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Educational Timetable
1944-present, focusing on the most imperative aspects of education and how specific elements have impacted upon my personal education. -
Butler's Education Act
The Education Act 1944 changed education in secondary schools across England and Wales and was called ‘Butler Act’ after the Conservative Minister R.A.Butler. The act redesigned the education system; establishing three stages of education; primary, secondary and further education. The act also introduced the 11+ exams which determined which secondary school pupils attended, which were also split into Grammar, Secondary Modern and Technical Schools. Alongside this, the act made all schooling, spe -
Universal Free School Milk
Post-war Minister of Education Ellen Wilkinson introduced ‘free school milk’. Simultaneously there was also an attempt to provide free school meals but this was terminated due to cost. -
General Certificate of Education (GCE)
The General Certificate of Education was introduced in 1951 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the main intention was to provide pupils with a certificate of education. Two levels of public examinations were introduced, O level (Ordinary) and A level (Advanced) for 18 year olds leaving school. -
Harold Wilson's newly-elected Labour government
Harold Wilson's promises to set up comprehensive schools, combining pupils of all ability levels. -
The Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE)
The CSE was introduced for secondary modern pupils, focusing on cateering for those not sitting O-Levels. -
School leaving age raised to 16
The leaving age was raised to 16 in 1972 but was initially planned in 1964. The whole idea of this was for students to attain O-level qualifications and less students were leaving with no qualifications. -
Sex Discrimination Act
The Sex Discrimination Act was introduced to bring equal opportunities to women and made it illegal to discriminate. -
Race Relations Act
The Race Relations Act 1976 was added to the statute books in order to encourage diversity and to ensure no one was discriminated against due to their race or culture. -
Special Education Act
This Act followed the Warnock report regarding Special Education Needs (SEN). -
Introduction of PC's into schools
Computers in the classroom were introduced 1986 which were intended to enhance, replace and support the ongoing teaching. -
Corporal Punishment Abolished
Corporal Punishment is an official punishment for misbehavior of students, which involved striking students in a generally methodical ceremony. The instruments used included; rattan cane, wooden paddle, leather strap, wooden yardstick or the open hand. However, this was abolished in 1986 by Parliament. -
Education Reform Act
The Education Reform Act
The Education Reform Act 1988 allowed primary and secondary schools to be funded by central government rather than the local authority. This act also saw the introduction of core subjects; English, Mathematics and Science and foundation subjects. Religious Education remained the only subject without formal assessment. -
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) replaces O-levels and CSEs
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) which was introduced initially in 1986 however, the first examinations didn’t take place until 1988 which replaced the former O Level/ CSE qualifications. One of the major changes was the fact GCSE’s allowed students to complete coursework during their two years of study which was graded and was combined with their examination grade. This impacted upon my education as in a majority of my subjects at GCSE had the two components of coursework -
Establishment of OFSTED
Office of Standards in Education (OFSTED), Children’s services and skills was introduced. OFSTED inspect and regulate services which care or provide education/skills for learners of all ages. They report and monitor individual quality of schools focusing on; achievement of pupils, quality of teaching, behavior and safety of pupils and leadership and management. -
Date of Birth
I was born on my sisters first birthday. -
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Educational Experience
My whole life and educational experience. -
A* added to GCSE's
A* added to GCSE's to differentiate between higher and lower A grades. -
General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) are introduced
General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQ’s) is a certificate of vocational education which were introduced in 1996. The qualifications at advanced level are equivalent to two A Level’s and at intermediate level are equivalent to four GCSE’s. They were made available to people of all ages and could often be studied alongside GCSE’s or A Levels. Generally speaking GNVW’s entail a lot of coursework. -
Start of my education
The journey begins... I started Nursery at Moxley Infants. -
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Infants School (Moxley Infants)
I started infants school at Moxley Infants, Moxley. The educational journey began... -
Key Stage 2 SATs (KS2 SATs)
Key Stage 2 examinations (year 3-6) were introduced for students aged 7-11. These examinations allowed senior schools to select the right ability classes for pupils. This impacted upon my education as I did take the exams at the end of year 6 at Dorothy Purcell. I found these exams useful as they gave me an idea as to how I was performing and they ensured I was placed in the correct set groups at high school. -
