page_title: Education in Scotland in the twentieth century
section_title: Schools
hierarchical_section_title: Education in Scotland in the twentieth century / Schools
caption_attribution_description: English: Perth High School, Perth, Scotland
context_page_description: Education in Scotland in the twentieth century includes all forms of organised education in Scotland, such as elementary, secondary and higher education. The centre of the education system became more focused on Scotland throughout the century, with the Scottish Education Department partly moving north from 1918 and new departments created by the Scottish Executive after devolution.
  The 1872 Education Act and the abolition of school fees in 1890 meant there was a state-funded, national system of compulsory free basic education with common examinations. The 1918 Education Act introduced the principle of universal free secondary education, brought the Roman Catholic schools into the state system, and replaced the School Boards with 38 specialist local education authorities. These would be subsumed into local government in 1929. Unlike the Education Act 1944 in England and Wales, which established the tripartite system, the Education Act 1945 was a consolidation measure. Secondary education was the major area of growth, particularly for girls. Selection was ended by the Labour government in 1965.
context_section_description: The 1872 Education Act had established a system of elementary state education up until the age of 12, by taking over the schools of the Presbyterian churches and some charitable schools. The abolition of school fees in 1890 meant there was a state-funded, national system of compulsory, free, basic education with common examinations. From this point attention increasingly turned to secondary education. The Scottish Education Department introduced vocational supplementary teaching in the elementary schools, later known as advanced divisions, up until the age of 14, when pupils would leave to find work. This was controversial because it seemed to be counter the cherished principle that schooling was a potential route to university for the bright "lad o' parts". Larger urban school boards established about 200 "higher grade" (secondary) schools as a cheaper alternative to the burgh schools, most in relatively poor inner city areas. There were also about 60 secondaries established by 1900. The school leaving age was raised to 14 in 1901.
  The 1918 Education (Scotland) Act introduced the principle of universal free secondary education, although due to financial crisis and resistance from the SED it took almost two decades to implement. Most of the advanced divisions of the primary schools became junior secondaries, where students received a vocationally orientated education until the age of 14. The old academies and Higher Grade schools became senior secondaries, giving a more academic education, presenting students for the leaving certificate. Selection between the two types of school was determined at age 12 by an intelligence test, the "qualifying examination", known colloquially as "the qualy". The 1918 Act brought the Roman Catholic schools into the state system, but retained their distinct religious character, access to schools by priests and the requirement that school staff be acceptable to the Church. The Act also replaced the School Boards with 38 specialist local education authorities, which were elected by a form of proportional representation in order to protect the rights of the Catholic minority. These would be subsumed into local government in 1929.
  Unlike the Education Act 1944 in England and Wales, which established the tripartite system, the Education (Scotland) Act 1945 was largely a consolidation measure, because universal secondary education had already been in place for over a decade. Plans to raise the school leaving age to 15 in the 1940s were never ratified, but increasing numbers stayed on beyond elementary education and it was eventually raised to 16 in 1973. As a result secondary education was the major area of growth, particularly for girls, who stayed on in full-time education in increasing numbers throughout the century. The 1947 Report on Secondary Education by the Education Advisory Council, established by Labour minister Tom Johnston, proposed an end to selection and, although rejected by Labour and Conservative governments, became a benchmark for reform. Selection was ended by the Labour government in 1965, which recommended that councils produced one kind of comprehensive secondary school that took all the children in a given neighbourhood. By the late 1970s 75 per cent of children were in non-selective schools and by the early 1980s only the five per cent of children in private schools were subject to selection.
  New qualifications were developed to cope with changing aspirations and economics, with the Leaving Certificate being replaced by the Scottish Certificate of Education Ordinary Grade ('O-Grade') and Higher Grade ('Higher') qualifications in 1962, which became the basic entry qualification for university study. In the 1980s these were replaced by the Standard Grade qualifications. The greater availability of academic qualifications encouraged students to stay on at school. In 1967 22 per cent of students stayed on beyond age 15, but by 1994 the number staying on beyond 16 was 74 per cent. The reorganisation of local government in 1975, which transferred education to nine mainland and
caption: Perth High School, opened in 1950
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