Almost from its inception in Newfoundland, education was in the hands of the churches, which in effect became the arm of the state in this crucial activity. The close cooperation of church and state in education survived the early impact of industrialism on local society and remains to this day an important and unique feature of the life of the Canadian province. Since Bell Island drew its industrial population from a large area, it was denominationally heterogeneous though in each census year between 1891 and 1951 it had a Roman Catholic majority. By mid-century Bell Island had state-supported Roman Catholic, Anglican, United Church, and salvation Army schools. Within the Roman Catholic system, boys and girls attended different schools or sat in different classrooms, except in the earliest primary grades. This picture shows the girls of the Immaculate Conception Academy lined up to greet an ecclesiastical visitor. They are in uniform and are accompanied by some of their teachers.
