Educational Reform (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes
Educational reform
The development of comprehensive schools
Context: the tripartite system in decline
By the 1960s, the tripartite system of secondary education had come under sustained criticism. This system, which divided pupils at age 11 into grammar schools, technical schools, and secondary modern schools, was widely regarded as socially divisive and educationally unjust. Secondary modern pupils faced limited opportunities, with the majority of grammar school places allocated to children from middle-class backgrounds. The notion that these three types of school held equal status had long been discredited, exposing the system's inherent inequality.
Comprehensive school refers to a type of secondary school that provides education for all children within a designated catchment area regardless of ability. Unlike grammar schools, comprehensives do not employ selection processes to admit pupils.
The tripartite system created significant social divisions in British education. Children's educational destinies were effectively determined by a single examination at age 11, with those attending secondary modern schools facing severely restricted opportunities compared to their grammar school counterparts.
Local authorities and the comprehensive movement
Local Education Authorities (LEAs) held responsibility for schools within their jurisdictions. In certain areas, particularly Labour-controlled regions such as Greater London, LEAs had already begun establishing comprehensive schools. These institutions operated on the principle that every child should receive the same educational opportunities, allowing them to learn at their own pace and sit examinations suited to their individual abilities in each subject.
By 1964, approximately 1 in 10 pupils attended a comprehensive school—ten times the proportion in 1951. However, this still represented only a small minority of secondary school pupils, indicating that wholesale reform remained incomplete.
Tony Crosland and Circular 10/65
Tony Crosland (1918–77) became minister of education in 1965, a position from which he drove forward the comprehensive schools programme. First elected as a Labour MP in 1950, Crosland lost his seat in 1955 before winning the seat of Grimsby in 1959. Between 1955 and 1959, he authored The Future of Socialism, an influential text on the right wing of the Labour Party. He later served as Foreign Secretary from 1976 to 1977.
As education minister, Crosland issued Circular 10/65 to all Local Education Authorities, requesting them to convert their schools to comprehensive status. Though not a statutory requirement, this circular effectively encouraged reorganisation. Many authorities responded with particular enthusiasm after 1966, when the government made funding for new school buildings conditional upon the submission of comprehensive school plans.
The Power of Financial Incentives
While Circular 10/65 was not legally binding, the government's decision to link funding for new school buildings to comprehensive school plans proved highly effective. This strategy demonstrated how financial leverage could drive educational reform without requiring statutory changes.
The policy accelerated the transformation of secondary education. By 1970, only 8 authorities had failed to produce plans for comprehensivisation, and approximately 1,145 comprehensive schools served roughly 1 in 3 of all state-educated secondary pupils.
Implementation challenges and limitations
Despite this progress, the comprehensive school reform faced considerable obstacles. The mergers and changes in school status created substantial disruption during the early implementation period. Critics, particularly those from middle-class backgrounds, argued that comprehensives represented a "grammar school education for all", but many middle-class parents remained unconvinced of this claim.
Some parents responded by turning to direct grant schools, which were mostly established, endowed grammar schools that admitted a substantial proportion of pupils on scholarships from LEAs. These schools continued to operate until they were phased out from 1976. Others opted for independent schools, ensuring that the concept of a truly universal comprehensive system contained inherent flaws from the outset.
The Challenge of Middle-Class Resistance
The exodus of middle-class families to direct grant and independent schools undermined the comprehensive ideal from the beginning. This persistent class divide meant that comprehensive schools often served predominantly working-class pupils, defeating the original purpose of creating truly mixed-ability, socially integrated institutions.
Evaluating the success of comprehensive schools proves difficult. While proponents, including Crosland, justified the policy by claiming it would promote educational equality, the reality proved more complex. The disruption caused by reorganisation, combined with persistent middle-class resistance, limited the transformative potential of the reform.
The expansion of higher education and the inauguration of the Open University
The Robbins Report and its findings
Concerns that Britain lagged behind other nations in science and technological education led to the establishment of the Robbins Committee in 1961. The subsequent Robbins Report identified serious deficiencies in British higher education provision. It found that Britain fell behind France, Germany, and the United States in university place availability. Furthermore, too many students pursued arts-related courses while neglecting science and technology subjects, raising fears about national competitiveness.
Key Findings of the Robbins Report:
- Britain had fewer university places available compared to France, Germany, and the United States
- There was an imbalance between arts and science education, with too few students pursuing science and technology
- These deficiencies threatened Britain's ability to compete economically with other developed nations
Government response and expansion measures
The Labour government responded to these findings by implementing an ambitious programme of higher education expansion:
Polytechnics replaced Colleges of Technology, with their primary focus shifting to applied education for work and science. Rather than emphasising research, these institutions concentrated on teaching practical skills relevant to employment.
