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Original poster

How can I get my primary school records from 30yrs ago?

93 replies

Zssn · 30/12/2023 19:03

Dear all,

I hope you are well.

I am in a huge predicament, due to no fault of my own.

Does anyone know how I can get my entire primary education records, from my birth until now please?
This is 34 years of education record please.

Any help greatly appreciated

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
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Yipedydodah · 30/12/2023 21:01

You say you have a Masters. So why not work backwards? Try and get your admissions docs for Uni - they will hold details of your schooling. Maybe they obtained proof at that point and will still have it all on record.

Original poster
Zssn · 30/12/2023 21:05

CyberCritical,

Thank you so much for this.

I will ask my GP in the new year for vaccinations since birth or something.

I really appreciate it.

I also don't know why my British birth certificate is not enough, they said it does not prove I was in the country from ages 0-10 yes old.

It's the most ridiculous thing I have come across in my life.

OP posts:
Original poster
Zssn · 30/12/2023 21:24

JudyC26,

Only in touch with 3 of them. Sadly they don't have any photos, but said they will happily say the primary school we met at.

OP posts:
Original poster
Zssn · 30/12/2023 21:28

TheYearOfSmallThings,

I attended 2 different ones, but in the same borough

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Papillon23 · 30/12/2023 21:29

Zssn · 30/12/2023 21:05

CyberCritical,

Thank you so much for this.

I will ask my GP in the new year for vaccinations since birth or something.

I really appreciate it.

I also don't know why my British birth certificate is not enough, they said it does not prove I was in the country from ages 0-10 yes old.

It's the most ridiculous thing I have come across in my life.

If you have online access you may already have these records.

In addition, you may have access to your full record or be able to request it. I can see everything from birth onwards - every jab, every doctors appointment etc.

The point about consulting an immigration lawyer to get a stance on the specifics of what you need are worthwhile though. You don't want to go to vast amounts of effort and then not be able to use what you locate, particularly if, as the previous poster points out, you need to go back for more info.

I guess if I were you I would probably still be too impatient so I would caveat my requests with "I'm struggling to pin down precisely what the passport office will accept so I would be grateful for anything anyone has etc etc but I may end up returning with a specific request later" or similar. I often find explaining what I am trying to do - in this case evidence continuous residence in the UK - the best way of getting people to dig out things because then you can ask them for their expertise "I'm aware I'm asking for a lot and the school probably doesn't hold records for this long, but I was wondering what if anything is held by the school for longer? I was thinking if there's anything that shows who was on the school's enrollment data that might be the best evidence but you'll know better than me what exists!" Or whatever. Much easier via the phone and better not done on the first day back at school when the office is likely to be even more manic than usual.

doggiedude · 30/12/2023 21:33

Try going on your primary school face book page . I am a lot older than you and my pic and references to me are there. I am mid 50s!!

Sorethroatandearache · 30/12/2023 21:38

The school I work in has pupil records going back to when it opened 100 years ago! So although it's unlikely, it's not a blanket rule that all records are destroyed after a few years. It is worth asking.
Also ask at your secondary school as they may have some proof of where you transferred from.

Original poster
Zssn · 30/12/2023 21:42

Papillon23,

Thank you , thank you so so much.

I sincerely appreciate the extent of your advice/help.

Unfortunately, I am not registered online at my GP surgery, however I did ask last week if they could make me go online. Understandably, due to the holidays it has been difficult, so they said I need to wait until the new year.

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VikingLady · 30/12/2023 21:51

If school photos would help, your old schools may have copies. Alternatively there are likely facebook groups for the schools or the town where you could ask people if they have any.

What about dental records? If your mum took you to a dentist for regular check ups it might be worth seeing if that dentist still exists.

Latenightreader · 31/12/2023 09:08

CyberCritical · 30/12/2023 20:59

Does your GP surgery use Systmonline or another online system that you can access?

I've just logged into mine and can see vaccination dates going back to the year I was born and then all the primary school booster, if you have something like that then would that be enough evidence.

Although like others I confused about why your birth certificate isn't sufficient.

With regards to the vaccination record it says the immunisations were due on, not that they were administered. My Dad was showing me his recently and was amazed he had received a particular vaccine until we worked out that it just showed when it was due/he was eligable for it (automatically generated perhaps) but it wasn't possible for him to have had it.

