Newfoundland School Society

Newfoundland School Society

The Newfoundland School Society (N.S.S) was established on June 30, 1823 by a merchant named Samuel Codner. Codner first came to Newfoundland in 1788 and periodically traveled back to England were he was influenced by the Evangelical Revival occurring there during this time. He was inspired to help Christians in neglected British colonies by the Premier of England, Lord Liverpool in 1821. Knowing the dire conditions in Newfoundland, he formed The Society for Educating the Poor of Newfoundland which had its first annual meeting at the London Coffee House on July 13, 1824. It was the ability of the N.S.S. to deal with the difficult conditions in Newfoundland that led to their great success on the Island. The first N.S.S. school was set up in St. John's in 1823 and within two years, the demand spread rapidly to rural Newfoundland where petitions and applications for schools began pouring out. By 1825, five schoolmasters had been sent between St. John’s, Quidi Vidi, Harbour Grace, Carbonear, and Petty Harbour. Within just ten years, 43 N.S.S. schools had been established on the Island, with an enrolment of approximately 6945 children in daily schools and 4714 in Sunday schools. The N.S.S. began to dissipate in the late 19th century when Newfoundland Legislature established an Education Board and set up Board Schools across the Island, and especially after the Education Act of 1891. In 1923, what still existed as the N.S.S. merged into a denominational school system known as the Church of England schools.