Educationalists of the time gave the title The Literary Curriculum' to the course of study followed by charity school children. This consisted, first and foremost, of religious instruction which occupied the greater part of the 6 hour school day and demanded the chief efforts of the teachers.
Upon first entering school, the young children were taught to say the Creed and the Lord's prayer as well as a short prayer to be said every morning and evening, and a Grace to be said before and after meals. When they could read, the prayers were made longer and they were expected to learn the whole of the Catechism by heart. Children were also taught the duties of subjection, obedience, gratitude and meekness.
Reading lessons began with the letters of the alphabet and went on to spelling and the use of full stops. The reading books began with the Catechism and continued in order through the Book of Common Prayer, the Psalms, some of which were learned by heart, the New Testament and then the Old Testament.
Children were taught to write when they could read competently; They copied sentences of Scripture, or perhaps an Aesop's fable. Arithmetic was considered to be an advanced course and was not generally taught until the skills of reading and writing had been mastered. Teaching was confined to the four rules and the casting of accounts.
This sequence of subject teaching is illustrated by records relating to Chantrey's school days at Norton. It appears that he began to learn to read on April 16th 1787 which was the date he entered school. He began to learn to write in January 1788 and the casting of accounts in October 1792.
Singing was taught in some charity schools, and was mainly geared to enable the children to sing well in church on Sundays. Girls were taught plain needlework and knitting but fine needlework was not encouraged as this was an occupation of the upper classes. No children's books were available at this time for the poor although some of a very high moral tone had been written in the latter half of the eighteenth century.
S.V. Addy reports in his 'Traditional remains' the following as having to be said in unison by the boy scholars of the Norton Free School every Friday morning:-
'If well thou art, rise soon each
day,
First praise thy God, then to Him pray,
And wash thyself, both
clean and neat,
And as you come, if you should meet,
Some boys that play,
don't waste your time,
But leave the boys, come straight to school,
And
there - SIT STILL, be not a fool,
No talk, no play, but mind your
task,
And, chief of these, you'll be at last.'