events -school education

Universities and Colleges – see Education and Universities.

UK – see below for events relating specifically to other countries.

1/7/2015, Average annual fees for UK boarding schools were £30,369. Fees have outpaced UK inflation every year since 1990, pricing out many middle class UK parents. Overseas pupils now comprise 38% of the total, the largest groups from overseas being Chinese (21%), Hong Kong (17.6%) and Russian (10.3%).

1999, Corporal punishment was abolished in UK private schools.

23/6/1998, In Britain, Labour Education and Employment Secretary David Blunkett announced plans for a £75 million joint business and Government initiative for 25 ‘education action zones’. Schools, in these zones of poor educational performance, would experiment with longer teaching hours and more use of IT.

10/6/1998, In Britain, the Government started a programme to promote laptop use by schoolchildren, called Anytime Anywhere Learning.

25/1/1996, In the UK, the results of the first National School Tests sat in May 1995 showed that over 50% of 11-year-olds failed to reach expected standards in English and Maths.

1991, 40% of pupils at Eton public school were sons of old Etonians. Eton has provided the UK with 19 prime ministers and over 20% of all govermment ministers between 1900 and 1988.Prince William became a pupil at Eton in 1995, as did Prince Harry in 1998.

1990, The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was abolished, and replaced by smaller borough-based education authorities. ILEA was set up as the School Board for London in 1870, and became part of the London County Council (LCC) in 1902. It remained when the LCC became the Greater London Council (GLC) in 1965, and survived the abolition of the GLC in 1986

22/3/1990. Teacher’s Unions said teachers in Britain were over-burdened with paperwork.

1988, In Britain the AS Level was introduced. Equivalent to ‘half’ an A level, it was intended as a means to broaden the 6^th form (age 16-18) curriculum and include more students in the exam system.

1988, The Education Reform Act specified a compulsory national curriculum for all school age children 95-16) in State schools. This was in order to raise the low take-up rate of maths, science and technology studies amongst 14-16 year olds, especially girls. The system of O-Levels and CSEs was overhauled (see 1965) into a reunified GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) system; this revived the old problem of one exam attempting to cover the entire pupil ability spectrum (see 1965). In response to this issue the grading system was expanded with star grades amd extra numbers added. The GCSE system channels students to their ultimate A levels, but is not one generally used outside the UK.

7/1988, 13% of UK boys and 9% of UK girls left school without any CSE grades. A further 32% of boys and 28% of girls left with between 1 and 3 O :evels.

15/8/1987. Caning was officially banned in Britain, except in independent schools. Caning in public schools was banned in 1998.

11/9/1987, The British Conservative government announced plans to abolish the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA).

1986, In Britain, the Certificate of Pre-Vocational Education (CPVE) was introduced for students aged over 16 who wanted a 1-year course of preparation for work or further vocational study.

24/7/1986. MPs in the UK voted to abolish the cane in state schools.

18/9/1979, Corporal punishment was abolished in all inner London schools.

23/10/1978, The UK Government planned to replace GCE O levels and CSEs with a single exam, the GCSE.

26/10/1977, The UK Department of Education announced plans for national testing of schoolchildren in mathematics, reading and writing.

26/6/1977. Lady Baden Powell, founder of the Girl Guides movement in 1910, died.

1973, In Britain, the school leaving age was raised from 15 to 16.

25/6/1971, In Britain the Department oif Education announced a cash allocation of £132 million to replace 6,000 ‘slum’ primary schools. On the same day, Mrs Thatcher, Education Secretary, announced an end to free milk for primary school pupils.

1967, The Plowden Report (chaired by Bridget Plowden) emphasised the educational needs of below-average primary school pupils.

1966, The Labour Government replaced the old grammar and secondary modern system by a new system of comprehensive schools.

1965, The ideas of having a single O-Level (Ordinary) standard across the entire UK pupil spectrum proved difficult (see 1951), so a Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) was introduced for the less-able students. However this effectively stigmatised the lower end. See 1988.

1964, The UK’s Department for Education and Science was established, to oversee non-military research, also all Uk schools and universities.

1967, The Newsom Report (chaired by John Newsom) emphasised the educational needs of below-average primary school pupils.

8/2/1961, The BBC dropped its radio programme Children’s Hour because TV had cut its audiences.

