| Description | Selection made from original letter binder (see series level for appraisal criteria).
• J D Anderson, Ferryhill Public School. 25th Apr 1893. Asks the Board to clarify if Leaving Certificate fees should be compounded with the individual fees.
• J D Anderson, Ferryhill Public School. 26th Apr 1893. 18 music pupils are on 15s and 2 are on 12s 6d fees. Miss Davidson understands that the Board asks all pupils to pay the lower fee, but her reasoning for this fee structure is unclear. Refers the clerk to her.
• J D Anderson, Ferryhill Public School. 3rd May 1893. Has spotted errors in a recent report regarding pass numbers in German and Mathematics.
• J D Anderson, Ferryhill Public School. 16th May 1893. Complains about the recent appointment of Miss Collie to his school. She does not care for the department (Infants) to which she was assigned and is setting a bad example.
• J D A, [Ferryhill Public School]. 16th Jun 1893. Response (“None”) written on the back of a letter from Board clerk Thomas Hector. He originally asked if any pupils at the school attended daily scripture lessons without having bibles, referencing difficulties parents might have had in providing for their children.
• J D Anderson, Ferryhill Public School. 15th Sep 1893. Queries the attendance returns for August. Figures given.
• James Allan, Rosemount Public School. 31st May 1893. Calls attention to the exposed positions of the new childrens’ closets in the playground. They are overlooked by tenement houses and the privacy of pupils needs to be ensured. Suggests play sheds and closets should be put up at the same time to minimise inconvenience.
• James Allan, Rosemount Public School. 29th Jun 1893. Notes the lack of accommodation in the Infants rooms for Kindergarten and Drawing material. Requests a cabinet be supplied. Also asks for refurbishment works to the blackboards and desks.
• James Allan, Rosemount Public School. 3rd Jul 1893. Takes issue with a recent circular on school supplies which highlighted the excessive use of lent cards by head teachers. Lists off how many of these he has had to order in over the years. Most of them have been made by or purchased by them at their own expense.
• Alexandra C Adam, 20 Union Terrace, Aberdeen. 12th Jun 1893. Application for the post of Infants’ Mistress at the Grammar School. Gives her work history.
• Jeannie A Angus, East Lodge, Finzean. 22nd Jul 1892. Has been appointed assistant teacher at Skene Square School. Gives her work history and notes she holds a certificate in Advanced Physiography.
• James M Anderson, Seaview Villa, Woodside. 15th Sep 1893. Asks for an appointment as an Evening Classes Shorthand teacher. Notes he is a grandson of Mr Robert Murray of Woodside and has a sister teaching at Rosemount School. Gives his age (22) and notes he began studying the subject under Mr C M Lawrence. Member of a literary society but not a holder of teaching experience. Gives details on educational achievements.
• J Beaumont, Commerce Street Public School. 29th Jun 1893. Requests 3 packets of McDougall’s Arithmetic Test Cards with a matter of urgency. In previous years very few were provided by the Board and the teachers had to purchase the shortfall themselves. Beaumont sees no need for this behaviour and asserts they are essential components of the classes. As they are constantly in use they do not last long.
• J Beaumont, Commerce Street Public School. 23rd Aug 1893. Gives details on the layout of the Infants room galleries. These could be reorganised so that the desks have better use.
• J Beaumont, Commerce Street Public School. 25th Aug 1893. Requires temporary assistance in the Infants’ Department. Notes his staffing arrangements in detail (names, years teaching) for this year and the last.
• Annie F Bain, 33 Elmfield Avenue, Aberdeen. 7th Aug 1893. Applies for any available vacancy as an ex-pupil teacher. Gives her work background.
• Isabella R Bruce, 7 West Mount Street, Aberdeen. 24th Aug 1893. Applies for the playing of Musical Drill at any Evening Class in Winter. Gives her work history.
• James Campbell, Frederick Street Public School. 1st Sep 1893. Writes first about the appointment and apprenticeships of monitresses. Wants at least one male and one female pupil teacher on staff. Asks for a list of the possible names to look over. Writes next about the “case of Miss Fyfe” in the Infants’ Department who is struggling. Miss Smith might be able to overcome the problems if she adds significantly on the her own work, but it would be better to have a pupil teacher.
