She Persisted: Tracing Women’s Paths to Education in 19th-Century Britain

This talk explores the lives of British women who pursued formal education in the 19th century—often against significant odds. As access to schooling, teacher training, and university study slowly opened, women began to leave records of ambition, achievement, and resistance.

Drawing on newly digitised collections—including student registers, teacher training records, and educational newspapers—this session will introduce resources now available on platforms like Findmypast and Ancestry. We’ll highlight institutions such as North London Collegiate, Edge Hill, and University College London, and consider what these records reveal about the changing role of women in society.

The talk will also guide family historians through the structure of Britain’s education system at the time: what exams meant, how university worked, and where women fit in. Through case studies and first-hand accounts we’ll uncover how education shaped women’s lives and their descendants’ futures.