The outline of the history of the secondary modern school as an institution will be added here in due course...

A brief chronology of the history of education:

1839 Committee of the Privy Council on Education set up. Sir James Kay as secretary.

1842 Sir James Kay marries Janet Shuttleworth, Heiress of Gawthorpe Hall, and changes his name to Sir James Kay-Shuttleworth. Sir James continued to live at Gawthorpe until the death of his wife in 1872. The estates passed to their eldest son, Ughtred, on the death of Lady Shuttleworth, and James went to live in Kirkby Lonsdale, where he died in 1877 at the age of 72.

1862 The introduction of the Revised Code – ‘Payment by Results,’ Robert Lowe, Curriculum control, Rote learning and focus on the 3 ‘Rs.’

1867 Reform Act – debate on the need for an educated public.

1870 Forster’s Education Act introduced Board Schools – locally elected School Boards of male and female members to oversee local provision of education. Not free – the ‘school pence’ paid by parents.

1880 Elementary Education made compulsory.

Fears abound of urban and physical degeneration and debates on the inheritability of intelligence. Discourse on education to promote physical and domestic well-being and issues of Industrial need. “National efficiency” as the ‘buzz-words’ – reinforcing gendered roles in schools.

1891 School Boards given the discretion to do away with the school pence (DONALD, p.18)

1899-1902 Boer War.

1901 Sidney Webb’s vision of education as a way out of class origins – “every clever child.”

1902 Balfour Education Act. Control of education given to County Councils (L.E.A.s set up). Scholarships for ‘bright’ elementary pupils to attend Grammar schools.

1904 Departmental Committee report on Physical deterioration.

1906 Education (Provision of Meals) Act. School Meals and milk service founded.

1907 Education (Administrative Provisions) Act. School Medical Service founded. Inspections and treatment to be provided by the LEAs – made mandatory in 1921.

1918 Fisher Education Act. Raising of the minimum school leaving age to 14. L.E.A.s to provide special arrangements for the Senior Elementary School pupils.

1920 The Juvenile Organisations Committee was transferred to the Board of Education.

1926 Hadow Report on the Education of the Adolescent recommended separate ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ education, the raising of the school leaving age to 15, educational selection at 11, transferral of late developing pupils, separate examinations for differing abilities, ‘different but not inferior’ and reorganisation of educational administration.

1938 Spens Report recommended more technical schools and greater parity of esteem in Secondary Education with the same curriculum being followed for the first two years and transfer options at 13.

1941 Norwood report on Curriculum and Examinations in Secondary Schools advocated the tripartite system. All children, it decided, fell into three psychological categories: academically-minded, technically-minded and practically-minded. Reiterated the Hadow and Spens recommendations of late transfer at 13.

1944 Butler Education Act provides free secondary education for all under tripartite organisation: Grammar, Technical and Secondary Modern schools were to replace senior elementaries. Selection was made by the 11+ and 13+ examinations.

1947 School-leaving age is raised to 15

1951 School Certificate replaced by General Certificate of Education (GCE), available at 15

1963 Newsom Report recommends a more relevant curriculum for the average and less able; Young Enterprise started by Sir Walter Saloman

1965 Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) starts. Tripartite system is supposed to be gradually phased out and the 11+ abandoned.

1966 Gawthorpe Secondary Modern School opens in new buildings.

1972 Raising of school-leaving age (RoSLA) to 16; Manpower Services Commission introduces Project Trident

1974 Secondary Schools in Burnley and Padiham re-organised, changing catchment areas and abolishing tripartite segregation. All schools become known as ‘Secondary’ or ‘High’ schools organised on a comprehensive basis.

1977 Schools Council Industry Project begins

1982 Manpower Services Commission starts TVEI, emphasising flexible learning and work experience

1986 Introduction of General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)

1988 Education Reform Act creates a centrally controlled national curriculum and performance tables

1992 Education business partnerships, run by training and enterprise councils to co-ordinate education-industry links

1993 General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ) available nationally

1998 Schools allowed to disapply parts of national curriculum to permit extended work-related learning for some students at key stage 4

2002 Increased Flexibility Programme to support extended work-related learning at key stage 4

2004 Work-related learning to be compulsory for all in key stage 4