[3] The UK's 1880 Gladstone government appointed Henry Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare to chair a committee to study the state of intermediate and higher education in Wales.

[2]: 934 [6] To this end, the school boards were abolished and in each county a joint education committee was put in place.

[3] The initial duty of these committees was to prepare plans for intermediate and technical education to be provided in their areas.

[7] Whilst it had been initially hoped that they would prepare children for careers as skilled workers in practise their curriculum was often heavily modelled on the public schools and of little practical use.

They were voluntary and required a financial contribution from parents so attendance was largely limited the middle classes.