Newnham College's special role in adult education

Professor Mary Joannou, Emerita Professor at Anglia Ruskin University, joined us for the Pudding Seminar on 18 October, to present her research into Newnham College's Summer Schools for Working Women.

Professor Joannou worked closely with the College's Archivist and Fellows to piece together the special story of the Summer Schools at Newnham College, which operated from 1922 to 1950, giving access to educational lectures and learning to working women from around the country. The Summer Schools were part of a wider movement to increase access to adult education, brought about following the Report of the Adult Education Committee of the Ministry of Reconstruction in 1919 and the Regulations introduced in 1924, which said that working people should have a right to adult education.

The Summer Schools were established jointly by key Fellows, Alumnae and Staff from Newnham as well as Cambridge pioneers who developed the local Workers' Educational Association, all represented on the organising committee that oversaw the operation at Newnham. The Summer Schools gave women an opportunity to immerse themselves in the special atmosphere of College life, with full access to its accommodation and facilities.

Women attended the Summer Schools from factories including the boot and shoe factory in Northampton, Bournville in Birmingham and workplaces in Manchester, York and London. The focus was on bringing manual workers into adult education and focusing on academic learning, rather than the practical chores of the workplace.

Professor Joannou's full article, 'A Summer School of their Own': The Newnham College Summer Schools for Working Women' can be read in Women's History Today (Spring 2023 edition) and a copy is held in the Newnham College Library.

Details of all our Pudding Seminars and their format can be found via the Research section of this website.