10/12/1959. In Britain, the Crowther report recommended raising the school leaving age to 16. Meanwhile in Portugal schooling was only compulsory up to age 11. Only 7% of older Portuguese children went on to secondary school, and a further 13% to trade schools.

24/9/1957, BBC broadcasts to schools began.

31/1/1956, A A Milne, English author of children’s books, including Winnie the Pooh, died in Hartfield, Sussex.

1951, In England and Wales, the General Certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary and Advanced Levels replaced the ‘School Certificate’. See 1965.

17/2/1944, In the UK, the Education Act (known as the Butler Act, after R.A. Butler, Minister for Education in the wartime coalition Government) was published, 1) Raising the school leaving age to 15. Also,

2) Free secondary education was provided for all children up to age 15, divided into grammar schools, technical schools and secondary modern schools, selection for these by an 11-plus examination. Primary education was divided into infant and junior schools. The abolition of fees for secondary education removed a major cause of inequality in Britain.

3) Schools would provide free milk, subsidised meals, and free dental and medical examinations. Physical education was now compulsory at all schools. There was provision for raising the school leaving age to 16; this was implemented in 1973.

12/2/1943, Lord Nuffield set up the Nuffield Foundation with a gift of £10 million.

30/12/1938, The Spens Committee, in a report to the Board of education, advocated raising the school leaving age to 16.

31/7/1936, In Britain, the Education Act raised the school leaving age from 14 to 15. However this provision was not implemented until 1944.

1935, Gordonstoun public school, Scotland, was founded by Kurt Hahn. It emphasises a Spartan outdoor life, and was attended by Prince Philip and Prince Charles.

12/2/1932, In Britain, a Bill was introduced in Parliament to ban the whipping of children aged under 14.

21/1/1931, A Bill to raise the UK school leaving age to 15 was defeated in the Commons.

31/7/1929, World Boy Scouts jamboree opened at Arrowe Park, Merseyside.

1923, Benenden School, Kent, opened (attended by Princess Anne in the 1960s).

11/5/1923, Stowe House public school, Buckinghamshire, opened.

13/3/1918, In Britain, it was announced that the minimum school leaving age was to be raised to 14, from 13; this measure was implemented in December 1918 under the Education Act. This Act was known as the Fisher Act, after H.A.L. Fisher (1865-1940), then President of the UK’s Board of Education.

2/2/1914, The Cub Scouts were founded at Robertsbridge, Sussex.

12/3/1912, The Girl Guide movement was founded in America by Juliette Gordon Low.

4/4/1911, The Duke of Marlborough and other former pupils at Eton opposed the abolition of birching at the school.

31/5/1910. Lord Baden Powell’s sister, Agnes, announced the formation of the Girl Guides.

8/2/1910. W Boyce founded the Boy Scout movement in America.

4/9/1909. The first Boy Scout rally took place at Crystal Palace, south London. The Boy Scout movement was begun in 1908 by Baden Powell; he set up a Scout camp for 20 boys on Brownsea Island in 1908. In 1910 the Scout movement spread to the USA, and became so successful that in 1911 Baden-Powell left the army to develop it; the Scout movement received a Royal Charter in 1912.

17/2/1909. A Royal Commission on Britain’s Poor Laws said no more children should live in workhouses. In urban areas, up to a third of older people also died in Poor Law institutions, which included children’s homes, infirmaries and lunatic asylums as well as workhouses.

8/10/1908. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame’s children’s book, was published. It was still in print in 2001.

4/3/1908. The whip was banned as a means of corporal punishment in US schools.

26/1/1908, The first Boy Scout troop was registered, in Glasgow.

16/1/1908. The first issue of Scouting For Boys, Baden-Powell’s fortnightly journal of the scouting movement, was published.

1907, Start of medical inspections of schoolchildren in Britain, under the Education Act.

25/7/1907. Sir Robert Baden-Powell’s experimental camp, to test the feasibility of scouting, was set up on Brownsea Island, near Poole; 20 boys attended. The Boy Scout’s association was created on 29/7/1909. The camp closed for the winter on 9/8/1907.

1906, Sport became part of the national curriculum in Britain.

9/11/1906, Dorothea Beale died (born 21/3/1831), As Principal of Cheltenham Ladies College (opened 1854) from 1858, she did much to improve its standing, and new buildings were erected there from 1873 onwards.