Nine Colleges of Advanced Technology received full university status. Additionally, the Royal College of Science in Scotland became Strathclyde University, marking the upgrading of existing institutions to meet growing demand.
New universities received founding charters. Institutions such as Sussex, which had been recently established, gained official recognition and expanded their operations. Between 1961 and 1967, numerous universities opened across Britain, spreading higher education opportunities beyond traditional centres.
By 1968, Britain possessed 30 polytechnics and 56 universities. These new institutions introduced novel courses, making it possible to study subjects such as town planning and architecture at degree level. This expansion opened higher education to many students whose families had never attended university.
Limitations of expansion
Despite these advances, significant barriers remained. Middle-class children continued to dominate the older, established universities, making it difficult to achieve genuine parity of opportunity. The class divide in higher education persisted, with working-class students underrepresented even in the expanded system. While the new polytechnics and universities provided increased access, they could not entirely overcome entrenched social inequalities.
Persistent Class Barriers
The expansion of higher education did not eliminate class-based inequalities. Established universities like Oxford and Cambridge remained predominantly middle-class institutions, while working-class students, when they did access higher education, were more likely to attend the newer polytechnics and universities. This created a two-tier system within higher education itself.
The Open University: conception and creation
Harold Wilson later stated that he most wished to be remembered for creating the Open University. This institution embodied his enthusiasm for equal opportunities in education, modernisation, and the "white heat of technology". Wilson aimed to offer degree-level learning in arts and sciences to individuals who had never had the opportunity to attend campus universities.
In March 1963, a Labour Party study group proposed an experimental programme using radio and television, to be called the "University of the Air". Following Wilson's election success in 1964, he appointed Jennie Lee to oversee the project, and her commitment ensured its realisation.
Jennie Lee (1904–88) came from a working-class family and had only been able to attend Edinburgh University with support from a trust that covered half her fees. During the General Strike of 1926, she gave some of her bursary money to her family after her union-activist father lost his job. She was first elected to Parliament in 1929 and appointed arts minister in 1964. She retired in 1970 and was created Baroness Lee of Asheridge.
Jennie Lee's Vision and Determination
Lee's reminiscences reveal her determination to create a university without concessions. She rejected what she termed the "nonsense" about obtaining degrees by simply sitting before a television. Drawing on her own experience of obtaining a degree despite limited means, Lee insisted the Open University must maintain rigorous academic standards from its inception. Her working-class background and personal struggles informed her vision of an institution that would be genuinely accessible yet academically credible.
Implementation and success
In September 1969, the Open University's headquarters opened in Milton Keynes. By mid-1970, sufficient applications had been received for the first cohort of students to commence studies in January 1971. The university achieved rapid success through innovative methods.
The Open University employed radio and television as novel forms of distance learning. It recruited largely part-time students who maintained other commitments, attracting individuals with a markedly different social profile from traditional students. The institution appealed to mature students, women, and the disadvantaged, helping to raise the confidence of those who had previously regarded themselves as educational failures.
The Open University's Innovative Approach
The Open University pioneered a revolutionary model of higher education:
- Distance Learning: Students studied at home using specially prepared course materials, television programmes, and radio broadcasts
- Part-Time Study: Students could maintain employment while pursuing degrees, making higher education accessible to working adults
- Open Access: No formal entry qualifications were required, breaking down traditional barriers to university education
- Tutorial Support: Regional tutorial centres provided face-to-face support and summer schools offered intensive study periods
By 1980, the Open University had educated over 70,000 students and was awarding more degrees annually than Oxford and Cambridge combined. This achievement demonstrated both the demand for accessible higher education and the effectiveness of alternative educational models. The Open University represented one of the most successful educational innovations of the period, fulfilling Wilson's vision of democratising higher education.
Key Points to Remember:
- The comprehensive school movement aimed to replace the divisive tripartite system, but achieved only partial success by 1970, with just 1 in 3 pupils attending comprehensives.
- Tony Crosland's Circular 10/65 drove the expansion of comprehensive schools, though middle-class resistance through direct grant and independent schools undermined the goal of universal comprehensive education.
- The Robbins Report (1961) exposed Britain's deficiencies in higher education provision, prompting the government to expand universities and create polytechnics focused on applied education.
- The Open University, championed by Harold Wilson and Jennie Lee, opened in 1971 and used innovative distance learning methods to provide degree-level education to mature, disadvantaged, and non-traditional students.
- By 1980, the Open University awarded more degrees than Oxford and Cambridge combined, demonstrating the success of alternative educational models in widening access to higher education.