Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
In 1870 the Education Act was passed making the teaching of reading, writing and arithmetic compulsory. To give effect to the Act School Boards were set up with the duty to provide 'Board' schools were there were not enough voluntary, privately funded schools. In January 1891 the MCC passed its first resolution dealing with technical education, in 1895 it purchased the first of its polytechnics and in 1901 started its first secondary school.
The school leaving age was 12, and the elementary education system dealt in elementary schools with children from the age of 5 to 15. The concern of higher education was technical colleges, art schools, evening institutes, and especially secondary schools. Under the 1902 Education Act the County Council became responsible for higher education in the whole county, but was the authority for elementary education only in districts where the population was below a certain figure. In the other districts (known as 'Part III' districts for the part of the Act dealing with this matter) the borough or urban district were responsible for elementary education.
Between 1901 and 1938 the population of Middlesex grew from 792,000 to 1,952,000. This meant that more schools were urgently required and in the same period the County Council ordered the construction of 93 elementary schools, 42 secondary schools and 7 technical colleges and art schools. The 1926 'Hadow' report advocated the provision of advanced courses for all children over 11 years of age. As a consequence, 'senior elementary' schools came into existence for children of 11 to 14 years. These were the forerunners of the modern secondary school.
Under the Education Act of 1944 the 'part III' areas were abolished and the County Council became the local education authority for all forms of education for the whole of the County. The three stages of education were recognised by the Act - that is, the primary stage (up to 11 years old), the secondary stage (11 to 18) and the further education stage (18 onwards). The education authority was also encouraged to become more concerned with the educational welfare of the child in its widest sense. The school meals service, school health service, youth service and community centres were all considered to be an integral part of this remit by the MCC.