• James Campbell, Frederick Street Public School. 8th Sep 1893. Has had a look at pupil-teacher candidates. Has made enquiries about two of them: Mr. W B Clark (13 South Mount Street) and Miss Alice Low (17 Powis Terrace) – with the view of them becoming monitors at this school. Recommends Miss Low for an apprenticeship given her age (18), education, and experience in teaching.
• James Campbell, Frederick Street Public School. 16th Dec 1893. In reference to his letter of the 8th Sep 1893, Campbell is disappointed to learn that pupil-teacher candidate Miss Alice Low failed her doctor’s medical examination. Neither she nor Mr. W B Clark turned up for duty. He will review the list of names again for new recommendations.
• Allan Cameron, Marywell Street Public School. 6th Sep 1893. Writes about timetables and class advertisements for the Ferryhill Centre. One more pupil appeared for the Household Management class, and he expects more will follow. Is concerned that the Vocal Music & Theory class was not advertised properly as it would be expected to be much in demand here. Closes with a note that 14 pupils met the night before for Dressmaking class.
• Duncan Clarke, 36 Mount Street, Aberdeen. 31st May 1893. Recommends that the Board publish the Society of Arts examination results (newspaper clipping inserted). Points out the strong results in comparison by pupils of Skene Square infant institution (comparison table included). Notes that James A Nicol (shorthand, 3rd) is an external candidate.
• Madeleiu S Cooper, Art for Schools Association, 29 Queen Square, Bloomsbury. 27th Jul 1893. Includes prospectuses of fees for the current year. Asks if the Board will renew its subscription. The first leaflet is for payment. The second gives a list of publications (including historical portraits, studies of natural objects, reproductions of standard works of art.
• C S Copland, Westfield Public School. 21st Jun 1893. This school has never had difficulty in getting the children to bring their own bibles. Does not want word to get out that the Board is able to supply them as it will discourage pupils using their own. Will not ask for any.
• Lizzie Combe, 24 Ferryhill Place, Aberdeen. 7th Apr 1893. Applies for the post of teacher of Domestic Economy and Household Management at Ferryhill Evening Continuation School. Provides her education history.
• James Davidson, Grammar School, Aberdeen. 22nd Jun 1893. Asks for a pay rise or transfer to another school, giving his education and working history.
• James Darling, Holburn Street Public School. 19th Jun 1893. About 80 children are attending scripture classes without the use of bibles which their parents might have difficulty providing. Asks the Board to supply the school with 3 or 4 dozen strongly bound school bibles.
• James Darling, Holburn Street Public School. 30th Jun 1893. The test cards for Drawing and Arithmetic classes are essential for the proper teaching of those classes and preparation for their examinations. They are in poor condition and require replacement.
• James Darling, Holburn Street Public School. 1st Sep 1893. Case of James Jamieson, 5 Granton Place. This boy was not dismissed. He presented an absence card with a false statement, purportedly from his mother who visited the school. Although the boy is a bad influence and a notorious truant, he has been replaced in his class instead.
• James Darling, Holburn Street Public School. 13th Sep 1893. Has seen Miss McLeod and Mr Rose about the qualifications of Miss Jeannie Jackson (proposed for infant school teaching). Is not convinced she can manage such a large class. Miss Dufton requires immediate help for the 96 infants and a permanent appointment can be made later.
• Alexander Forbes, Marywell Street Public School. 26th May 1893. Proposes closing the school on a term day Monday due to the heavy attendance drop over the past two days from Flitting.
• Alexander Forbes, Marywell Street Public School. 25th Aug 1893. Asks for the clerk to visit to go over urgent matters. One of these is the lack of desks in Standard I rooms for Drawing lessons are impacted (room for 78 pupils, 74-76 present, but only desk places for 60). Mr Crichton has been asked to supply ordinary desks in the rooms that are short.
• Alexander Forbes, Marywell Street Public School. 30th Aug 1893. Had to buy in more packets of Arithmetic test cards due to their poor condition. Hopes his recent requisition for more will not be delayed.
• Alexander Forbes, Marywell Street Public School. 1st Sep 1893. Has made this day a double attendance to let the painters do their work. Also this day one of the windows broke while being opened “by that new endless pulley method”. Proposes altering the 1st Standard class desks from seating 3 to 4 pupils to create half a dozen more spaces.
