The truth of the matter is briefly this: There was an earlier school. It is probably the lineal antecedent of the modern school, though this is open to debate. And, lastly, its claim to be the oldest grammar school could be true only in one special sense. The remainder of this chapter is devoted to these three issues, but the reader is to be warned that they are extremely complex. At the end of the chapter, however, a simplified summary will be found, to which those who wish may pass on forthwith.
It will be best to dispose first of the theory that the Colchester school is perhaps the oldest English grammar school on record-the record in question belonging to the year 1206. This is a respectably early date, but since there are schools, as for instance King’s School at Canterbury or St. Peter’s at York, tracing a continuous history from before the Norman Conquest, a claim to priority based on a document of 1206 would be patently absurd. How, then, has this claim arisen? The argument would seem to have been something like this:
"In the document of 1206 the school is described as a town school (scolae ejusdem ville Colcestr'). Presumably this is (by far) the oldest record of a town school. Grammar schools of today are essentially town schools. Therefore the Colchester school is the oldest English grammar school on record."
It will be seen that the validity of this argument depends on whether there is justification for equating grammar with town school. For the grammar school of today the parallel is undoubtedly just, but the medieval grammar school was altogether different, both in curriculum and status; and since the argument covers both periods, medieval and modern, there is bound to be ambiguity. To avoid this the term "grammar school" should be avoided, and the claim should be simply that the Colchester school is the oldest town school on record. Yet even thus limited the claim is of considerable importance historically. It would need to be judged on the strength of the contemporary evidence on which it is based, and this is quoted verbatim in Appendix 1. It is a matter for the specialist in medieval "diplomatics," and a discussion of the problem would be clearly out of place here. The claim, however, is really something more substantial than merely a verbal quibble. This can be seen if it is considered in its historical setting. Originally all English schools except the purely primary (infant school, etc.) were "grammar schools" in the sense that they all taught "grammar" (the principles of Latin composition, and cognate subjects), which was the curriculum then universally accepted as the basis of all true learning. Accordingly in its original form every really ancient school will necessarily have been a grammar school. In an account of these schools Mr. R. P. Hepple (Historical Association Pamphlet, No. 90, 1932) lists as many as seven types, of which six, including all the earliest examples. were ecclesiastical (cloister, cathedral, chantry school, etc.), the Church then being recognised as the natural protector, patron, and provider of
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