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Education Act 1944
The Education Act 1944 was introduced by the Conservative politician R.A.Butler. It changed the education system in secondary schools in England and Wales. It introduced the Tripartite System of secondary education and made schooling free for all pupils. The school leaving age was raised to 15. -
Crowther Report
Crowther Report 15-18: recommended raising the school leaving age to 16 and the provision of further education for 15-18 year olds. It questioned the value of day release provision for apprenticeships. -
Circular 10/65
Circular 10/65 declared the Labour government's intention to "end selection at 11-plus and to eliminate separation in secondary school education". -
Circular 10/70
Conservative government circular withdrawing Labour's circular 10/65. LEAs were no longer compelled to go comprehensive. -
School leaving age raised to 16
The school leaving age was rasied to 16 ensuring all students took final 'O' level exams. -
Birth
I was born in Basingstoke Hospital, Hampshire. -
Education Reform Act introduced
The National Curriculum is introduced in all state schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, prescribing what children should be taught to ensure each pupil is given the same standard of education. Along with the new curriculum, GCSE exams for 16 year olds are taught for the first time. -
SATs introduced
Standard Assessment Tests (SATs) were introduced in all state schools for all seven year olds. The tests were introduced for the academic year ending July 1991. -
Infant School
I started at Oakley Infant School, Oakley, Basingstoke. I was four years old and could not wait to go to school. -
A* grade introduced
The A* grade was introduced to distinguish between the top candidates. -
Junior School
I started at Oakley Junior School, Oakley, Basingstoke. I did SATs at the end of my four years at this school in year 6 when I was 11. For English and Maths I achieved a level 5 but only got a 4 in Science, which shocked the school as I was supposed to get a 5. -
Education Act 1996
The Education Act 1996 requires all maintained schools to offer courses in religious education, but parents can opt their children out of the subject. Secondary schools must also offer a sex education programme. -
SATs at end of KS3 introduced
Another Standard Assessment Test is introduced for all 14 year olds in the country. -
Cranbourne High School
I started at Cranbourne High School, Basingstoke. I was only at this school for one year before we moved north to the Midlands. It was a large school in Basingstoke and I had to get the bus there every day. We covered all subjects in year 7, I think in tutor groups. The only language I studied in my first year was French, this was to cause problems when I moved schools. -
Walton High School
I started at Walton High School, Stafford. Starting at this school was hard, the only language they studied in year 7 was German, so when I entered the school I was a year ahead in French and a year behind in German. This dissuaded me from languages as I had to study German for 2 years as a compulsary subject and never really caught up. -
A-level overhaul
A major overhaul of A-levels sees each course broken down into six modules, three of which are sat a year earlier at the new AS level. -
New laws for GCSE options
New laws force all schools to offer pupils at least one course in each grouping of subjects at GCSE: the arts, design and technology, the humanities, and modern foreign languages. -
Walton High School Sixth Form
I started Walton High School Sixth Form after achieving 11 GCSEs. -
University of Leicester
I started my Pharmaceutical Chemistry degree at the University of Leicester. I was originally placed on the BSc course but after working hard and proving my average was good enough I was moved to the MChem course. -
Graduation
I graduated from the University of Leciester with a 2.1 Hons MChem degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and decide I still like chemistry enough to apply for a PhD. -
SATs at year 9 scrapped
SATs for 14 year olds are scrapped, along with the science exam for 11 year olds. -
PhD
I started my PhD at the University of Glasgow working Towards Synthesising the ABC Tricycle of Taxol. (Still a work in progress...) -
Start PGCE
Start the PGCE course at the University of Wolverhampton.
