London School Board

The LSB originally consisted of forty-nine members elected from ten divisions, based around London's constituencies or the Districts formed under the Metropolis Management Act 1855.

The elector could use up as many of their votes on a single candidate as they wished, which meant that minority interests often found representation.

Unusually, women were permitted to vote on the same terms as men for the school boards and also to stand for election.

The board attracted a number of the leading figures of the day, including the scientist Thomas Huxley, Helen Taylor, stepdaughter of John Stuart Mill, and Lord Lawrence, who served as the LSB's first chairman.

The board was also responsible for launching a number of political careers, including those of Charles Reed, Benjamin Waugh, and the Conservative cabinet minister, William Henry Smith.

[5] The policy adopted by the LSB was to provide London with modern, high-quality schools, whilst compelling parents, by law, to educate their children.

Although education would not be compulsory on a national level until 1880, the board passed a by-law in 1871 that compelled parents to have their children schooled between the ages of five and thirteen.

An important figure in this process was Edward Robert Robson, the board's first chief architect.