The English higher grade schools formed a key part of an expanding 19th-century education system, but they threatened the vested interests of a powerful Establishment bent on reaffirming the status quo. The author analyzes the 1902 Education Act as a retrogressive move by which much was lost.

The English higher grade schools formed a key part of an expanding 19th-century education system, but they threatened the vested interests of a powerful Establishment bent on reaffirming the status quo. The author analyzes the 1902 Education Act as a retrogressive move by which much was lost.