Going Comprehensive in England and Wales: A Study of Uneven Change (Woburn Education Series) - Tapa dura

The transition of British secondary schools from predominantly selective to predominantly comprehensive was meant to transform a highly stratified system into a more equal one. However, this study shows that the new system was in fact highly diverse and retained features of the selective system.

The transition of British secondary schools from predominantly selective to predominantly comprehensive started with the issuing of Circular 10/65 by the Department of Education and Science under a Labour government in 1965. The intention was to transform a highly stratified system into a more equal one. However, this study shows that the new system was in fact highly diverse and retained features of the selective system, thus preserving the middle-class advantage into the comprehensive era. This overview draws on a range of sources, including information collected from the National Child Development Study of pupils born in 1958.