| Description | Nomination papers are bundles of papers, each relating to an individual child, which include copies of some or all of the following: the parents' marriage certificate, the child's baptism certificate and birth certificate, a form that has been completed in order to recommend the child for admission to the school and a medical certificate that indicates that the child is free from infections and illness. For a child to be admitted to the Blue Coat School, he first had to be a nominated by a subscriber. The nomination papers appear to include all of the necessary documents for a child to be admitted to the school.
MS 1622 3/3/1 - is a bundle of nomination papers for pupils 'admitted by purchase'. 'Admitted by purchase' appears to reflect the fact that subscribers who were able to donate £60 in one year (or £65 over 3 years) were able to admit a child at any time of the year and seemingly from anywhere (cf. 'Rule XIX' which can be found printed in the front of the annual reports - MS 1622 1/5).
MS 1622 3/3/2 - 3/3/23 are bundles containing sets of nomination papers regarding the nomination of pupils for admission to the school for the years 1825 to 1842. The bundles are arranged by year. Each set of nomination papers contains a letter (presumably from a subscriber) nominating the child for admission and a 'medical certificate' declaring that the child is free from 'imperfections in [their] eyes, from sores, from scrofulous and infectious disorders, and not deformed, or subject to fits'. The front of each bundle records the date that the child was admitted, the child's name and age and the name of the person who nominated them. The bundles appear to be in no particular order.
In 1845 (MS 1622 3/3/24 onwards), the format of the nomination papers changes so that all of the information on the child is recorded on one form - with the name of the subscriber, details about the parents, a space for a medical certificate signed by a doctor and the parents, a section that confirms that the child has been baptised and a minister's certificate to certify that the parents are Church of England. The form also includes an extract from 'Rule 19' and a list of items that the child is expected to bring if they are admitted. |