The Full Story
Before 1870, education in England was chaotic. Church schools educated some children. Dame schools taught basic literacy for a penny a week. Many children received no education at all. They worked.
The Elementary Education Act of 1870 changed everything. For the first time, the state took responsibility for ensuring all children could go to school.
The Act created elected School Boards with power to build schools where none existed. It allowed (but didn't require) compulsory attendance. It set standards. England was not a nation of illiterates before it: by 1870, roughly 76% of grooms could sign the marriage register, and the rate had been rising for decades. What the Act added was universality, filling the gaps so that literacy could become truly national.
The Act wasn't perfect. Fees remained, pricing out the poorest families. Religious divisions complicated implementation. Full compulsory attendance didn't come until 1880, and free education until 1891.
But 1870 established the principle: every child deserved an education, and providing it was the state's responsibility. The Act's author, W.E. Forster, faced fierce opposition from those who thought educating the poor was dangerous. He persisted anyway.
Every child in school today is there because of what began in 1870.
Why This Matters
The 1870 Act established universal education as a state responsibility. Before it, schooling was a patchwork and many children fell through the gaps. After it, the state took responsibility for ensuring every child had a school to go to.