The Nottingham School Board's experiments in vocational education

Summary

By 1903 the Nottingham School Board had established a complete system of education from the nursery stage to matriculation and advanced commercial and technical work. In particular there was a system of multi-lateral secondary schools, open without fee to those who passed a qualifying examination. The opportunity was there for the academically minded to obtain University entrance, while good commercial, scientific and technical qualifications could be taken by those whose bent was different. For all senior children practical work in domestic science or craft was done and facilities for practical science were being improved. A graduated system of evening schools offered classes at many levels, and much active experiment was in progress to discover the best use of evening class amenities. A resolute attempt was being made to cope with the problem of the child who left school at the minimum age. All this was done in the face of apathy, or even downright obstruction on the part of the Education Department.

Of course there was much to be done before the work in any direction could be considered complete, but an excellent foundation had been laid for further advances. In Nottingham, at any rate, the School Board had produced a scheme of education in which general academic work and vocational and technical studies were nicely balanced. Unfortunately the work of the next few years was to be controlled by the Education Department—the Board of Education as it had now become—whose view of technical work may perhaps fairly be summed up by the reply to a request from the Nottingham School Board that grant be paid for an evening commercial class: ‘My Lords cannot accept typewriting under Article 2 or Article 3 of the Evening Continuation School Code as they do not consider that, however practically useful, it has a substantial educational value. It is a mechanical exercise’.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

David Wardle

Now Organising Tutor, Institute of Further Education, Pocklington, East Yorkshire.