A Generation of Promise: The 1908 Junior National Scholarship Candidates - Education, Occupation, and the First World War

Abstract

The Junior National Scholarship examination was introduced in the early twentieth century to encourage able children to continue at school through to secondary level. This article investigates the extent to which successful candidates of 1908 took the opportunity for further education beyond primary school. The main focus is on those who went on to university study and pursued successful careers, but those who ended up in less enviable circumstances are also of interest. Also highlighted are the differing vocational opportunities available to girls and boys, the importance of teaching as a career for girls, and the effect on the boys of the First World War.