Sources: Truancy records

Truancy records can be an excellent source for family history. Education was made compulsory in Scotland by the Education (Scotland) Act 1872, and Truancy Officers were appointed to follow up reports of truancy.

The extent to which they did so varied from area to area – in Dundee the main concern was to keep trouble making truants off the streets, and a girl kept off school to help her mother at home was unlikely to be visited by the Truancy Officer.

In Aberdeen, detailed records of persistent truants were kept, which often listed the names and ages of all the children in a family, the parents marital status and the family income.

In Kildonan, East Sutherland, I found my own forebears in the records. My great great grandfather, William McLeod, was a crofter and cooper in Marrel, near Helmsdale. He had ten children. William was summoned to appear before the School Board regarding the irregular attendance of his second and third children in 1885 and of all his children in 1886, but failed to appear. He was threatened with legal proceedings, but no action was taken. In 1888 his children were again failing to attend. He explained that he was “unable to provide them with shoes and clothing” but would send them to school as soon as he was able to do so. In May 1889, his daughters Jane and Betsy were again missing school. In November 1889 the School Board sanctioned Jane’s absence for two months as she was needed at home to nurse a sick sibling. In June 1890 William was fined five shillings for her non-attendance. By 1891, she had left school and was working as a domestic servant.

Once his older children had left home and were earning their own living, the financial pressure on William eased and he made no further appearances before the Board.

Marrel by Helmsdale, Sutherland