The educational work of Sir John Gorst

Abstract

The final years of the nineteenth century were an important period in the development of the English educational system as the legislation and reforms formed the foundations of the present system. The last occupant of the office of Vice-President of the Committee of Council on Education, Sir John Gorst (1835-1916), was involved with many of these measures. He had been actively involved in the promotion of reforms in education and child welfare since his stay in New Zealand in 1860-3, and continued this interest and work after he lost office in 1902. Membership of the Fourth Party in 1880-4 ensured prominence for his early parliamentary career but as time passed his characteristically forthright manner and progressive ideas earned him the hostility of the Conservative party leaders but the approbation of the social reformers. Gorst has, however, been curiously neglected by historians of education and there has as yet been no detailed study of his career. This thesis is an attempt to fill this gap by describing and evaluating his work, and whilst the main part of the thesis is concerned with Gorst's efforts and achievements during the period 1895-1906, attention is also paid to his earlier career and his various roles connected with improving the quality of the educational provision for the children of the nation.