Education in Ur

Ur is home to some of the finest educational institutions in the known universe. The Queen's College, Querini's Academy, and of course the Clock Tower, see many students arrive from all over the Astral Realms, and even a few from the Aetheric. Attendance fees are astronomical, and Ur's academic reputation is a significant contributor to its economic strength.

The Old Schools

The High Hall is home to the Old Schools - educational establishments which train scions of the High Masks in the arts necessary for a leader of society - Astral languages, poetry, military history, chant magic, Ley Line geography, and comportment. Fees run to thousands of Bolts annually, and the number of years spend in Old School is a clear distinguisher between the High Mask families of real substance, and the pretenders. Any student who stays for the full six years at any of the Old Schools is automatically granted a Aspirant place at the Clock Tower.

The Seminaries

Each of the Orders maintains a seminary, which trains the children of members of that Order. While some time in Seminary training is spent on standard education - literacy, numeracy, and music - the Orders mostly focus on passing on their secret arts - religious rituals for the Dogma, funerary rites for the Cult of Smoke, and so forth. The time spent in the seminary varies from six months (in the Inevitable End, seminary of the Scions of Fate) to five years (in the Livery Chambers, seminary of the Maxim Club). Upon completion of seminary training, the rank of Novitiate is automatically granted. While outsiders are occasionally invited to study at a seminary, or even to join an Order without seminary training, these are both rare events, and usually indicate that a large sum of money has changed hands, or a substantial favour been done.

Apprenticeship

The more common route to education for Middle and Working Class citizens is to take an Apprenticeship - either with one of the Guilds of the Smoke District, or a master merchant in Fate's Bazaar. Apprentice is something of a misnomer - skilled workers may still be referred to as Senior Apprentices for their entire career - but secrets of the trade are gradually revealed to the apprentice as they persist with their training.

Demographics

The Old Schools between them graduate around 200 students per year, and the seminaries train close to 1,500. There are estimated to be 100,000 apprentices in Ur, although no census is taken, and the exact definition of what constitutes an apprentice is debated, so it is hard to know for certain.