If the school and GP can't help, you could contact your County Records Office and ask if they have records relating to your school at that time. You would need to pay for them to research for you as there are access issues due to the age of the records - you can't search the documents yourself. They should be able to give you copies of things relating directly to you (but not to others) if they hold them.

Sirzy · 31/12/2023 09:10

My online records certainly show the date of the actual vaccine not just when it was due.

HardcoreLadyType · 31/12/2023 09:14

Zssn · 30/12/2023 19:10

Because as I have no contact with my mother due to severe abuse, and unfortunately I cannot prove she had settled status in the UK prior my birth. I may need to register from birth to be British. If I cannot get these, I may need to do a life in the UK test, despite having been educated up to a masters degree.

I’ve done a life in the UK test. There’s a book you study from, and multiple choice questions.

If you have a masters, you will find it easy peasy - much simpler than tracking down records that may no longer exist.

HilaryThorpe · 31/12/2023 09:20

I would certainly try the relevant Local Authority (formerly Local Education Authority) admissions department. If they don't have them they may be able to point you in the right direction. Their systems should be more reliable than an individual school.

Ormside · 31/12/2023 09:51

HRTFT. DM never bought class photos from primary school. I saw a FB page for my old school and someone had posted their copies of my class from aged 4. Is this something you could try?

WearyLady · 31/12/2023 09:55

A census will have been conducted during your years 0-10? That will show that you were at least present for one of those years. It's not much, but it's something.

Shinyandnew1 · 31/12/2023 10:05

I have worked in various primary schools and records are passed up-we certainly don’t keep 30 years worth of handwritten reports or anything like that. There is the odd class photo knocking around on our current school Facebook page but those are mainly put up by one or two particular families so unless you happened to be in their class, you wouldn’t be in those.

Xenia · 31/12/2023 11:13

Census may be posisble but it just shows someone was present on one night in a ten year period which could be the one night in that decade the person was here on a visit to the UK. Also the latest census available to the public in England is 1921 - that was issued fairly recently as it comes out 100 years after and I used it for family history so I am not sure if access would be granted for this.

Birth cert obviously just shows someone was here on one day - date of birth so not going to help to show went to primary school here. Some schools keep a lot more records than they need to which is very interesting for those tracking family history. Anyway I agree with those saying ask the immigration lawyer what usually helps prove someone lived in the UK then.

RuthW · 31/12/2023 11:22

Surely your gp records will be more useful than school records

Kaleidoscopeofbutterflies · 31/12/2023 11:28

I tried to get mine.. because there was one teacher who used to smack my legs with a ruler until they bled.. l still talk to my counsellor about this and I'm now 65. But no they don't keep them.
I wanted to sue.

Shinyandnew1 · 31/12/2023 11:33

Does anyone know how I can get my entire primary education records, from my birth until now please?This is 34 years of education record please.

What do you mean by 34 years? 34 years ago? You are 34? I’m presuming you weren’t at school for 34 years 😂

Original poster
Zssn · 31/12/2023 15:55

WearyLady,

Thank you so much.

Where can I get the fundus information from please?

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Original poster
Zssn · 31/12/2023 15:59

Shinyandnew1,

🤣

Thank you for making me kaugh in such a stressful situation. Haven't laughed in a while due to these circumstances.

Then I'd say about 30 years ago .

This has been going on for a year now, and my immigration solicitor said she has only come across one other in her 35plus years of practicing immigration law.
It had to be me.
As if my family is not complicated enough , this is just another thing to add

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Original poster
Zssn · 31/12/2023 16:01

Kaleidoscopeofbutterflies,

Thank you for your message.

I truly am so sorry to hear this.

Hopefully my school application records are somewhere in an SAR

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Original poster
Zssn · 31/12/2023 16:03

RuthW,

I hope so.

My NHS number on my birth certificate seems different to my current NHS number- and I am hoping this will not pose another hurdle for me.
In the 80s NHS numbers were a mixture of letters and numbers until they changed to only numbers.
Here's hoping 🙏

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AllIsCalmButImNotBright · 31/12/2023 16:24

My NHS number on my birth certificate seems different to my current NHS number- and I am hoping this will not pose another hurdle for me.

Birth certificates don’t have NHS numbers on them. I’ve looked online at official sites and I can’t find any reference to that.
They do have an identification number though.
Perhaps that’s why the two numbers you are comparing are not the same.

I can remember my old NHS number. It was 4 letters followed by 3 numbers, so I agree that they have changed.

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