This blog follows on from ‘The Manchester and Salford College for Women (1877-1883): From the Darkness Comes the Light’, by Tom Trafford. Read part 1 here.

The Manchester School Board was formerly responsible for providing education throughout the city, and it consisted of 15 members with elections taking place every three years. Despite being purely educationally focused, the School Board was highly politicised and divided along denominational lines.[1] Between 1888 and 1891, the Conservative aligned Church Party dominated the School Board with seven members, the Irish Roman Catholic Party had three members, and the Liberal aligned Secularist Party had five members.[2] The members of the Secularist Party nominated Rachel Scott (nee Cook) to replace Lydia Becker, who had died in office. When a member of the School Board died in office, traditionally those from the same party nominated their replacement.[3] Rachel joined the School Board on 22 September 1890.[4]

Election Performance

Initially at the 1891 School Board election, the Sectarian Party did not select Rachel to represent them, instead choosing to nominate seven male candidates, which resulted in her deciding to run as an independent.[5] However, on 5 November 1891, Alexander Porter, a friend of Rachel’s husband C.P. Scott, expressed his desire to retire as the Sectarian candidate for North-East Manchester and expressed his preference that Rachel replace him. The Central Committee accepted Porter’s resignation and asked Rachel to stand as a Sectarian candidate.^[6] Although records of the private discussions which took place regarding this arrangement have not survived, it seems likely that C.P. Scott convinced Porter to stand down and endorse Rachel.[7] Throughout her election campaign, Rachel focused her campaign on two issues: the importance of having a woman on the School Board, and the removal of school fees.[8]

The School Board elections used a cumulative voting system. Each voter had 15 votes, and they could cast them all for one candidate if they so wished, or spread them across several candidates.[9] The School Board minute books recorded that at the 1891 School Board election, 20 candidates stood for election and 44,586 people voted out of a possible 82,431. Rachel topped the poll and received 52,536 votes, 4,453 votes more than any other candidate.^[10] It was a significant achievement to top the poll; Rachel was the only female candidate, and Mancunians had decided that it was of critical importance that a woman was on the School Board.

Three years later, Rachel ran for re-election to the School Board. In her 1894 School Board election address, she outlined that she did not feel she had to justify the need for women to sit on the School Board as she had at the last election in 1891. Instead, her campaign would focus on the need to make education free for all and ensuring equality between students of different social classes.[11] Rachel clearly felt more confident going into the 1894 School Board election, she no longer believed that Mancunians would view her gender as a hindrance, and believed they would make their decision based on her policies. However, her election campaign turned into mudslinging with Reverend Canon Joseph Nunn, a Church Party candidate, over their different views on both the need for free schools and the role religion should play in education.[12]  Rachel’s decision to campaign on policy rather than her gender backfired, as she performed significantly worse than she had three years prior – she received 33,596 votes and finished thirteenth out of nineteen candidates. Despite her disappointing performance, Rachel maintained her seat on the School Board, as Mancunians elected the top 15 performing candidates.^[13] When comparing Rachel’s two results at the School Board, it is clear that Mancunians supported the need for women to hold elected office, however they were less supportive of Rachel’s educational policies. Despite performing worse at the 1894 School Board Election, Rachel may have felt prouder of her performance than she had in 1891, as Mancunians had judged her on her policies rather than her gender.

Free Education

Rachel was a consistent proponent of free education. On 26 January 1891, Alderman Crosfield proposed a motion which called for the building of free schools in Deansgate and Hulme. Rachel seconded the motion, stating: ‘The two districts covered by the motion were situated in about the very poorest and most thickly populated parts of Manchester, and this seemed a fitting opportunity for the establishment there of free schools’. Despite the resolution’s goal to improve the situations of the most deprived people in Manchester, the members of the School Board voted to oppose the motion.[14]

Six months later, on 20 July 1891, Rachel proposed a resolution which would remove all school fees if the Government’s Education Bill became law. She outlined her reasons for the resolution in her speech: ‘The question was whether they wanted higher grade education to be within the means of all or not. She said most emphatically they did. It was not a luxury, it was the very crown apex of their work, without which all their efforts were incomplete’.[15] It is clear from Rachel’s speech that she wanted all children to have opportunities to better their lot in life, regardless of their parents’ financial situation. Despite Rachel’s passionate speech, she decided to withdraw her motion.[16] Rachel was determined to outline her continued support for the removal of school fees, her decision to withdraw her motion was ultimately due to the lack of support and vocal opposition from her fellow board members rather than any wavering on her part.

