ABSTRACT
The place of the denominational schools in the educational system of England and Wales can be stated easily enough in general terms, though a detailed description and an account of the forces which have created the contemporary position may appear somewhat complicated. During the first half of the nineteenth century, when the state was taking tentative steps towards assuming responsibility for the provision of elementary education in England and Wales, it seemed obvious to many that the Church of England should be accorded special rights in the educational field. No national system of education was set up in England and Wales until after 1870, and the delay had important results. In 1918 the Education Act empowered the managers of the relatively few Roman Catholic and Episcopal schools to transfer those schools to ad hoc local education authorities. The state's assistance towards the provision of religious education is not confined to grants to denominational colleges for teachers.
