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How have schools changed?

Part of HistoryChanges through timeYear 1Year 2

How do children learn now?

All children today have to learn. This is called education. Some children learn at home. Most go to school.

A teacher writing on a whiteboard in a classroom.
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Watch: Schools 100 years ago

Schools were different in the past. Watch this video about schools over 100 years ago. This may be when the grandparents of your grandparents were alive.

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How have schools changed in the last 100 years?

We have seen how schools were different around 100 years ago. What changes have happened between then and today?

More children started going to school

  • In 1880, the law changed so that all children between five and ten had to go to school.
  • This meant there was one type of school for younger children. It was called an elementary school. It was like a modern primary school.
  • From 1918, children stayed at school until they were 14. This meant there were secondary schools as well.
A slate with pencil used 100 years ago

Changes in equipment

  • 100 years ago children wrote on slates with pencils. A slate was a piece of stone, a bit like a tile.
  • When they were older, children wrote on paper with pens. They had to keep dipping them into a pot of ink on their desks.
  • ‘Dipping pens’ were used in schools until the 1950s and 1960s.
  • Schoolchildren didn't use computers until the 1980s.
  • Now computers, laptops and tablets can be used in classrooms.
A slate with pencil used 100 years ago

All children started learning the same things

  • In 1988, the law changed so that all children had to study the same subjects. They followed the national curriculum. It is still used today.
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Activity: Schools through time quiz

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