History of education in Wales
The first university in Wales was founded in 1872, though Welsh students had previously received higher education elsewhere or in other kinds of institutions.
[1] In the period after Roman withdrawal from Great Britain literacy in what is today Wales was largely restricted to the clergy.
[2] Throughout much of the Middle Ages even the highest-ranking members of the lay population could often go without formal education, though this steadily changed.
Aristocratic children could receive their education through private tuition, but those aiming for a career in the Church would usually attend grammar schools generally linked to cathedrals.
[3] The impact of the Black Death and the Glyndŵr rebellion harmed the Welsh elite's prospects for education, but there was a steady expansion throughout the rest of the 15th century.
[4] In the 16th and 17th centuries, several new grammar schools were established to cater to growing demand for formal education among people in skilled occupations and commerce.
Historians Gareth Elwyn Jones and Gordon Wynne Roderick argue that the peasantry generally was not interested in literacy as it held little practical advantage for them.
[11] In the early 1670s, clergyman Thomas Gouge began to preach in Wales; by 1675 he had established 87 schools which were attended by a total of 2225 children.
[32] In 1839 the Committee of the Privy Council on Education (CCE) was formed which conducted state inspections of schools receiving grants in England and Wales for the first time.
Some schools taught a wider range of subjects such as vocal music, grammar, drawing, geography and the history of England.
[45] At the time of the 1870 Education Act, many school buildings were of poor quality, lacking proper facilities and healthy conditions.
[51] The committee recommended the creation of two types of state funded intermediate (secondary) school, one of which would cater to children from relatively modest backgrounds.
[57] However, elementary schools were still widely understood to be mainly institutions providing a fairly low level of education to those destined for lives of manual labour.
[63] Around the time of WWI the subjects listed on inspection reports as being taught at elementary schools included "English, Arithmetic, history and geography, music and drawing".
Meanwhile, Cyril Norwood wrote a report arguing that every child was naturally suited to one of three types of schools: grammar, modern or technical.
However, there continued to be shortages of teachers and the number of pupils staying at school after the minimum leaving age increased but remained relatively low.
[83] In 1970 responsibility for primary and secondary education in Wales was transferred to the Welsh Office, a department of the UK government.
[86] Previously, schools, and to a large extent individual teachers, had a great deal of autonomy over what they taught, leading to inconsistent standards.
[92] In the early 2010s, standardised testing was reintroduced in literacy and numeracy, schools were put into groups based on performance and regional consortia were given more power to push improvement.
[96] Within a basic framework of goals and learning areas, it gives schools the freedom to develop their own curriculum to suit the needs of their pupils.
[98] In the 2022 PISA tests Wales' scores fell more sharply than the average across participating countries in reading and science[99] Latin usually featured in the education of the social elite before the 19th century,[100] English often also played a significant role in schooling.
[130] Poor men could gain admission by acting as servants in university colleges in exchange for the removal of fees and some financial support.
[130] In the medieval period the most common area of study was Canon and Civil Law but this gradually changed in the 16th century to a Bachelor of Arts.
They taught a variety of subjects over four years of study including "classics, logic, Hebrew, mathematics, natural sciences, modern languages and medicine".
[134] In 1880 the Aberdare Committee recommended the creation of two university colleges in North and South Wales funded by the government.
These included programmes offered by the Workers' Educational Association, Coleg Harlech and the Central Labour College.
[142] The Welsh university colleges experienced difficulties during World War II with staff shortages, neglected repairs, falling student numbers and shared accommodation with other institutions.
[146] Access to university remained very limited with only 15% of the relevant age group across England and Wales reaching the necessary level of qualification for admission in 1962 and only 4% enrolling.
More of a focus began to be placed on attracting older adults into higher education, for instance, with the creation of the Open University in 1970.
[153] By 1999 almost a quarter of young people aged 19 to 24 in Wales had received a university education, a figure which continued to rise in the early 2000s.
