by the second half of the 19th century 28,000 people lived in tilburg. a need was felt for a hbs, a then new type of high school for secular education. it was aimed at bourgeois pupils as preparation for 'higher' positions in society, better adapted to the economic demands of a rapidly changing society than the latin school. it was meant for middle class youth who didn't need an academic education, but required a broad general knowledge to fulfil important positions in trade and industry.