15/7/1906, A Commons Commission recommended providing school meals, and a separate Ministry for Wales.

19/9/1905, Doctor Thomas Barnardo, who set up over 112 homes for deprived children from 1867, died aged 60.

9/2/1905, In Britain, the Board of Education called for greater thrift amongst schoolchildren.

1903, The ‘Common Entrance’ examination was established, to regulate the acceptance of boys into ‘publc schools. A Common Entrance exam for girls was set up in 1947.

2/5/1903. The US paediatrician, Dr Benjamin Spock, was born in New Haven, Connecticut.

8/8/1902, The British Academy, London, was granted a Royal Charter.

23/3/1902, Major reform of schools in England and Wales. The Balfour Education Act was passed. County Councils and large urban authorities took over responsibility for education from several thousand school boards and managers of voluntary schools. However non-conformist churches objected to the use of public money to finance Anglican and Catholic schools, which still retained considerable autonomy in their curricula.

1899, The UK’s Elementary Education (Defective and Epileptic Children) Act laid the foundations for education of children with ‘special needs’.

30/12/1899, In Britain the school leaving age was raised from eleven to twelve (excepting children employed in agriculture); in 1893 it had been raised from ten to eleven.

1897, The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) was formed (then known as the National Federation of Head Teachers Associations).

1893, Bedales School, Hampshire, Britain’s oldest co-educational boarding school, was founded.

1893, In the UK, the Elementary Education (Blind and Deaf Children) Act empowered local authorities to provide education for blind and deaf children aged 7 – 16.

8/1891, In Britain, fees for elementary education were abolished, by the 1891 Fee Grant Act.

1885, Roedean Girls School, Sussex, was founded.

1884, St Pauls School, London, moved from St Pauls Cathedral to West Kensington.

15/10/1881, Marie Stopes, scientist and education reformer, was born in Edinburgh.

1881, In Britain the Education Act made school attendance compulsory for children aged 5 to 10. However this was still payable by fees which, at 3d per child per week, were unaffordable for poor families with several children. See 8/1891.

14/6/1877, Mary Carpenter, English educational reformer, died (born 3/4/1807).

1876, The UK’s Elementary Education Act forbade the employment of children under 11, and none were to be employed between ages 11 and 13 unless they had obtained a certificate of education of having reached a standard set by the local bylaws of the district.

31/8/1870, Maria Montessori, who developed the Montessori system for teaching children, was born.

9/7/1870. The Elementary Education Act was passed in the UK, giving compulsory free education to every child in England and Wales.

1868, The Public Schools Act improved the Governing Bodies of these schools. It also extinguished the rights of certain local farmers and tradesmen to have their sons educated for free at Harrow, Rugby and Shrewsbury Schools.

1866, The UK passed the Industrial Shools Act. This Act facilitated the committing of destitute orphans, children with parents in prison, and vagrants aged 8 – 13 to certified schools where they received board, clothing, food and were taught a useful trade.

27/1/1862, Edward Hawtrey, Headmaster of Eton from1834, died (born 7/5/1789).

27/10/1854, Sir William Smith, Scottish founder of the Boys Brigade movement in Glasgow in 1883, was born.

1853, Wellington College, boys public school, was established in Berkshire. In 1978 it began admitting girls to the top two years 6^th form.

1853, Cheltenham Ladies College was established.

6/9/1852. The first free public lending library opened in Manchester.

21/6/1852, Friedrich Froebel, German educationalist who founded the Kindergarten system in 1837 at Blankenberg, died.

4/7/1845. Thomas John Barnardo was born in Dublin. In 1867 he started homes for some of London’s many destitute children. They became known as Dr Barnardo’s Homes although he never qualified as a medical doctor.

14/2/1845, Quintin Hogg, founder of polytechnics, was born.

See also Morals & Punishment for measures to protect children from labour exploitation and educate them

1844, So called ‘ragged schools’ were set up in Britain to ensure even poor children received a basic education.

1844, Fleetwood School, Lancashire, was founded.

21/12/1844. Changes in the law now meant no-one under 18 years of age could work over 12 hours a day, and it was proposed to limit teenagers to a 10 hour day. Children under 13 were restricted to a 48 hour week and had to attend school for 2 hours a week.

