AS PE Unit 1 Part B

Sport & Public Schools in 19th CenturyPhysical education per se was not the key factor behind the development of sport in Britain’s public schoolsIt was by headmasters to gain & maintain social order within their communities

THE RIGHT TO PLAY

The insistence of boys on their ‘ right to play’ had caused serious breakdowns in control, to such an extent that in some instances the military or militia had to be called to put down such disturbances

The ‘right to play’ included their wish to carry on their recreational activities, but it could also mean ‘to do what they liked’ including frequenting the local ale houses where neither their presence not their behaviour were always welcome

‘The riot I mentioned in my last (letter) at Winchester is all over, no one expelled. It was a formidable thing. For they had several brace of pistols. It began, as I hear by the landlord of the White Hart, desirous of some of the Commoners who were drinking at his house, not to drink anymore but to go home….’ MacDonald Fraser The World of the Public School

Public School Athleticism

Harsh Environment The masters had little interest – and much distaste for the

rowdy & raucous recreational preferences of their charges.

They also had little to do with the boys outside the classroom

Such places were spartan, harsh environments

They were remote in the sense that most boys were borders & the schools were often critiscised for their teaching of a classical curriculum in an increasingly technical world.

Beatings were common by both masters & prefects

The system of fagging, whereby junior boys were at the ‘beck & call’ of prefects & were expected to perform all kinds of chores

This was accepted by most boys on the basis that as they moved up the school ‘it would be their turn’

Public School Athleticism

Channelling Excess Energies Thomas Arnold, the legendary Headmaster of Rugby

School, was instrumental in the transformation of such places

He developed a purposeful use of recreations & established a means by which the boys could channel their excess energies

Much emphasis was placed on team games

However, this did not reflect any fondness on recreation

In fact he preferred swimming, gymnastics & walking in the hills of the Lake District

Arnold, did recognise that the boys placed value on this type of recreation & therefore could be used as an agent of SOCIAL CONTROL

At the same time it developed other desirable character-building qualities in the boys Public School Athleticism

CHRISTIAN VALUES The notion of ATHLETICISM where Christian Virtues

are promoted through the ‘physical’ emerged from growing popularity of games & sports

It was used as a way of bringing what were known as muscular Christian values into the lives of Britain’s public schoolboys

The new form of manly & acceptable exercise taught loyalty, integrity, obedience, magnanimity in victory, dignity in defeat and above all FAIR PLAY

These values were all part of the code by which boys were controlled and by which they in turn would eventually control others

The idea of Christian virtue had been the central plank of rationalised thinking for some time

To this was added the concept of manly virtue, or MANLINESS

The idea that there could be a physical aspect to Christian living was soon taken up by all public schools

Finally the quality of LEADERSHIP was tested on the playing field in preparation for the role of many public schoolboys in later life

State Elementary Education

Components/Outcomes of the Notion of Athleticism

Social Control CharacterDevelopment

PhysicalPreparation

ATHLETICISM

Introduction of Rules In order that they should become acceptable, the nature of

the games had to change The image of young ‘rowdies’ chasing a ball around a field

was not one that either ARNOLD or his contemporaries could support

The introduction of rules was essential to social control The Christian ethic of ‘fair play’ ensured that it was seen as

honourable to play within those rules and unacceptable to do otherwise

Thus, the energies of the boys were diverted into what were seen as worthwhile pursuits

Not essentially because they were physical but this happened to provide a useful diversion from alternative ‘less desirable’ pursuits

The captains of cricket & football were held in great esteem by both masters & boys

The games ethic was also important as a training medium for the officers & leaders of the next generation as it helped to develop tactical & strategic skills

The harsh existence, the flagging system & the subjugation of oneself to a greater cause were all seen as entirely appropriate in the training of Christian men

How many characteristics of Popular Recreation can you see?

Introduction of Rules cont… The growing popularity of the nation’s public schools led

to a growth of a new generation of such establishments Insufficient places in the great old public schools meant

that others such as Marlborough, Malvern, Clifton and Wellington etc, were founded to fill this need

A whole generation of public schools offered the sons of the newly prosperous middle classes a similar education to that enjoyed by the sons of the aristocracy

Other ancient grammar and foundations were adapted to copy this model and a whole host of endowed establishments took on the new image

Theses schools were endowed by various monarchs, and named after a King Edward, Queen Elizabeth, King Henry etc

They became largely ‘day-boy’ images of their more renowned boarding counterparts

Although team games remained the central plank of athleticism, the range of activities at these schools also included purely athletic and combative, swimming, boating, country pursuits and gymnastic activitiesPublic School Athleticism

Introduction of Rules cont The image of Victorian public school is preserved in many

contemporary publications, the best known is Tom Brown’s Schooldays (published 1857)

The author Thomas Hughes was a pupil at Rugby School during Arnold’s time

Hughes went on to be instrumental in the foundation of the National Olympian Association in 1866 & in the Amateur Athletic Club, a forerunner of the Amateur Athletic Association

Hughes was one of 3 brothers whom went to Rugby School, it is probable that the character of ‘young Arthur’ was based on Hughes’s younger brother

Physical Education – by Military Intent It is generally accepted that physical education on

the continent influenced development in Britain There is debate- as there was in the 19th Century –

about whether the development of physical education in public schools was educationally derived or the outcome of a wider agenda

During Queen Victoria’s reign 1819 – 1901 the British Empire was involved in some 28 campaigns from war in the Crimea to others that were mere skirmishes in comparison

The army looked to the public schools to fulfil the need for officers

The meeting called by Lord Elcho at the Thatched House Tavern in 1860 (to discuss the introduction of drill in public schools) is often referred to as the point from which physical education (training) began to figure prominently

This, in fact, was more concerned with military than physical training

In the eyes of many this pointed to the fact that it was militarism which drove the development of physical education in public schools rather than educational concernState Elementary Education

Archibald MacLaren The outcome of Lord Elcho’s intervention was the

establishment of the Officer Training Corps as opposed to programmes of physical education

However, the involvement of ARCHIBALD MACLAREN did much to develop the physical rather than the purely militaristic aspects of training

MacLaren was Scottish, who had trained in France, he was a gymnastic and a fencer and had opened a gymnasium in Oxford in the 1850s

His involvement in the formation of the Army Gymnastic Staff at Aldershot did 2 things

1st, it provided trained instructors to work with enlisted men in the regiments at home and abroad

It also created a greater number who on leaving the army were appointed to public schools as both drill instructors and teachers of gymnastics.

In one sense therefore it might be said that both military and educational agendas were equally well served

MacLaren was also hugely influential in the building of gymnasia in public schools from the 1860s State Elementary Education

Archibald MacLaren•In one sense therefore it might be said that both military and educational agendas were equally well served

•MacLaren was also hugely influential in the building of gymnasia in public schools from the 1860s

•His model became the norm for all gymnasia constructed before Swedish gymnastics rose to prominence towards the 19th Century

•Although the first known school gynasium was at Uppingham in 1859

•It was closely followed by MacLaren’s first school gymnasium at Radley College, Oxford in 1860 where he taught gymnastics to the boys

•He also built a gymnasium at Rugby school in 1872