Education was not compulsory in Victorian England during the early reign of Queen Victoria. Most poor children worked to contribute to family income rather than attend the few existing church or dame schools. A new law passed in 1870 mandated that a school be established in every town and village. Schools were strict, with corporal punishment used to enforce classroom rules. Lessons focused on religious and moral instruction. Boys and girls were taught separately, with boys receiving extra science and math while girls learned skills like sewing to run a household. Conditions in some schools were poor, with incidents of disease, truancy, and unclean children recorded in log books.