10/8/1842. The Mines Act was passed in the UK forbidding women and children to work underground.

12/6/1842, Thomas Arnold, headmaster of Rugby School, died (born 13/6/1795 in West Cowes, Isle of Wight).

1841, Cheltenham College was established.

1840, In Britain, the Grammar School Act gave powers to the Court of Chancery to amend the curriculum of these schools, adapting them to contemporary needs. See 1805.

7/8/1840, The UK Parliament passed an Act forbidding the employment of children as chimney sweeps. In 1840 only 1 in 5 of London children had any type of schooling, and most of the rest were working up to 80 hours a week. Chimney sweeping was very unhealthy; sometimes the boys got stuck, their knees and elbows got raw and infected and later they got cancer from the soot. Lord Shaftesbury campaigned against Victorian child labour and got the Climbing-Boy Bill passed as law in 1840. It decreed that no apprentice could be under 16. However this was not enforced until the Shaftesbury Act of 1875.

1836, King Edward Grammar School, Birmingham, opened.

29/8/1833, The Factory Act was passed in the UK. This applied only to the textile industry, but was the forerunner of many working practice reforms. The Act forbade the employment of children under nine, and children under 13 were to have two hours of schooling a day.

21/3/1831, Dorothea Beale was born, As Principal of Cheltenham Ladies College (opened 1853) from 1858, she did much to improve its standing, and new buildings were erected there from 1873 onwards. She died in post 9/11/1906.

1828, The Reverend Thomas Arnold became headmaster at Rugby School. He began a process of reform, introducing prefects, the ideal of ‘Christian Duty’, and a more rigourous intellectual atmosphere. Other public schools soon adopted these principles.

1827, Loretto, a public school near Musselburgh, Scotland, was founded by the Reverend Thomas Langhorne (died 1848).

10/10/1818, The first reference to school exam marks was made, by Dr Samuel Butler, the Headmaster of Shrewsbury School.

5/4/1811, Robert Raikes, founder of the Sunday School movement, died.

1807, Hendon Grammar School, London, was founded by non-conformists.

3/4/1807, Mary Carpenter, English educational reformer, was born (died 14/6/1877).

1805, In the Leeds Grammar School Case, Tory Lord Chancellor Lord Eldon ruked that grammar schools could not use their endowments to teach anything other than the classical curriculum laid down by statute in Elizabethan times. This situation persisted until the Grammar Shool Act of 1840.

16/5/1804, Elizabeth Peabody, kindergarten pioneer, was born.

1798, Attendance at Sunday Schools across Britain was now over 300,000.

1796, William Pitt, British Prime Minister, proposed extending the system of Industrial Schools for pauper children to all children working in industry, but this was not implemented.

4/12/1795, Birth of Thomas Carlyle, Scottish historian.

13/6/1795, Thomas Arnold, headmaster of Rugby School, was born in West Cowes, Isle of Wight (died 12/6/1842).

16/1/1794, Edward Gibbon, English historian and author of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, died.

30/4/1790, Samuel Heinicke, German educator of the deaf and dumb, died (born 10/4/1727).

7/5/1789, Edward Hawtrey, Headmaster of Eton from1834, was born (died 27/1/1862).

1784, The first Sunday School opened in London.

21/4/1782, Friedrich Froebel, German educational pioneer who established the first Kindegartens, was born in Oberweissbach.

1780, Robert Raikes (1735-1811) opened three Sunday Schools in Gloucestershire. Sunday Schools then spread to other counties.

18/1/1779, Peter Mark Roget, author of Roget’s Thesaurus, was born.

14/9/1735, Robert Raikes, who founded the Sunday School system in 1780, was born in Gloucester, son of a printer.

1731, Longwood Grammar School, Huddersfield, was founded.

10/4/1727, Samuel Heinicke, German educator of the deaf and dumb, was born (died 30/4/1790).

1723, The General Workhouse Act was passed in Britain, and workhouses then proliferated in towns and large parishes. Many of these workhouses employed a teacher to instruct the children therein in basic reading and writing, and in spinning, weaving or knitting, in the hope that they might lead a productive life away from desttituion.

5/1714, In Britain, under the Schism Act, no person was allowed to run a school except a member of the Anglican Church.

1712, Beccles Grammar School opened.

