The Education Act 1918 (8 & 9 Geo. 5. c. 39), often known as the Fisher Act, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was drawn up by H. A. L. Fisher. Herbert Lewis, Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education, also played a key role in drawing up the Act. The Act applied only to England and Wales; a separate "Education (Scotland) Act 1918" applied for Scotland.

Education Act 1918
Act of Parliament
Long titleAn Act to make further provision with respect to Education in England and Wales and for purposes connected therewith.
Citation8 & 9 Geo. 5. c. 39
Territorial extent England and Wales
Dates
Royal assent8 August 1918
Other legislation
Amends
Repeals/revokes
Amended by
Relates toEducation (Scotland) Act 1918
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Education Act 1918 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
Education (Scotland) Act 1918
Act of Parliament
Long titleAn Act to make further provision with respect to Education in Scotland and for purposes connected therewith.
Citation8 & 9 Geo. 5. c. 48
Territorial extent Scotland
Dates
Royal assent21 November 1918
Other legislation
Relates toEducation Act 1918

This raised the school leaving age to fourteen and planned to expand tertiary education. Other features of the 1918 Education Act included the provision of ancillary services (medical inspection, nursery schools, centres for pupils with special needs, etc.).

Industrialists, landowners, and the Church of England resisted the Act, which raised the school leaving age from 12 to 14, made it much harder to employ children under 12, and put in place scholarships to fee-paying grammar schools.[1] The Act promised compulsory part-time education from 14 to 18, but this was never implemented because of the Geddes Axe (spending cuts) of 1921. Teachers’ pay was also cut at that time and again in the May Committee cuts of 1931.[1][2]

By the 1920s, the education of young children was of growing interest and concern to politicians, as well as to educationalists. As a result of this rising level of public debate, the Government of the day referred a number of topics for enquiry to the Consultative Committee of the Board of Education,[3] then chaired by Sir William Henry Hadow. Altogether the Hadow Committee published three very important reports – 1926, 1931 and 1933.

These reports led to major changes in the structure of primary (known as "elementary" at the time) education. In particular, they resulted in separate and distinctive educational practice for children aged 5–7 (infants) and those aged 7–11 (juniors).

The reports recommended child-centred approaches and class sizes of no more than thirty. These recommendations marked a triumph of 'progressive' educational thought and practice over the more 'traditional' ideas and proved to be popular with many policy makers and teachers alike.

References

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  1. ^ a b Jago, pp152-3
  2. ^ Barber 1994, p.2
  3. ^ Brehony, K. J. (1994). "The 'School Masters Parliament: the origins and formation of the Consultative Committee of the Board of Education 1868–1916." History of Education 23(2): 171–193.

Further reading

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  • Barber, Michael The Making of the 1944 Education Act, Cassell 1994 ISBN 0-304-32661-5
  • Jago, Michael Rab Butler: The Best Prime Minister We Never Had?, Biteback Publishing 2015 ISBN 978-1849549202
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