by Michael Martin

It was in a memoir written in the mid-1800s that I first came across an account of an old Scottish school custom. The author was Robert Reid, a retired Glasgow businessman with an interest in the social history of the city.

In his memoir he talks about a custom which was prevalent in the grammar school in his youth. The custom, known as ‘the Candlemas Offering’, lasted throughout his schooling in the 1780s. It consisted of a monetary offering made by each pupil to the teacher at the beginning of February.