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Butlers Act 1944
The education act of 1944, brought about major reforms in schools across England and Wales. The purpose of this act was to provide education for all, from the ages of 5-15 and from this point education was now under the control of LEA's.
A tripartite system was introduced which involved pupils attending three different types of schools including modern and technical secondary schools. This act was an important advance in education and removed many of inequalities that remained in the system. -
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Educational Time-line
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The discovery of DNA
James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the double helical structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). This has been stated as one of the most important discoveries of the last century. The effect of this discovery on both scientific and medical research has been enormous and revolutionised biological understanding. This discovery resulted in major progress in the field of genetic modification and now synthetic biology. -
Newsom Report
The Newsome Report was a government report introduced in 1963 highlighting that schools in the UK, needed to focus on better education for below average students. This report had a considerable impact upon education in the 1960's and pinpointed areas of neglect within schools as well as improving educational provisions considerably. -
10/65 Circular
In 1965 circular 10/65 was introduced by the Department Education and Science (DES) its purpose, was to abolish grammar schools and secondary modern schools as well as eradicating the 11+ examination.Some individuals saw this as a major reform in education as students from all academic backgrounds, could attends schools. -
1980 Education Act
The education act in 1980 accelerated the process of giving more control to parents regarding choice of schools, as well as an appeal process for students who did not get into their first choice school. Additionally, there were changes to the opening and closing of schools and the allocation of places. The impact this had upon education was considerable, as parents could have a bigger say in their child's education and thus set out what they wanted from schools. -
Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education
Cognitive acceleration was a teaching approach developed in 1981 by both Michael Shaver and Philip Adey, through research into cognitive development and focused upon improving students thinking in science lessons. This research was based on the work of Piaget and Vygotsky’s theories of learning, and aimed to improve student’s cognitive processes by accelerating their progress towards higher order thinking. It had a positive impact on student’s cognitive growth and therefore academic achievement. -
The Pupil as a Scientist
‘The Pupil as a Scientist’ was a book written by Rosalind Driver in 1983 which provided further understanding of young adolescents undertaking science. Driver stated that, students already attended science classes with pre formed ideas and that these ideas may contradict the ideas that, current science teachers wanted to develop. Driver turned our attention to the fact that student’s practical experiences are not sufficient enough to develop scientific understanding. -
The introduction of GCSE's
In 1986 GCSE's were introduced which were seen an important educational reform, this was because the old system only allowed very academically able and low achievers to gain qualifications. The introduction of GCSE's allowed students to take tests from a range of different abilities. -
Education Reform Act 1988
The Education Reform Act was the most fundamental change to educational policy since 1944. The national curriculum was introduced setting out attainment targets, which students needed to reach by the end of each key stage. The curriculum included three core subjects; Maths, English and Science and included six foundation subjects. Schools were managed locally and control taken away from LEA's. Other provisions included; national tests, City Technology Schools and the introduction of Ofsted. -
1990 Education (Student Loans) Act
The student loans act was introduced in 1990 which introduced ‘top- up’ loans for students studying in higher education. Additionally, this act involved the reduction in the amount of money made available through student grants. This led to more students from lower class backgrounds attending university, but subsequently led to increased debt for higher education students. -
Brockwell Nursery and Infant School
I began infant school in 1998 and attended Brockwell Nursery and Infant School starting in reception and leaving in year 7. Brockwell infant school was part of a system used in the late 1990's where the infant school was paired with a junior school. Brockwell was a mixed gender and ability infant school, however, you could be held back a year for those individuals who struggled to cope with the academic demands. The curriculum included learning how to; spell, tell the time and basic mathematics. -
The Human Genome Project
In 2003, the Human Genome Project was completed which involved mapping and identifying all the genes found in the human genome. This was an important step in greater medical understanding and other useful applications including; sequencing of genes that cause heritable diseases, further understanding of evolution and identifying mutations of genes that cause cancer. -
Brookfield Community School
I attended Brookfield Community School from 2004-2009. Brookfield was classed as a mixed gender and ability comprehensive school and also specialised as a sport's centre. It was founded in 1991 and was previously a 13-18 girls’ and 13-18 boy’s school, it has since I left become an academy with more than 1300 students. During my time here I studied for my SATS which I took in year nine and my GCSE’s including; double award Science, it was during my GCSE’s I decided I wanted a career in Science. -
Key Stage 2 Science Standard Assessment Tests are abolished
In 2009, key stage two science Standard Assessment Tests were abolished. This decision was met with mixed reviews with some stating that it would be beneficial is it would allow teachers more freedom and lessen the constraints of exams, whilst others felt it lowered the value of science compared to English and Maths. -
Academies Act 2010
The academies act 2010, was a bill passed in 2010 allowing schools to become independent and free of control by LEA's, as well as diverging away from the national curriculum. This act has been stated as one the most radical reforms of schools in the past decade and has had mixed reactions from supporters and critics. Supporters argue it will improve standards in schools, while critics argue it is a way of privatising the school system. -
Brookfield Community School
I attended Brookfield Community School sixth form centre in 2010 and studied the following subjects; Biology, Chemistry and Geography. Attending a sixth form centre gave me the opportunity to obtain the grades I needed to pursue the sciences at a higher level. It had a massive impact upon my education as studying the above subjects, cemented my enthusiasm for science and it is here I decided I wanted a career within Biology. -
Solihull College & University Centre
I attended Solihull College in 2012 completing a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Biological Sciences. Solihull college is a university centre offering HND's, top-up degrees and masters degrees, it's also accredited by several universities including; Warwick and Oxford-Brooks University. I decided upon this program as the tuition fees were half the price of those at universities and thus had a massive impact upon my finances. -
Tuition fees are increased to £9000
Following an independent view of Higher Education (HE) funding by Lord Browne, recommending that more funding burden be placed upon graduates, in 2012 tuition fees were increased to £9000. Also, the number of individuals in HE was not been met by increases in funding thus leading to insufficiencies. This radical reform to HE led to changes in the legislation of funding, meaning that universities could charge £9000 providing they met conditions regarding widening participation and fair access. -
Introduction of the new curriculum and grading system
From September 2014 a new curriculum for both primary and secondary schools was implemented, with the aim to raise standards within the UK with a particular focus upon excellence and core skills. Additionally, the new grading system ranging from 1-9 was implemented replacing the old A*-G grading system. -
University of Wolverhampton
I attended University of Wolverhampton in 2014 completing a top-up degree in Biological Sciences, gaining a 1st class honours degree. Wolverhampton university gained university status in 1992 and is currently second in the UK for graduate employability. Again attending Wolverhampton University had a big impact upon my education allowing me to obtain a degree, that would eventually allow me to gain a place on a PGCE secondary science course at Wolverhampton and pursue a career in teaching. -
Tuition fees increased to £9000 (part- two)
This change to funding affected my educational decisions massively, as I decided to complete a HND (£4500 per year) instead of years one and two at university. I was still able to complete a degree, however, I was limited to which universities I could choose. It's clear that this had a big impact upon my education. Critics have said that it may adversely affect social mobility as fewer students from poorer backgrounds do not attend university bridging the gap between the poor and middle class.
