Grammar/technical/modern school

These are the three types of school in the so-called tripartite system of education introduced in 1944. This system was retained in most areas until the early 1970s, but was increasingly replaced by the comprehensive system (see unit 17 below). By 1979 the majority of local education authorities had reorganised secondary education in their areas on comprehensive lines, and the older, tripartite system now continues to exist only in about a quarter of all local authority areas. The rest of this unit therefore applies only to these areas.

Grammar schools provide a predominantly academic education and prepare pupils mainly for higher education. The name grammar school was given to them because grammar, particularly Latin grammar, formed an important part of the curriculum of the original grammar schools, some of which were founded as early as the Middle Ages.

Technical schools were the heirs of the junior technical schools, which date from the beginning of this century. The new secondary technical schools were planned as the academic equals of the grammar schools, but specialising in technical

subjects. However, there were never many of these schools, and for various reasons they were widely considered inferior to the grammar schools.

Secondary modern schools were established in 1944, on the basis of the former elementary schools (see unit 14). The word modern implies a contrast with classical. These schools were to teach modern subjects, in contrast to the grammar schools, where classics (that is, Latin and Greek language and literature) traditionally formed an important part of the curriculum, although their importance is now declining. The modern schools were given the task of providing a general, non-academic education for children of average ability. Most secondary modern pupils leave school at 16 (the minimum school-leaving age since 1972), either to start work or to do some kind of vocational training.

Children are allocated to the different types of secondary school according to their results in the eleven-plus (11+) examination. The name eleven-plus appears to refer to the age at which children transfer to secondary school, rather than to the age at which they take the examination (in their last

examination; each local education authority devises its own. However, they have much in common, and generally consist of intelligence tests, tests in English and arithmetic, and sometimes English composition. In addition to the examination, some LEAs take into account primary school teachers' assessments, and some interview the children. Those children with the best results go to a grammar school, on the assumption that they are capable of benefitting from the academic type of education provided there. On average 20% of children go to a grammar school, although the percentage varies from one part of the country to another, according to the number of grammar school places available in each area. In districts where there is a secondary technical school, children who do well in the 11 + may go there instead, if their parents choose. Since the prestige of the technical school is often lower than that of the grammar school, children with slightly lower marks are often accepted. All other children, that is, 75-80% of the age group, go to a secondary modern school.

The comprehensive school was first officially defined in a Ministry of Education circular in 1947 as "one which is in-

tended to cater for all the secondary education of all the children in a given area, without an organisation in three sides", i.e. grammar, technical and modern (see unit 16).

The word comprehensive expresses not only the idea that the schools in question take all the children in a given area, without selection, but also that they offer all the courses taught in the three traditional types of school. For this reason they are usually much bigger than the traditional types (at least 1,000 pupils). The area from which a comprehensive school takes its pupils is called a catchment area.

Comprehensive education became national policy in 1965, and later, in 1976, the Comprehensive Education Act was passed under the Labour government, compelling all LEAs by law to reorganise secondary education in their areas along comprehensive lines. However, before the law could be enforced everywhere, the Labour government was replaced by a Conservative one (May 1979) and the new government removed from LEAs the compulsion to adopt the comprehensive system (or, in less formal style, to go comprehensive). As a result approximately 75% of LEAs have comprehensive secondary education, and the remaining 25% (those who resisted the change until May 1979) have retained the old, tripartite system described in unit 16 above.

Comprehensive schools in most places are all-through schools, that is, one school takes the whole age group 11-18, like the grammar, technical and modern schools. Some LEAs, however, have introduced new patterns. One variation is comprehensive schools for children of 11-16 (the minimum school-leaving age) linked with sixth-form colleges (see units 176, 394) for pupils who stay on after 16. (Such colleges are sometimes called tertiary colleges.) Other authorities have middle schools, for ages 8-12, 9-13 or 10-14, linked with upper schools (or high schools (for ages 12/13/14-18). Middle schools bridge the traditional division at 11 between primary and secondary education, and in areas with this system the first schools which children attend compulsorily (from 5 to 8/9/10) are called first schools. Thus children in these areas go to three schools instead of two, as follows: first school — middle school — upper/high school.

All these new types of school can be described as comprehensive in the sense that they are non-selective, even if their name does not include that word.

The word comprehensive is widely used in conversation as a countable noun meaning "comprehensive school".

Before the introduction of universal secondary education (in 1944) some schools of the grammar type (see unit 16) were called high schools. High here meant "secondary", sometimes with the added implication that the school was the main, or most important secondary school in its city.

Much later, with the introduction of comprehensive education, the name high school was adopted by some of those local authorities who reorganised schooling in three stages, to denote the third school to which children went, at 12, 13 or 14 (see unit 17 above). This is close to the American use of high school, that is, as a general term denoting a common school for children of 12 or 13 upwards. In the USA such schools are the norm.

In practice high school in the USA usually means senior high school (for ages 14/15-18), a school for younger pupils (12/13-14/15) being called junior high school or simply junior high.

This is a school (primary or secondary) for children who are handicapped in some way, either physically or mentally, for example, children who are blind, deaf, crippled, or educationally subnormal.

Special education usually has this meaning too. It is defined in BEE as "education adapted to the needs of pupils who are handicapped by a disability of body or mind."

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