1700, The very wealthy did not send their children to school but had them educated by private tutors. The boys were then sent on ‘Grand Tours’ of Europe. Here they would visit capital cities as far afield as Germany, Italy and Austria, and meet influential court men, and leaqrn about Europen history, civilisation and etiquette.

The children of the lower classes seodom received any education afte age 10 or 12, but were then instructed in a trade instead. Secondary education was therefore utilised not by the very poor or the very wealthy, but by the middle aqnd upper classes. Grammar schools taught Latin and mathematics, but not much history, English literature, science or languages. Science education was to improve after the advent of the Industrial Revolution.

1700, Small children in rural villages went to a ‘dame school’ where an old lady might be able to teach them the basics of reading and writing.

1676, Cockermouth Grammar School was founded.

1674, Folkestone Grammar School was founded.

1665, Dolgellau Grammar School was founded.

15/7/1662, The Royal Society received a royal charter.

1/4/1662, King Charles II of Britain granted Royal Patronage to the Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge. The group of scientists and naturalists had been meeting since 1645.

30/6/1660, William Oughtred, English mathematician who invented the slide rule in 1622, died in Albury, Surrey.

1652, Halesowen Grammar School, Worcesterchire, was founded.

12/6/1647, Thomas Farnaby, educationalist who founded a school in Cripplegate, London, died.

1629, Exeter Grammar School was re-founded (originally founded 1332).

21/11/1626, Edward Alleyn, actor, who also founded Dulwich School on 21/6/1619, died.

21/6/1619, Dulwich College was founded by Edward Alleyn, actor (1566-1626).

1618, Portora Royal School was established by Royal Decree of King James I (issued 1608). It was originally founded at Ballybalfour but moved to Enniskillen around 1661. Sometimes known as the ‘Eton of Ireland’, it was a boarding school but became day-only in 1993.

1614, The Royal School, Dungannon, Northern Ireland, was established at Mountjoy. It moved to Dungannon in 1636, and to its present site in 1789. It amalgamated with Dungannon High School for Girls in 1986.

4/4/1617, The mathematician John Napier died, at Merchiston Castle, Edinburgh. He was the first to publish logarithm tables, in 1614.

3/10/1614, Charterhouse School, London, for boys, opened, on the site of a Carthusian monastery destroyed in the Reformation; hence the name of the school. It was founded by a wealthy merchant, Thomas Sutton (1532-1611). It moved to Godalming, Surrey in 1872. Girls have beejnh admitted to the final two years since 1972.

1611, Aylesbury Grammar School opened.

1592, Bungay Grammar School, Suffolk, was founded.

1591, Bewdley Granmar School, Worcestershire, was founded (refounded 1606 by James I).

1/7/1589, Christopher Plantin, printer, died.

1584, Uppingham public school, Rutland, was founded.

10/4/1583, Hugo Grotius, (De Groot) jurist, was born.

1576, Cheltenham Grammar School was established.

5/3/1575, William Oughtred, mathematician and inventor of the slide rule, was born at Eton.

1571, Harrow School was founded under a Charter granted to John Lyon, yeoman of Preston, by Queen Elizabeth I.

1567, Rugby School, Warwickshire, was founded.

1/9/1566, Edward Alleyn, English actor, was born (died 21/11/1626). He also founded Dulwich College on 21/6/1619.

1564, Felsted (Essex) Grammar School was founded. In 1851 it was reorganised into Felsted Public School.

1562, Horncastle Grammar School opened.

1560, Dunfermline High School was founded.

1555, Boston Grammar School (Lincolnshire) was founded.

1553, Doncaster Grammar School was founded.

1552, Christs Hospital School was founded, in Newgate Street, London. It moved to Horsham, Sussex, in 1902.

1552, King Edward VI Grammar School, Birmingham, was founded

1552, Bedford Grammar School was founded by Edward VI.

21/9/1551, The King Edward VI Grammar School, Louth, received its charter. However a school here may date back to the 8^th century (see 1276). After the religious guilds were dissolved in 1548 a petition was made to secure the school’s future, leading to the Charter.

1547, Grimsby Grammar School was founded.

1541, Ely Grammar School was founded by Henry VIII.

1532. Horsham Grammar School was founded (rebuilt 1893).

1528, The Kings Grammar School was established in Grantham. It is now a private school.

