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Education Act
Established the tripartite school system (grammar schools, secondary technical schools and secondary modern schools) and provided free education. Commonly known as "The Butler Act" after Conservative politician R.A. Butler -
GCE O- and A-Levels introduced
Date is approximate; year is correct. the introduction of the GCE qualifications was met with some concern regarding the difficulty and criticism regarding the rigid minimum age limit -
Ministry of Education reorganised
Date is approximate; year is correct. Ministry of Education was reorganised as the Department of Education and Science (DES) -
Education Act
Allowed children to transfer at ages other than 11 and granted an experimental status to the middle school. -
CSE qualifications introduced
Date is approximate; year is correct.
Certificate of Secondary Education introduced to provide an alternative qualification to the more challenging GCE qualifications -
Circular 10/65
Date is appromixate; month and year are correct. A circular was issues by the DES recommending LEAs to switch to the comprehensive schooling system. For most of England and Wales this marked the end of the tripartite system and the 11 plus. -
Plowden Report
Date is approximate; year is correct. The culmination fo a three year investigation into "primary education in all its aspects and the transition to secondary education."
Helped establish the three tier school system (First, Middle and Secondary schooling, with transfer at ages 8 and 12). Also abolished corporal punishment in primary schools and a programme for contact with children's homes. -
Circular 10/70
Date is approximate; year is correct. An attempt by Margaret Thatcher to reverse the events of Circular 10/65, in which LEAs are empowered to decide the status of secondary education (comprehensive or selection) in their areas separate from central government. -
Education (Handicapped Children) Act
This act discontinued the classification of handicapped children as "unfit for education" -
School leaving age raised
School leaving age raised to 16 from 15; this left a number of school leavers who had left at 15 but were required by law to complete a further year of education -
Assessment of Performance Unit
the APU was formed to 'promote the development of methods of assessing and monitoring the achievement of children at school, and to seek to identify the incidence of under-achievement'. Teacher accountability was a major issue. -
Education Act
The act contained a clause which effectively abolished selection in schools - however the rest of the act contained so many loopholes and workarounds that the effect on selection was essentially negligible. However, the act did establish provision for special education needs; LEAs were required to provide for the special education of all handicapped pupils in county and voluntary schools, -
1976 act repealed
The 1976 Education act was repealed by the conservative government. However, the act had had little effect on education anyway. -
Education Act
Required schools to have at least two parents in their governing bodies. Also gave parents the right to choose schools and appeal if their children did not get into the schools they had chosen. The Assisted Places Scheme would provide public money to pay for 30,000 children to go to private schools. The obligtion for LEAs to provide free milk to pupils was removed. -
Education act
The main points of this act revolved around identification of special needs and provision of additional care to meet those needs. -
First day at school
Dunchurch Infant school. See Timespan for details -
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Dunchurch Infant School
First school attended. My performance was originally a concern for teachers; I did not join in reading words from flash cards held up at the front of the class, leading to teachers contacting my parents. When asked, I informed them that I already knew the words on the cards, so I didn't think it was necessary to join in. -
Transferred to Long Lawford Combined
After moving house I changed schools. See the timespan for details -
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Long Lawford Combined School
Parents moved to another village, necessitating change of schools.
Long Lawford was a combined first- and middle-school, comprised of eight classes, which took children from age 4 through to age 12.
