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Primary education in Wales has a similar structure to primary education in England, but teaching of the Welsh language is compulsory and it is used as the medium of instruction in many schools. The introduction of the Foundation Phase for 3- to 7-year-olds is also creating increasing divergence between Wales and England.
Formal education was originally a luxury, then provided by charity and later through the state. Universal primary education was established by the end of the 19th century and universal secondary education was reached by the mid 20th century. Attitudes to the Welsh language in education have varied overtime.
In 1970 responsibility for primary and secondary education in Wales was transferred to the Welsh Office, a department of the UK government. [44] However, historians Gareth Elwyn Jones and Gordon Wynne Roderick say this had a limited effect on the overall direction of the government concerning education in Wales. [45]
The Plowden Report had similar ideas, and a new ethos developed in primary education. [81] However, while some new methods were being experimented with, the method of teaching at primary schools in Wales did not change dramatically overall. [82] The Aberfan disaster destroyed a village junior school in 1966, killing 116 children. [83]
The history of education in Wales from 1870 to 1939 covers the various types of education available in Wales from the Elementary Education Act 1870 until the start of the Second World War. Compulsory primary education was established early in the period and access to secondary and higher education was significantly expanded.
The aim of Welsh-medium education is to achieve fluency in both Welsh and English. All children over the age of seven receive some of their instruction in English. In 2015, 16% of children in primary and secondary schools in Wales were in Welsh-medium schools. A further 10% were in schools classified as bilingual or with different language streams.
Further legislation made school attendance compulsory, and eventually free of charge. The problem of how the education of older pupils should be managed was solved by abolishing school boards in 1902 and passing responsibility to local councils. Elementary schools were eventually replaced in 1944 by the system of primary and secondary education.
The following is a partial list of currently operating schools in Wales, United Kingdom. You may also find Category:Schools in Wales of use to find a particular school. See also the List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom.