Search University of London School Register 1831-1890

Each record includes a transcript and the option to view the original image. While details can vary for each record, you can expect to find a combination of the following facts:

• First name
• Last name
• Age
• Name of parent
• Address
• Term dates

The institution that we know today as University College London (UCL) was founded in 1826 as ‘London University’, admitting its first students shortly thereafter in 1828. UCL was a pioneering and progressive institution and was the first university in England to welcome students of any class, religion or race. It was also the first university in England to welcome women to university education in 1878. This record set allows you to discover whether your ancestor undertook their early education at the connected school.

These registers are an excellent resource to help you trace your young ancestor in the gaps between other vital records such as the census and their birth and marriage record. You can trace where your ancestor was living during their time as a student and start to paint a more vivid picture of what life was like for them in their youth.

Spanning roughly 60 years of records, these school registers document a time when schooling in England was going through major transformation, from a charity-based system through to the introduction of compulsory education for children up to age 10 by 1880. The classroom would have been very different for the children in these registers, with strict discipline enforced, large class sizes and separate schooling very common for boys and girls.