A board school in Kempston, Bedfordshire.

School boards were set up in England and Wales under the Elementary Education Act 1870 following campaigning by George Dixon, Joseph Chamberlain and the National Education League for elementary education free from Anglican doctrine.

School boards were created in boroughs and parishes under the Act. Education was still not free of fees. Members were directly elected, not appointed by borough councils or parishes. Each board could:

• raise funds from a rate
• build and run non-denominational schools where existing voluntary provision was inadequate
• subsidise church schools where appropriate
• pay the fees of the poorest children
• if they deemed it necessary, create a by-law making attendance compulsory between ages 5–13
• were not to impose any religious education, other than simple Bible reading

They were abolished by the Education Act 1902, which replaced them with Local Education Authorities.

[edit] See also

• Joseph Chamberlain
• National Education League
• Education Act 1870
• Birmingham board schools
• London School Board

[edit] Sources

• Educational Documents, England and Wales 1816 to the present day, J Stuart MacLure, 1965, 1979, ISBN 0-416-72810-3 370.942
• Education in Britain 1750-1914, W B Stephens, 1998, ISBN 0-333-60512-8

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