The school had eight BBC Microcomputers. -
National Council for Vocational Qualifications (NCVQ)
Dates approximate; year is correct. The NCVQ's aim was to promote national vocational qualifications -
GCSE replaces CSE and GCE
GCSEs were introduced to replace the "two tier" nature of GCE and CSE qualifications. -
Education act
This act further diminished the role and responsibility of the LEA in schools. Among other things: schools were now required to have a governing body. Grouping of schools under one governing body was allowed. Governers were required to give details of the school curriculum to parents. LEAs retained responsibility for the appointment and dismissal of staff but were to consult with governors. "Political indoctrination" was outlawed in schools. Corporal punishment abolished in maintained schools. -
Local Government Act
Attacked LEA's equal opportunities policies. Most notably forbade 'promoting teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship' -
Educational Reform Act
Introduced Grant Maintained Schools (Schools removed from Local Education Authority control and funded directly by the government), Local Management of Schools (Individual headteachers had financial control over their schools, and City Technology Colleges. More importantly, the act also established the National Curriculum and School "league tables", which allow parents to supposedly make an informed choice of school for their children. Replaced the school as public service with a market. -
Rugby School Entrance Exam
This date is approximate. Exam consisted of a number of written tests, oral tests and interviews. -
Further and Higher Education act
Removed further education and 6th form colleges from LEA control. Unified the funding of higher education. Introduced competition for funding between institutions. Polytechnics became Universities. -
Education (Schools) Act
Establishment of Ofsted. -
12 Plus
Date is approximate. My memory is hazy, but I believe that I already had the results of my Rugby School entrance exam by the time I sat my 12 plus. -
First day at Rugby School
As most students were drafted in from Prep Schools at age 14, my first year at Rugby was in a single group of 12 or so local day pupils -
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Rugby School
Having passed the entrance exam to Rugby School with flying colours, I was entitled to a scholarship and waived tuition fees. Although the standard of education I received was very good, my social status marked me out from the majority of people in the school and I felt ostracised by pupils and masters alike.
The IT department had approximately twenty RM-Nimbus 286 computers and a further twenty 386 running DOS / Windows 3.1. The Science department had four Acorn Archimedes running RISC-OS -
Education Act
In Part based on the Dearing Review, this established frameworks for SEN provision, "special measures" for failing schools and revisions to grant maintained schools. In addition, modifications were made to the NC, giving schools more flexibility at KS3 and 4, and allowing pupil choice of subjects. -
Education Act
Teacher Training Agency established. -
Transferred to Ashlawn comprehensive
After narrowly avoiding expulsion at Rugby, I transferred to a local comprehensive. The culture-shock was palpable, but I adapted well. See timespan for more details -
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Ashlawn Comprehensive School
After narrowly avoiding expulsion from Rugby School, I switched to a local comprehensive. I felt frustrated and unchallenged by the level of work. Due to course changes, in some GCSEs I was unable to attain higher than B grade. The IT course was so painfully slow paced and unchallenging that I could not see the point in much of it, resulting in a low grade.
The school had around 40 RM-386 machines, running DOS / Windows 3.11 For Workgroups. -
Education (Student Loans) Act
Extended the provision of student loans -
Education act
Allowed teachers to detain pupils after school without parents' consent, as well as use of "reasonable force" to restrain pupils. Amended the admission rules for selective schools, and for permanently excluded children. Abolished the NCVQ. Required all pupils access to a careers advice programme. Limited access to schools by non-employed adults. -
National Literacy Strategy
The National Literacy Strategy was introduced by the incoming Labour government to ensure that "80% of all 11 year olds nationally would reach the standard for their age in English.". Target date for achievement of this goal was 2002. -
Education (Student Loans) Act
Student loans transferred to private sector. -
Education Action Zones
Dates are approximate; month and year are correct. Education Action Zones (EAZs were conceived as the first steps towards privatisation of the schools. Clusters of schools in deprived areas worked together with government grants and funding from local businesses. -
University Tuition Fees
University tuition fees introduced. -
De Montfort University
Began my degree course. The university was very well equipped with several labs full of powerful Unix machines running variants of HP-UX or Irix. Also a number of Intel based machines running linux and a number of Windows NT based Pentium labs. The building which housed the Computer Science School was based on a functioning program punch card. It has since been demolished. -
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De Montfort University
Due to weak A-Level results none of the univerities I had applied to through UCAS would accept me. I went through the clearing system and found that the equipment and links with industry at De Montfort to be superior to the universities I had applied to. I attributed this to De Montfort's previous status as a polytechnic. -
Specialist Schools introduced
Dates approximate; montha nd year are correct. Specialist schools introduced - Schools raising £50,000 in business sponsorship werre entitled to £100,000 plus £120 per pupil for at least four years in additional funding.
