School records guide

Arrangement of catalogues

Before July 1991 it was NRO policy to arrange records of closed schools according to their category

For example, log books (C/ED 2), admission registers (C/ED 4) and managers' minutes (C/ED 5).

Some schools chose to deposit their records with us even though they were still open.

These records were listed with the reference Y/ED/S for schools in Great Yarmouth and as D/ED for other Norfolk schools.

Since July 1991, records for individual schools have been catalogued under a unique reference number.

The majority of these schools have been allocated catalogue reference numbers from C/ED 22 onwards.

Some school records contain personal and sensitive information which is not usually open to the general public. Where this is the case, it will normally be indicated on the catalogue entry.

If you think you need access to any closed records, contact us for further information.

School card index and online catalogue

The card index to school archives in our searchroom is the main starting place for a search. It cross-references records from a range of sources.

It is arranged alphabetically by place and then by name of school.

Please note the index contains few references to Nonconformist and Sunday schools. For these, look at records of the relevant church or chapel.

In most cases, the card index will refer you to a catalogue list. You can also search our online catalogue (opens new window).

A list of the schools which closed between 1948 and 1995 is at the front of the C/ED catalogue in the searchroom.

This list, which is arranged by date of closure, can help to establish when a particular school closed and what happened to the building or site.