This is a photograph of the assembly hall at Manchester High School for Girls in 1899.
School assembly
The school day in Victorian times usually began with an assembly at which a Christian hymn was sung and Christian prayers were said. The teachers decided everything that happened in the assembly. Pupils at Manchester High School did not have to go to assembly if they were not Christians. The Jewish girls in the school had their own assembly in the school library.
What to look at in the photograph of the assembly hall
There were rows of benches for the girls to sit on. The piano on the platform was used to accompany the hymn. The tune was written on the blackboard. The headmistress or another teacher stood at the lectern in the middle of the platform to lead the prayers. Everybody said the prayers together. On the walls behind the platform were paintings of classical buildings and a sports shield. On the side walls were honours boards on which were painted the names of girls who had been to university. It was very difficult for girls to go to university in Victorian times so such girls were very special. The hall was lit with gas lamps. You can see the pipes across the ceiling through which the gas passed.
Tasks
Compare assembly at Manchester High School for Girls with your school assembly in each of the following ways:
the furniture and decoration of the assembly hall
the religious traditions represented
the part played by the children in assembly