The Impact of the 1870 Education Act in the Great Northern Coalfield

The 1870 Education Act was the most important reform of elementary education in the nineteenth century because it aimed to provide a school place for every child in England and Wales, but its impact in the Great Northern Coalfield was lessened by the migratory nature of coal mining and neglect by many coal owners. The Act caused the Church of England to lose its position as the main school provider in the coalfield, even though Anglicans continued to make a significant contribution to educational improvement in the North East. Although low official expectations of the colliery population and inadequate efforts by small school boards led to inferior school standards, the Act deserves to be judged a landmark as it was responsible for opening sufficient schools to help close the gap in literacy between the mining population and the general population and that between males and females in the coalfield.