Board School, Newton, Bishops Nympton, Devon

School boards were public bodies in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

between 1870 and 1902, which established and administered

elementary schools A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

. School boards were created in boroughs and parishes under the

Elementary Education Act 1870 The Elementary Education Act 1870, commonly known as Forster's Education Act, set the framework for schooling of all children between the ages of 5 and 12 in England and Wales. It established local education authorities with defined powers, autho ...

following campaigning by George Dixon,

Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually served as a leading imperialist in coalition with the Cons ...

and the

National Education League The National Education League was a political movement in England and Wales which promoted elementary education for all children, free from religious control. The National Education League, founded 1869, developed from the Birmingham Education Lea ...

for elementary education free from

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

doctrine. Education was still not free of fees. Members were directly elected, not appointed by borough councils or parishes. Each board could: *raise funds from a rate *build and run non-denominational schools where existing voluntary provision was inadequate *subsidise

church school A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization. The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country, according to the religious, educational, and political cultures. In some countr ...

s where appropriate *pay the fees of the poorest children *if they deemed it necessary, create a

by-law A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...

making attendance compulsory between ages 5–13 - until the

Elementary Education Act 1880 The Elementary Education Act 1880 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which extended the Elementary Education Act 1870. It was one of the Elementary Education Acts 1870 to 1893. Previous Elementary Education Acts had not required ...

when it became compulsory for all. *were not to impose any religious education, other than simple

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

reading Unusually for the time, women were eligible to win election to school boards. When the first elections were held, in 1870, seven women were elected across the country:

Anne Ashworth Anne Frances Ashworth (1842 – 1921) was a British feminist activist. Ashworth grew up in a Quaker family in Bath, Somerset. Her father, Thomas Ashworth, was a friend of Richard Cobden, while Jacob Bright and John Bright were her uncles, al ...

and Caroline Shum in Bath, Catherine Ricketts in Brighton,

Lydia Becker Lydia Ernestine Becker (24 February 1827 – 18 July 1890) was a leader in the early British suffrage movement, as well as an amateur scientist with interests in biology and astronomy. She established Manchester as a centre for the suffrage mo ...

in Manchester, Marian Huth in Huddersfield, Eleanor Smith in Oxford, and Jennetta Temple in Exeter.Patricia Hollis, ''Ladies Elect: Women in English Local Government 1865-1914'', p.132 School boards were abolished by the

Education Act 1902 The Education Act 1902 ( 2 Edw. 7 c. 42), also known as the Balfour Act, was a highly controversial Act of Parliament that set the pattern of elementary education in England and Wales for four decades. It was brought to Parliament by a Conservat ...

, which replaced them with

local education authorities Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...

References

Sources

*''Educational Documents, England and Wales 1816 to the present day'', J Stuart MacLure, 1965, 1979, 370.942 *''Education in Britain 1750–1914'', W B Stephens, 1998,

History of education in England History of education in Wales Educational organisations based in England Educational organisations based in Wales {{UK-hist-stub

See also

References

Sources