere - arguably - is that pride greater than within the schools themselves.

Over the years, grammar schools and public schools have published registers and directories documenting the great and the good who have passed through their doors, sat in their classrooms, and sweated on their playing fields.

The Historic Records' school registers collection includes records of pupils who entered public school as early as 1414, right up until the early twentieth century. In addition to digital images of these registers, we have also indexed the contents and have our own roll call of over 600,000 pupils. Many of the register entries also include information about pupils' parents, where they were born, where they lived and who they married. In some cases, details of military service may be given, or subsequent business appointments and business addresses; dates of death may also be published.

Novelist and First World War poet, Gilbert Frankau, appears in Part IV of the Eton College, Upper School Fifth form list for 1899. His entry reads, "Frankau, Gilbert. Son of A F [Frankau] of 11 Clarges Street, W; 1898-1901; a West India merchant; Managing Director of T Frankau and Co., 30 Gracechurch Street, EC. Married Dorothea Frances Markham, daughter of Charles Edward Drummond-Black of Moy Lodge, Pinner, Middlesex. 30 Gracechurch Street, EC."

Numbering over 70 separate volumes, the school registers collection provides a snapshot of privileged education in Britain over the centuries.

For more information about the Historic Records’ School Registers collection, and to explore licensing options, please contact us.