1527, Faversham (Kent) Free Grammar School was founded (moved site 1827).

16/9/1519, Death of John Colet, who founded the modern St Pauls School.

1515, Manchester Grammar School was founded by Manchester-born Hugh Oldham, Bishop of Exeter.

6/2/1515, Death of Aldus Manutius, the first publisher of paperbacks and inventor of italics.

1509, The Royal Grammar School, Guildford, Surrey, was founded.

1509, St Pauls School, London, was founded.

4/4/1508, The first book printed in Scotland.

1506, John Colet (1466 – 1519) was made Dean of St Pauls Cathedral, London.

1502, Macclesfield Grammar School was founded by Sir John Percyvale. It was refounded 26/4/1552 by King Edward VI and is now known as the Kings School.

1486, Hull Grammar School was founded.

1477, Ipswich School was established. It was re-founded by Queen Elizabeth I in 1565.

14/11/1477. William Caxton issued the first dated, printed, book from his printing press in Westminster. It was Dictes or Sayengis of The Philosophres.

1440, Eton School was founded by King Henry VI.

1382, Winchester College was founded by William of Wykeham, setting a model for future public schools.

1332, Exeter Grammar School was founded (re-founded 1629).

24/12/1317, Jean de Joinville, Crusader and historian, died.

1276, Earliest definite reference to a school in Louth; this establishment may date back to the 8^th century. Now known as the King Edward VI Grammar School, see 21/9/1551.

1274, Aquinas, see Christianity.

1128, The Royal High School, Edinburgh, was founded.

11/5/868, The world’s first printed book, the Diamond Sutra, was published in China. It was found in 1900.

859, The world’s oldest library opened, the Al-Qurawiyy in Morocco.

627, St Peters School, York, was founded.

598, The first English school was founded, at Canterbury.

529, Emperor Justinian closed down the Greek pagan schools of philosophy.

105 BCE, The mathematician Heron founded a college at Alexandria.

212 BCE, Archimedes died. He was engaged on a mathematical problem and was killed by an invading Roman soldier when he refused to leave until he had solved the problem.

287 BCE, Archimedes was born.

307 BCE, The great library of Alexandria was founded by Ptolemy Soter.

Austria

1869,School attendance between ages 6 and 14 became compulsory.

6/12/1774. Austria introduced the world’s first state education system.

Belgium

1983, Belgium raised the school leaving age to 18.

1914, Belgium made attendance for school compulsory for 6 – 12 year olds.

1879, Religious instruction was now removed from the Belgian school curriculum, and the clergy could provide such instruction outsode of school hours. The Belgian population, still mainly Catholic, opposed this measure. Within 18 months many Catholic primary schools were established.

1842, All Belgian communes now had to provide primary education, which was to be free to poor children.

Chile

1928, Free and compulsory schooling for all children aged 7 to 15 was introduced.

China

1905, The rigid system of examinations based on knowledge of classic Confucianism, giving access to jobs in the Chinese civil service was replaced by a modernised system based on a wider curriculum, The old system had become increasingly corrupt during the 19^th century.

Ethiopia

1907, Education was made compulsory for all male children aged 12 and over. Coptic teachers were brought in from Egypt and State schoole erected.

France

14/5/1968, French workers called a one-day strike to support the students. The French Franc plummeted.

10/5/1968, Student clashes with police continued in Paris.

3/5/1968, French police evicted striking students from campus, sparking large street demonstrations.

2/5/1968, Students rioted in Paris.

31/3/1900, France passed a law limiting the working hours of women and children to 11 hours.

1889, The cost of teacher’s salaries was taken by the French State, leaving the communes only responsible for the physical structure of the school buildings.

30/10/1886, Only lay persons were now allowed to teach in France; specifically religious teaching was abolished.

28/3/1882, School was made free, non-clerical and compulsory in France.

16/6/1881, All French teachers must now possess the brevet (diploma) de capacite. However it was impractical to enforce this law on every existing teacher and even by 1902 just 60% of male and 52% of female teachers possessed this qualification. This day, fees in all French primary schools and training colleges were abolished.

1879, All French Departments now had to maintain a teacher training college, for male and female teachers.

1/6/1878, By French law, all communes now had to purchase their school buildings; the French State set aside £2.4 million for this purpose.

