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History of Education in the UK 1870-1965

Gap-fill exercise

Fill in all the gaps, then press "Check" to check your answers. Use the "Hint" button to get a free letter if an answer is giving you trouble. You can also click on the "[?]" button to get a clue. Note that you will lose points if you ask for hints or clues!

   abilities      achievement      authority      charities      divisions      economy      elementary      equality      expectations      fee      grammar      income      large      movement      primary      raised      technical      Tripartite      work      working   
Pre 1870
There was no organised system of education. Some children attended schools run by or churches. There were paying schools for those rich enough to afford them

1870 Forster Education Act
This new law set up mass education (education for everyone). It was introduced because the government was worried that the class was becoming revolutionary and also because it was thought that Britain's was falling behind the rest of the world. The education received therefore a strong emphasis on obedience to .

Pre 1944
Everyone received an education to the age of 14. After that whether you continued in school depended on your . Middle class children went to fee paying schools. Upper class children went to fee paying public schools and working class children went to .

1944 Butler Education Act
The Butler Act aimed to create of opportunity. The idea was that each child would receive an education best suited to their . Three types of school were set up - grammar, secondary modern and . Children were assessed in the 11+ exam as to which type of school suited them best. Academic students went to grammars, technically minded children to technical schools, and the rest to secondary moderns. At the same time the school leaving age was to 15. The Butler Act was an obvious improvement on what went before. The system soon became known as the System because of the three types of school.

Problems soon emerged with the Tripartite System. The 11+ proved an unreliable test of ability, there was little between schools. Working class children were disadvantaged by the system as the majority ended up in secondary moderns where there tended to be low and lower status qualifications.

1965 and Comprehensive Schools
The Labour Government in 1965 decided to introduce comprehensive education. They had three main aims
1. To save money and improve facilities - comprehensives were to be very and could therefore afford better facilities
2. To breakdown class in society with all sorts of pupils mixing in the same school
3. To raise the of the majority of students who had been failing in secondary modern schools

Dartford Technology College?

Now read about what Ofsted though about the Tripartite system in Kent HERE
Summarise Ofsted's main findings in your notes