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1944 Education Act
The Education Act 1944 (AKA Butler Act) changed the education system for secondary schools in England and Wales. It was a drastic overhaul that set out a free, common and universal system of education for students up to the age of 18. The Act is often cited as being the origin of the 'tripartite' system of education (grammar, secondary modern and secondary technical) but the Act did not set out any of these types of school. -
School leaving age 15
The school leaving age rose to 15. -
Employment and Training Act
The Employment and Training Act 1948 established the Youth Employment Service which helped to find work opportunities for school-leavers. -
General Certificate of Education introduced
The GCE qualification replaced the old School Certificate. It was designed for the top 25% of the ability range. GCE exams were normally taken at 16 (Ordinary Level) and 18 (Advanced Level), mostly in the grammar schools and the independent (public or private fee-paying) schools -
Churchill becomes Prime Minister (again)
Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister (again) and he immediately cuts spending on education. -
Robbins Report
Robbins Report Higher education: recommended a massive expansion of higher education to cater for all who had the necessary ability. -
Harold Wilson's Labour government
Labour are back in power. Wilson: Anxious to increase oppotunity within society - more money is spent on education than on defence for the first time ever. -
Rebranding
The Ministry of Education was renamed the Department of Education and Science and the Minister became the Secretary of State. -
CSEs introduced
1965 Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) introduced in England and Wales. -
Labour government and 'comprehensivisation'
1965 Circular 10/65: requested LEAs to submit proposals to begin converting their secondary schools to the Comprehensive System. For most of England and Wales, it marked the abolition of the old grammar schools and secondary moderns, and the Eleven Plus examination. -
Plowden Report
Plowden Report - Children and their Primary Schools: arguably the best known of all education reports, it promoted child-centred education and was much maligned by traditionalists. -
Conservatives against comprehensive schools
1970 Circular 10/70: Conservative government circular withdrawing Labour's circular 10/65. LEAs were no longer compelled to go comprehensive. -
More work experience
Education (Work Experience) Act 1973: allowed LEAs to organise work experience for final year school students. -
School leaving age raised to 16
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Comprehensivation
1974 Circular 4/74 reaffirmed the Labour government's intention to proceed with comprehensivisation. -
Youth Oppotunities Programme
Youth Opportunities Programme introduced by labour government. -
A step towards GCSEs
Waddell Report on School Examinations: recommended a single exam at age 16 to replace the GCE O Level and CSE. -
Thatcher wins election
The Conservative party wins the general election under the power of Margaret Thatcher. -
Assisted Places Scheme
Children who could not afford to go to select fee-paying independent schools were provided with free or subsidised places - if they were able to score within the top 10-15% of applicants in the school's entrance examination. By 1985, the scheme catered for some 6,000 students per year. -
Changes to free school meals
It is no longer an obligation of LEAs to provide all children with free school meals. They only have to provide for a lmited number of children who qualify. -
Youth Training Scheme
The Youth Traning Scheme was introduced under the conservative government led by Thatcher. -
NVQs
National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) were introduced, in an attempt to revitalise vocational training. -
First GCSEs taken
The first GCSE exams were taken in 1988. -
Competition time!
Education Reform Act: made considerable changes to the education system. These changes were aimed at creating a 'market' in education with schools competing with each other for 'customers' (pupils). The theory was that "bad" schools would lose pupils to the "good" schools and either have to improve, reduce in capacity or close. This Act created the National Curriculum and a testing regime (SATS & GCSEs) -
Standard Assessment Tests
Standard Assessment Tests (SATs) are brought in at state schools for all seven year olds. -
I start at primary school
I start at Two Gates primary school -
Apprenticeships introduced
The government introduced Modern Apprenticeships. -
SATs and A*
An A* grade is invented at GCSE to help distinguish between the top candidates. SATs are also introduced for 11 year olds. -
1996 Education Act
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. -
Assisted Places Scheme abolished
Arguing the practice to be elitist and wasteful of public funds, the Labour government of Tony Blair, upon its election in 1997, abolished the Assisted Places Scheme -
More SATs
A third SAT exam is created for all 14 year olds in the country. More education laws also ensure all older pupils are given courses in careers education. -
Introduction of university tuition fees
As a means of funding tuition to undergraduate and postgraduate certificate students at universities, students are now required to pay up to £1,000 a year for tuition. -
Education Maintenance Allowance piloted
This was aimed at a greater uptake of and achievement in post-16 education. -
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. -
I leave primary school forever
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I start secondary school
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Laws about GCSE subjects
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. -
No longer complusory to study MFL until 16
Prior to to 2004 it had been compusory to study a different lanuage until the age of 16. This was lowered to the age of 14 in September 2004...just in time for me to get out of taking it at GCSE (which I was very pleased about at the time). -
I finish year 11
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I start 6th form
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Another tuition fee rise
Tuition fees rose to £3000 per year. -
I finish 6th form
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I start Uni
I begin studying Psychology and Criminology at Nottigham Trent University. -
No more SATs
SATs for 14 year olds are scrapped, along with the science exam for 11 year olds. -
Coalition government
2010 sees the formation of a coalition government between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Michael Gove becomes the minister for education. He cuts £3.5 billion from the education budget, we see the rapid expansion of academies and many projects that had previously been put in place are scrapped. One example of this is the "Building Schools for the Future" scheme. This scheme was introduced by the Labour government and was an investment programme in secondary school buildings. -
Graduation
I graduate from Uni :-D -
"Training our next generation of outstanding teachers"
Michael Gove published an implementation plan for the revisions to the teacher training system. In this plan it stated that from 2012 trainees on general science courses would not attract any bursary. The plan stated that training for general science was not as effective as training for specific science subjects. -
Subject knowledge enhancement course
First day of SKE course and Peter scares the living day lights out of me by asking me to work out the derived units for a number of physical quantities. -
PGCE starts!
I am on the road to becoming a teacher...
