ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the principal priorities for Northumberland, which faced the greatest post-war difficulties of the three counties, which are West Sussex, Glamorgan and Northumberland. The West Sussex Chief Education Officers quinquennial report for 1959-64, though cautiously worded, illustrated the progressivism of the authority's directorate. West Sussex may be classified as a predominantly rural, medium-sized Local Education Authority, having a population of 322,880 in 1951. Within that city, Northumberland was financially responsible for purchasing approximately 1,000 annual places in direct-grant schools, but it was decided to defer consideration of this arrangement until the outcome of the review was announced. Strong interest in going comprehensive had already been expressed by other Glamorgan county divisions, and, in December 1964, Trevor Jenkins presented the Education Committee with a radical blueprint for change. Glamorgan was strongly committed to the concept of comprehensive education and was in the midst of a process intended to permit its county-wide application.
