A Flock of Swallows

Athleticism in British public schools and grammar schools has been covered extensively, but not exhaustively. Much less attention has been paid to the extent to which it was a feature of elementary school life. Colm Kerrigan believes that it was widespread in elementary schools and he has further asserted that elementary school teachers and head teachers took little or no notice of pronouncements on Athleticism by guests of honour at presentation ceremonies. The evidence contradicts him as this essay shows. The paper contains a clarification of Athleticism in elementary schools, explains the process by which the ideology was diffused in these schools, and provides an assessment of both its pervasiveness and significance in elementary schools in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods

Grammar school · Head teachers · Honour · Ideology · Notice · Pedagogy · Political science · Politics · Presentation (obstetrics · Sociology · Historical Education Studies Worldwide · Law · Psychology · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts · Sports, Gender, and Society