ABSTRACT
You can still see in inner London the schools built following the 1870 Education Act. Towering (at least then) above the surrounding houses, they are still impressive – monuments to the belief that education, elementary though it was then, was important for all. The classrooms on each of the several floors radiate off from central halls where all could gather for games, assemblies or practical activities. In the 1960s and 1970s, when there was an urge for integrated studies, these became central meeting places for all sorts of curriculum experiments, many influenced by Goldsmiths College Curriculum Laboratory (see James, 1968). Classrooms were large and windows high so that pupils would not be distracted by the passing scenes outside.