After topping the poll at the 1891 School Board Election, Rachel continued to campaign for the removal of school fees. At the March 1892 School Board meeting, E.J. Broadfield proposed a resolution to abolish school fees. Rachel spoke in support of the motion, explaining that she had advocated for the removal of board fees prior to the School Board elections and that her position had not changed. Following the precedent of the previous School Board, those present voted against the resolution.[17]

Rachel continued her campaign for the removal of school fees after the 1894 School Board Election. At the February 1895 School Board meeting, Broadfield proposed to abolish fees in Board Schools except in the higher-grade schools where the fee was 6d. a week. Rachel spoke in support of the resolution, knowing that ‘the supporters of the resolution would be defeated, but she maintained that the majority against them was a majority found in ignorance’. Following the two previous boards, the members indeed rejected the resolution.[18] Rachel served on three different School Boards, and on each one, she was the most vocal and committed supporter of free education.

Conclusion

Despite her dedication to improving education in Manchester and her commitment to the School Board itself, on 27 January 1896, Rachel wrote to the School Board’s Chairman, Edward Maclure, Dean of Manchester, requesting he accept her resignation on the grounds of ill health.[19] Rachel failed in her objective to get the School Board to remove school fees, however, she achieved something even more important – she proved to Mancunians that women should be eligible to hold elective office.

Tom Trafford graduated with a first-class degree in Contemporary Military and International History from the University of Salford in 2024. His performance at undergraduate level led to him being a recipient of a widening-participation scholarship from the University of Salford, which enabled him to become the first student to study an MPhil in Contemporary History at the university. In January 2026, Tom commenced his PhD studies at the University of Huddersfield, where he received the Vice-Chancellor’s scholarship. His research is focused on the dynamics of C.P. Scott’s marriage to his wife Rachel Scott (nee Cook).

[1] Goodman, ‘Women School Board members and Women School Managers’, p. 90.

[2] ‘The School Board Elections’, Manchester Courier, 20 November 1888, p. 8.

[3] ‘Manchester School Board’, Manchester Guardian, 23 September 1890, p. 6.

[4] ‘Mrs C.P. Scott’, Manchester Guardian, 29 November 1905, p. 7.

[5] ‘Candidature of Mrs C.P. Scott’, Manchester Guardian, 6 November 1891, p. 5.

[6] ‘Withdrawal of Mr Porter’, Manchester Guardian, 6 November 1891, p. 5.

[7] ‘Candidature of Mrs C.P. Scott’, Manchester Guardian, 6 November 1891, p. 5.

[8] ‘Manchester School Board Election’, Manchester Guardian, 7 November 1891, p. 5; ‘Manchester School Board Election’, Manchester Guardian, 10 November 1891, p. 5; ‘Manchester School Board Election’, Manchester Guardian, 11 November 1891, p. 7; Candidature of Mrs C.P. Scott’, Manchester Guardian, 6 November 1891, p. 5; ‘Manchester School Board Election’, Manchester Guardian, 11 November 1891, p. 7; ‘Manchester School Board Election’, Manchester Guardian, 12 November 1891, p. 6; ‘Manchester School Board Election’, Manchester Guardian, 13 November 1891, p. 6.

[9]  ‘Manchester School Board Election’, Manchester Guardian, 17 November 1891, p. 5.

[10] Manchester School Board Minutes, 26 October 1891 – 14 December 1891, Manchester School Board Archive, MLIA, M65/1/1/32.

[11] ‘Manchester School Board Election’, Manchester Guardian, 25 October 1894, p. 8.

[12] ‘Manchester School Board Election’, Manchester Guardian, 6 November 1894, P. 5; ‘Manchester School Board Election’, Manchester Guardian, 8 November 1894, p. 8; ‘Mrs C.P. Scott on the Free Meals Question’, Manchester Guardian, 9 November 1894, p. 6; ‘Manchester School Board Election’, Manchester Guardian, 13 November 1894, p. 7; ‘Candidature of Mrs C.P. Scott’, Manchester Guardian, 15 November 1894, p. 6; ‘Mrs C.P. Scott Candidature’, Manchester Guardian, 16 November 1894, p. 5.

[13] Manchester School Board Minutes, 29 October 1894 – 18 February 1895, Manchester School Board Archive, MLIA, M65/1/1/42.

[14] ‘Manchester School Board’, Manchester Guardian, 27 January 1891, p. 12.

[15] ‘The Manchester School Board’, Manchester Guardian, 21 July 1891, p. 12.

[16] ‘The Manchester School Board’, Manchester Guardian, 21 July 1891, p. 12.

[17] ‘Manchester School Board’, Manchester Guardian, 8 March 1892, p. 12.

[18]  ‘Manchester School Board’, Manchester Guardian, 5 February 1895, p. 4.

[19] Letter from Mrs Scott to the Manchester School Board, 27 January 1896, Guardian Archive, University of Manchester Library, GDN/121/6.