Labour social reforms 1945-51 - Education

2. The Education Act
The 1944 Education Act was
designed by the wartime
government, although brought
by Labour to tackle ignorance.
The Act aimed to improve
education by raising the school
leaving age to 15, meaning all
children would get at least a
secondary education.

3. The Education Act
Under the Education Act, all
children sat an exam age 11
(called the 11+), sometimes
called the ‘qualy’ in Scotland.
Those that passed went to
Senior Secondary schools,
those that did not went to
Junior Secondary schools.

4. The Education Act
Senior secondary schools
focused on academic
subjects; junior secondary
schools focused on trades.
This allowed young people to
get an education based on
their skills, and help clever
poorer children work their
way out of poverty.

5. The Education Act
The 11+ was criticised
because children that
failed often remained
stuck in poverty.
Many others argued that
it was unfair to base a
child’s future on one
exam taken at age 11.

6. The Education Act
The 11+ was also perceived
to benefit richer pupils.
They could afford more
support to prepare for the
11+ (such as private
tutoring) which meant that
poorer young people were
more likely to fail.

7. School building
Labour introduced a
nationwide programme to
build schools.
This was partly due to
increased numbers of
children attending, but also
due to damage caused
during the war.

8. School building
Labour’s building plans
meant that in 1947 and
1948, 6000 new
classrooms and practical
rooms were built.
Some children were also
taught in temporary ‘pre-
fab’ classrooms.

9. School building
Building new schools meant
that children were learning
in better environments,
helping improve the
standard of education.
The school building
programme also created
jobs, helping tackle the
problem of unemployment.

10. School building
Many children did not
benefit from new
schools, and were taught
in outdated buildings.
Most building focused on
primary schools,
meaning that secondary
pupils often missed out.

11. * LINKS *
Other Labour actions
made it easier to do well in
school.
Benefits reduced poverty,
letting children
concentrate in class.
Better housing also made
it easier to study at home.