1869. Under the tenure of Education Minister M Duruy (1865-69) primary schools for girls had to be provided in all communes of population over 500.

15/3/1850, The Loi Falloux made provision for clergy to be able to teach in secondary schools without need for further qualifications than their religious certificate, whereas lay teachers needed a university degree. It also made provision for separate girls’ schools, and for adult and apprentice education.

1833, France made it compulsory for all communes to maintain and pay for schools and teachers.

1808, The baccalaureat, equivalent to British A Levels,was instituted.

1806, Napoleon centralised all French education under a State monopoly, the Imperial University.

1791,The French Constitution decreed that primary education was to be libre, that is, not under State control. However this remained merely an ideal, see 1806.

1755, The first school for the deaf was founded in Paris by Abbe de l’Epee.

Germany

1900, Sex education was introduced in German schools.

1873, Saxony made school attemdance at ‘continuation’ (secondary) schools compulsory up to age 17.

1850, German teachers became civil servants, and elementary education was made free. However elementary school fees did not totally disappear until 1888. Even then pupils from outside the school district could be charged.

1826, School attendance until age 14 made compulsory in Prussia.

1807, Prussia abolished the semi-ecclesiastical Oberchulkollegium asnd placed education under the Ministry of the Interior.

1794, The Allgemeines Landrecht decreed that all schools established in Prussia must he with the knowledge and consent of the State, and come under its suopervision.

29/10/1790, Friedrich Diesterweg, German educationalist, was born (died 7/7/1866).

25/7/1790, Johann Basedow, German educational reformer, died in Magdeburg (born in Hamburg 11/9/1723).

1737, The Prussian State set aside 50,000 Thalers for the establishment of new schools.

11/9/1723, Johann Basedow, German educational reformer, was born in Hamburg (died in Magdeburg 25/7/1790).

1717, School attendance in Prussia was made compulsory. Frederick William I ordered all children to attend school, where a fee of 5 pfennigs or ½ d a week was payable

1642, Compulsory school attendance began in the state of Gotha.

1528, The State of Saxony provided for the establishment in all tiowns and villages of Latin schools. Luther had urged the establishment of such a universal education in 1524.

Greece

1905, The Greek Government consolidated its primary schools, reducing the number of them from 3,359 to 2,604.

Hungary

1868, Education became compulsory for children aged 6 to 12.

Ireland

1900, The old system of teacher payment by results was abolished; teachers now received a fixed salary.

Italy

1877, Education became compulsory for Italian children aged 6 to 9. However this law was often not enforced through poor administration.

Japan

8/1872, The Japanese Meiji Government made school education compulsory.

5/1869, Japan’s first public elementary school opened, in Kyoto

Netherlands

1900, School attendance was made compulsory.

1857, Secular teaching was provided in primary schools at State cost.

1618, Free village schooling began in some areas

Poland

13/10/1973, The Polish Sejm (Parliament) passed a Bill adopting a national system of education, 11 years from ages 7 to 18, 3 years primary, 5 years secondary, and 3 years specialised secondary for certain careers.

Spain

17/7/1857, In Spain, education for all children aged from 6 to 9 became compulsory.

Switzerland

29/9/1908. In Switzerland, the international conference on worker’s rights banned night shifts for children under 14.

Turkey

1863, Robert College, Istanbul, was founded, to foster links between East and West.

USA

5/9/1911, The first adult literacy school in the United States began, when Cora Wilson Stewart, school superintendent for Rowan County, Kentucky, began what she called the Moonlight Schools. The night classes at the county's 50 schools took place so long as the Moon was bright enough for students to safely travel. She had expected that 150 might come; however, 1,200 signed up.

20/10/1859, John Dewey, US educator, was born in Burlington, Vermont.

1852, Massachusetts made school attendance compulsory; the first US State to do so.

24/4/1800, US President John Adams approved the spending of US$5,000 to set up a Library of Congress. This library was established on Capitol Hill, and is now the largest library in the world.

1786, The first Sunday School in America opened.

1647, The Massachusetts Bay Colony established publicly finded schools, paid for by a tax on dwellings. This was to ensure that Puritan children learned Bible virtues.

1635, The Boston Public Latin School was founded; the first secondary school in the American colonies.

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