• George S Forrest, St Andrew Street Public School. 4th Sep 1893. Does not recommend leaving matters as they are before the next inspection, giving the following reasons: the pupil numbers are now pretty much the same as last year; and if the Standard V pass for half-timers this year is as high as for the past two years, then the Board should utilise the spare accommodation for full-timers along with the residue half-timers. On a separate matter, believes one of the assistants can be dispensed with if a Sewing Mistress works for an hour and a half each day. Also concerned about the severe implications of Casual Illness. Believes he could manage the Standard IV & V classes for a couple of days without help, but if he himself fell ill then neither of the ladies could single-handedly manage all the boys. They would require a male assistant.
• George S Forrest, St Andrew Street Public School. 23rd Jun 1893. All pupils have their own bibles and therefore none need to be purchased by the Board for this school.
• James Findlay, St Clement Street Public School. 26th Jun 1893. The children not supplied by the Educational Trust or by the Parochial Board have had little difficulty in getting bibles, but even so the school would be glad to have a dozen more on hand if required.
• William C Farrell, Ruthrieston Public School. 27th Jun 1893. The Infants’ Mistress, Miss Clark, has great difficulty teaching Kindergarten classes and other work with her department’s gallery and seating arrangements. Asks for modifications to the seats (described in detail) to minimise accidents. A note inside from Mr C Crichton proposes taking parts of the seats from Skene Square School gallery which is being taken down – and use these to augment the Ruthrieston seats.
• William C Farrell, Ruthrieston Public School. 20th Jun 1893. The school has no difficulty in getting parents to supply their children with bibles, hence none need be ordered in for it.
• W Fyfe, 53 Eldon Street, Greenock. 7th Aug 1893. Proposes a series of suggestions for the Board’s Evening Class in English Language and Literature. These include the times, the topics including special studies, exercises and examinations (more detail in letter).
• Alice M Crabbe. Undated. Articles in Stock in Skene Square School. Detailed stock list of items relating to cookery classes.
• A Green, Skene Square Public School. 8th May 1893. For the efficient teaching of Heat in Science, asks for proper Bunsen burner gas fittings to be provided as he is no longer able to use the fire in his room. Sketch of set-up included.
• A Green, Causewayend Public School. 6th May 1893. Asks for fixes to the roof to prevent the sun’s rays coming through and causing inconvenience for learning. Also asks for extra rows of desks in some of the Infants rooms.
• Alexander Green, Skene Square Public School. 9th May 1893. Complains about Miss Murray’s suitability for teaching due to her constant ill health impacting her hours of attendance.
• A Green, Skene Square Public School. 15th May 1893. Comments on a letter from Mr James Murray (father ? of Miss Murray, pupil-teacher, complained about in Alexander Green’s letter of the 9th May 1893). Understands she had light duties in the Infants’ department, therefore her ill-health cannot be due to being overtaxed and instead indicates her unsuitability for all school work. Makes comments about her poor character and that her supervising teacher was disappointed by the effort she put in. Miss Murray has complained about the concurrent work needing done to study for the University Local Examination, a normal event for pupil-teachers and advantageous for them. Green understands that Miss Murray does not arrive on time (or at all) to take advantage of extra study periods for this. Her supervisor has rarely seen her. Study of the algebra class, taught by himself, is necessary to attain a place in the teacher training college. The Sewing class does take place during dinner hour but has not met with any other complaints until now. Knowing what he knows now, this arrangement does put undue pressure on three or four of the pupil-teachers and should be discontinued.
• A Green, Skene Square Public School. 21st Jun 1893. As Mr Peter has temporarily transferred to Northfield School, asks for the temporary appointment of a male assistant to teach the 6th Standard classes in the meantime. The assistant will be in charge of teaching Magnetism & Electricity, Drawing, Latin, and Mathematics in addition to the usual duties.
• A Green, Skene Square Public School. 28th Jun 1893. Believes 12 dozen copies of school bibles would be required to be ordered by the Board for the school as these children cannot be provided for by themselves.
• A Green, Skene Square Public School. 4th Sep 1893. Has appointed Miss Susan Dinnie on probation as a candidate pupil-teacher. She had high marks in the December examination and is eligible in point of scholarship. She is sufficiently advanced that she should be able to enter Second Year on completing her First Year’s examination in November.
