School log books

School log books are a day-to-day record of events at a school kept by the head teacher. They include information on activities outside the normal timetable, official visits and inspections, outings, special closures, incidents of misbehaviour, staff appointments and absences, reorganisation of classes, and reasons for low attendance (harvesting or illness being the most common).

The content of each log book varies according to the head teacher compiling the entries, but they may include information on weather conditions, especially if extreme, on new teaching methods, and Government Inspectors’ visits. Occasionally they record the admission of pupils but this is more usually recorded in the admission register.

Log books may date back to 1862, when the Government first required schools in receipt of state grants to maintain a log of daily activities.

See example pages from log books - digitised by HALS for the Access Hampshire Heritage Projects