Ideas of proper citizenship were, and remain, central to the juvenile justice system. The experiences of a particular group of delinquent and neglected children who were withdrawn or excluded from mainstream elementary education in the early 20th century and sent to reformatory schools is described in this paper. The focus is on two areas of citizenship: the promotion of citizenship as a means of social control, and children's rights as citizens. It explores the way in which citizenship was negotiated for delinquent and neglected girls at a time when traditional concepts of domesticity and femininity were being challenged. During this period, three constructions of citizenship prevailed. The first two, the teaching of formal civics and an emphasis upon social action, had developed in the 19th century, whereas welfare citizenship was a product of early 20th century social legislation. In all three constructions, the development of industrial schools and the right to be rescued were influenced by gender. Girls' training was dominated by domestic work and, subsequently, boys, who did not face such restrictions, were placed in a much wider range of jobs than were girls. The experiences of girls within the schools show how restricted notions of female citizenship were used to justify their limited training. (RJM)