System of Admission of Students to Institutions of Secondary Education in Orenburg in Second Half of 19th - Early 20th Centuries

The authors make an attempt to trace the requirements for the level of training of children entering secondary educational institutions in the city of Orenburg in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. As educational institutions, institutions subordinate to various departments were chosen - the Ministry of Public Education, the Department of Institutions of Empress Maria, and the military department. The purpose of the undertaken study is to analyze the degree of intellectual and general development of children of the privileged and urban classes who are preparing to study in secondary school. Based on numerous published and unpublished sources (regulatory legal acts, narratives, statistical materials, archival office documents, etc.), the authors study the skills and abilities necessary for first graders. As a result, the researchers come to the conclusion that the requirements for applicants are quite high. Compared to modern first-graders, children entering secondary education institutions had to not only be able to read, write and count, but also demonstrate broad awareness of the world order around them, know at least one foreign language. In addition, an important role was assigned to the knowledge of the Law of God, which was an indispensable component of school education. Significantly increased, in comparison with the pre-reform era, the requirements for applicants were the result of global transformations that took place in the socio-economic sphere of the Russian state under the influence of the Great Reforms of Alexander II.