Of the Penderghasts whose literacy was recorded, 55.8% could both read and write, 19.2% could read but not write, and 25% could do neither. Women came out slightly ahead, 60% reading and writing against 51.9% of men. Bear in mind these figures include young children; the census itself only counted people aged nine and over when calculating illiteracy, on the grounds that it was unfair to label a child illiterate before they'd had a chance to learn.