• Agnes Gordon, 10 Brighton Place, Aberdeen. 4th Sep 1893. Applies for a transfer to the Girls’ High School. Gives her education and teaching history in the field of Music. Her current salary is £28 which is much reduced by the £4/5 a year she spends on travel to the school.
• Thomas C Hynd, King Street Public School. 19th Apr 1893. Cookery Classes. Discusses their timing arrangements for different years in considerable detail. Suggests moving some to night classes so practical work can be covered before the holidays. Acknowledges this is all a tall order for the school to organise but believes equal rights for the pupils here against other schools will then be served.
• Thomas C Hynd, King Street Public School. 25th Apr 1893. Gives more detail about Cookery class arrangements (see Hynd letter 19th Apr 1893) by the school and by Miss Black. These would include late afternoon / evening work and would leave pupils with intervals of 1.5 hours (consented to by parents).
• Thomas C Hynd, King Street Public School Head Teacher. 3rd May 1893. Missed a visit from the Buildings’ Committee and he had two proposals for them. 1. That a partition be set up in the boys’ cloakroom so that part of it could be turned into a teachers’ retiring room. 2. That an oil paint border be added around the wall linings to reduce the spoiling of the walls.
• Thomas C Hynd, King Street Public School. 22nd Jun 1893. The clerk’s letter having arrived too late, arrangements are already in place for the distribution of prizes and certificates by the visiting Board members. The Senior girls have also planned to hold a Gala Day in the gym. An invitation is included – this gives a programme for the event, including a start at 3pm to view exhibitions of work and a live practical cooking session of scones, crumpets, and biscuits. From 4pm there will be a reading the Lord’s Prayer, then tea being served, then piano and songs by various pupils.
• Thomas C Hynd, King Street Public School Head Teacher. 23rd Jun 1893. A list of baked goods presumably being made / served at the gymnasium event outlined in Hynd’s letter of the previous day.
• Thomas C Hynd, King Street Public School. 16th Aug 1893. Recommends Miss May A Donald to take up a pupil teacher role with an immediate start in Standard II classes. Is pleased to be corrected in having previously dismissed her for her health – he had mistaken her for her sister. Although “reports of her mental powers are not of a high order”, she sings well, can sew, is qualified for drill, and those who know her give testimony to her polite and pleasing manners.
• Thomas C Hynd, King Street Public School. 1st Sep 1893. Puts his own name forward for the headship of a new school / rooms in Little Belmont Street which will open to Standard VI pupils in all the elementary schools, plus classes from the Continuation Schools and the Certified Classes for pupil-teachers.
• Margaret E Hills, B.A. London, The Hermitage, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire. 14th Jul 1893. Applies for the post of Lady Superintendent of the Girls’ High School. Gives her age (27), medical, and some family details, plus her education and working history.
• V R Jones, High School. 15th Jun 1893. Navigation Class. Proposes giving four prizes out to pupils (sextant, three books). Will pay half the cost if necessary as he believes the giving of prizes yields positive effects among the students. Is very pleased with their progress in this and kindred subjects. Class numbers are given.
• V R Jones, 11 Albury Road, Aberdeen. 15th Jul 1893. Navigation Class Prizes. Has sent them to the clerk’s office. Asks for brass plates and labels to be made to go with them: gives drafts of these formats in the letter. Winners of the prizes: 1st – Gordon Henderson, 2nd – James Martin Doig, 3rd – Alexander Gammie, 4th (for a Good Conduct form [?]) – J T Hamilton. Notes Henderson and Gammie both work at Hall, Russell’s ship yard and Doig is the son of a policeman in Torry. Hamilton is the son of the widow of a shipmaster and is an office messenger.
• Mary Ann Johnston, Frederick Street Public School. 26th Jun 1893. Applies for a promotion to Grade III on the pay scale owing to her length of service at the school. Work history provided.
• Mary Ann Johnston, Frederick Street Public School. 27th Jun 1893. In relation to her pay scale promotion application of the 26th Jun, provides testimonial details from her parchment certificate (including quotes from Dr Ogilvie, W Whyte, and J Struthers).
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