Beadle - in Education

In Education

In the medieval universities beadles were students chosen by instructors to act as assistants, carrying books, taking attendance, and assisting in classroom management.

In the collegiate universities in the United Kingdom (for example Cambridge, Oxford, Durham, and the University of London), the post of beadle still exists. The beadle has varying duties, always relating to management or security (but not instruction), and often represents the college to outsiders through wearing a uniform and providing information. The position of Beadle still exists at the King's School Canterbury, where the beadles is tasked with making sure pupils are dressed correctly and they are arriving at lessons on time.

The ancient universities of Scotland have a ceremonial bedellus, who is also sometimes given the designation of head janitor. Officially, they are responsible for administration of the buildings of the university. They are most notable for being responsible for carrying the university mace in academic processions.

Jesuit secondary schools maintained the post of beadle—some still do. In each classroom, a student designated as beadle reports attendance to the teacher, acts as messenger, assists in distributing materials, and leads the class in activities.