School boards were public bodies in England and Wales

England and Wales

England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...

 between 1870 and 1902, which established and administered elementary schools.

School boards were created in boroughs and parishes under the Elementary Education Act 1870

Elementary Education Act 1870

The Elementary Education Act 1870, commonly known as Forster's Education Act, set the framework for schooling of all children between ages 5 and 12 in England and Wales...

 following campaigning by George Dixon

George Dixon (MP)

George Dixon was English Liberal politician who was active in local government in Birmingham and sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1867 and 1898. He was a major proponent of education for all children.-Life:...

, Joseph Chamberlain

Joseph Chamberlain

Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....

 and the National Education League

National Education League

The National Education League was a political movement in England and Wales which promoted elementary education for all children, free from religious control....

 for elementary education free from Anglican doctrine.
Education was still not free of fees. Members were directly elected, not appointed by borough councils or parishes. Each board could:

• raise funds from a rate
  Rates (tax)
  Rates are a type of property tax system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund local government...
  
  
• build and run non-denominational schools where existing voluntary provision was inadequate
• subsidise church school
  Church school
  A church school is a place of education, the precise nature of which varies from one national jurisdiction to another.The State of Alabama defines a church school as follows:...
  
  s where appropriate
• pay the fees of the poorest children
• if they deemed it necessary, create a by-law making attendance compulsory between ages 5–13
• were not to impose any religious education, other than simple Bible
  Bible
  The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
  
   reading

They were abolished by the Education Act 1902

Education Act 1902

The Education Act 1902 , also known as Balfour's Act, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting education in England and Wales. At the time of passage of the Act, the Conservative Party was in power...

, which replaced them with Local Education Authorities.

See also

• Joseph Chamberlain
• National Education League
  National Education League
  The National Education League was a political movement in England and Wales which promoted elementary education for all children, free from religious control....
  
  
• Birmingham board schools
  Birmingham board schools
  __notoc__The Birmingham board schools were set up very rapidly after the Forster Elementary Education Act 1870 was enacted, covering England and Wales...
  
  
• London School Board
  London School Board
  The School Board for London was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London....
  
  

Sources

• Educational Documents, England and Wales 1816 to the present day, J Stuart MacLure, 1965, 1979, ISBN 0-416-72810-3 370.942
• Education in Britain 1750-1914, W B Stephens, 1998, ISBN 0-333-60512-8