Race Relations Amendment Act
Promoting equality. -
Advanced Subsidiary (AS-Level) are brought in for 17 year olds
Advanced Subsidiary (AS Level) exams were brought in for 17 year olds. AS Levels are qualifications in their own right but they also make up half an A Level. This impacted upon my education as whilst at sixth-form I gained two AS Level’s in English Literature and Citizenship. -
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Primary School (Dorothy Purcell)
I started Primary School at Dorothy Purcel, Moxley. I began to develop my skills I had learnt from Infants school and began to find things I really enjoyed. I specifically enjoyed Mathematics and was always asked to represent the school in Maths challenges where other schools competed. -
First Academy Opens, 5
Alongside this, teachers are not required to have subject specific degrees in order to teach that subject. For example, during sixth-form at Grace Academy I was being taught A-Level IT by a teacher who had no qualifications in that subject field. -
First Academy Opens, 1
Rt. Hon David Blunkett MP announced the intention of the government to create a network of academies. According to Gorard (2005) the programme of City Academies was announced in 2000 and the first three Academies opened during 2002. The Academies were said to be independent of local government control and would alternatively have voluntary and private sector sponsors, this whole process was said to ‘break the cycle of failing inner-city schools’. -
First Academy Opens, 2
This impacted upon my education an awful lot as my secondary school Darlaston Community Science College was converted into a faith based Academy – Grace Academy. The school was placed in special measures during 2008 (I was in year 10), Express and Star (2008) reported that the school was not providing its pupils with the education they deserved due to the ‘inadequate teaching’ and off-task behaviour in lessons that isn’t being managed by teachers. -
First Academy Opens, 3
The OFSTED report from July 2013 reported that the ‘leadership and management require improvement as they have yet to develop a consistent and shared vision for the academy with all members of its community, including the families, students, staff and extended partners of the organisation’ (OFSTED 2013). This shows that converting to an Academy doesn’t solve the issues immediately and therefore children who are studying there throughout the change don’t see any of the suggested benefits. -
First Academy Opens, 4
The OFSTED report indicates that the school is still graded as ‘3- requires improvement’ which leaves the question, was it really worth converting into an Academy? This is encouraged by Gorard (2005) who stated that there isn’t any specific evident that shows Academies are generally performing any better than the schools they replaced. As academies don’t have to follow the government set curriculum this has the potential to impact upon student’s education. -
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High School (Darlaston Community Science College)
The time had come and I was off to 'big school', when I initially joined DCSC the school was satisfactory. However, the school was placed into special measured by OFSTED and had no alternative but to convert into an Academy (Grace Academic) during 2009 which was the year I finished year 11. -
Every Child Matters
Every Child Matters (ECM) is a UK Government initiative that covers children up to the age of 19, or 24 for those with disabilities. The ECM also helped lead to the Children Act 2004. ECM’s main aims according to Cheminais (2013) are to ensure all children regardless of their background;
-stay safe
-be healthy
-enjoy and achieve
-make a positive contribution
-achieve economic well-being -
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Sixth-Form Grace Academy
DCSC was converted to Grace Academy during 2009 but this didn't particularly impact on the level of teaching being providied. For instance even four years on and OSTED have still regarded the school as '4 Inadequate' during 2012 and '3 Requires Improvement' during 2013. -
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University - University of Wolverhampton
I began my degree - Information Technology BSc Hons at the University of Wolverhampton. This would ultimately shape my future career and life. The pressure was on! -
Began Computer Science PGCE
I managed to secure myself a place on the Computer Science PGCE at the University of Wolverhampton. Exciting times ahead... -
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PGCE Computer Science
I embarked upon the most important year of my life. -
Graduation
I graduated with a First Class hons in Information Technology. This allowed me to apply for the PGCE Computer Science. -
School leaving age raised to 18
The school leaving age is once again being raised to 18 by the Government as they believe it will benefit students in gaining further knowledge. This aims to also cut the under achieving students and unemployment. I personally believe this is a brilliant idea as it will allow students to study further and really find an area of passion which they can pursue further when they leave with a clearer insight into what profession they want to join. Keeping the options for A Levels, BTEC’s and GNVQ’s w
