This volume is a collection of essays that highlight twenty-two public schools from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries which established missions to serve the poor and the labouring class in nearby communities. From Uppingham, Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Highgate and a host of other elite public schools in England, boys (and girls, in the case of Cheltenham Ladies’ College) were encouraged to bridge the social and wealth divide that separated them from the less fortunate. Born out of the Evangelical fervour and missionary zeal of the Victorian era that encouraged Christians to act in practical ways that furthered the cause of Christ, the missions were established, funded and operated according to school culture, local circumstances and the capabilities of the individuals who headed them. Consequently, each mission ranged broadly in its activities, from supporting Sunday Schools and educational activities to organising clubs, guilds, settlements, camps, sporting events and other leisure activities meant to encourage virtue over vice. Many of the missions were explicitly evangelistic in trying to Christianise the destitute and impoverished, while others reflected the social duty of elites to help the disadvantaged. Nevertheless, the philanthropic approach embraced at the time hoped to transcend the mere giving of alms so that charity was interpersonal and transformative for both those who gave of their time, talents and money and for those who were recipients of their generosity. Each contributor has admirably illuminated the origins of a school mission, significant leaders, challenges, successes and noted the transformation of the mission’s relationship with their sponsoring public school through the twentieth century and beyond. The essays consider religious influences and social realities, the challenges and sacrifices resulting from the two world wars, changes in the law and in the role of the government in education and social welfare, while also noting the ongoing secularisation processes that altered the work of the missions. What makes this volume particularly rich is the use of primary sources from school archives that illuminate the ideas and concerns animating each mission. The essays also conclude with a variety of historical images that highlight individuals, buildings and mission activities. These elements combine to make this an eminently useful book for understanding how the missions functioned, accomplished their work and changed over the decades. When taken as a whole, the volume offers a coherent and valuable narrative emphasising the creativity of previous generations of churchmen, laypeople and children who sought to spiritually and morally reform England according to a Christian vision. Historians of childhood, education, sport, Christian missions, ecclesiastical history and philanthropy, along with those affiliated with the public schools under examination, will appreciate all that this book has to offer as an account of practical Christianity enacted in spirit and deed.