In the past a boy attending one of the boarding schools listed on these pages would have been educated in a decidedly military atmosphere, with much time devoted to pre-service training. This was partly because many of the pupils were expected to join the services when they left school. However, the military ethos also reflected the origins of the schools in an era when Britain still had an imperial purpose and needed a steady supply of soldiers and sailors to service her far flung empire.

There is a long tradition of recruitment of boys into the British Army, with boys enlisting straight from school as young as 14 (nowadays 16). The army had extensive experience of training boys as apprentices as well as preparing them for the infantry through schemes such as the Junior Leaders battalions. Boys could also join the army at a young age to train as band musicians.

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The Duke of York's Royal Military School

Founded at Chelsea in London in the early 19th century, this school later moved to spacious premises near Dover and continues to offer a boarding education to the sons of servicemen.

This school was established at Greenwich in London in the 18th century to cater for the children of seamen. It moved to its present site near Ipswich in the 1930s. In the past Royal Hospital boys were educated in a distinctly naval ethos and were usually expected to make a career at sea.

The Gordon School

The Gordon School was founded in the late 19th century in memory of the Victorian hero, General Gordon. Boys still wear a Victorian-style uniform, featuring the Gordon tartan, on special occasions.

Boy Soldiers

Boy Soldiers in the British Army used to have to endure a decidedly spartan existence. In the past, Army apprentice schools and boy service training detachments accepted lads as young as 14 or 15 and were somewhat akin to strictly disciplined boarding schools, hence their inclusion in this survey of British schoolboy uniform.

The Eton Suit..........Military Foundations

The Traditional English Schoolboy

School Cadet Detachments.........School Scout Troops

School Uniforms Miscellany.....Uniforms in Close-up.....Main Page

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