ABSTRACT
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Britain was at war with the Boers in South Africa, and a little later was coping with the Boxer Rising in China. In 1901 Queen Victoria died and was replaced by Edward VII. This made little difference, except that some thought a new century reinforced by a new age – the Edwardian – was significant. In 1906 there was a change of government. The Liberals under Campbell- Bannerman won a landslide victory, and Labour increased its number of seats to 30. The main effects of the 1902 Act had been, first, to abolish democratic School Boards and replace them by Local Education Authorities; and, second, to drive a wedge between elementary schools for all working-class children and qualitatively different secondary schools. In August 1931 the loss of an Education Bill was overshadowed by the financial crisis and then by MacDonald's formation of the 'National' government.
