Elementary Education Act 1870 further acts in 1876 ("the Sandon Act", which gave parents a legal obligation to ensure that their children were educated) and 1880 ("the Mundella Act") made attendance compulsory for children until they were 10 years old, with various exemptions. Many factory owners feared the removal of children as a source of cheap labour. However, with the simple mathematics and English they were acquiring, factory owners now had workers who could read and make measurements. Following continued campaigning by the National Education League, following the Elementary Education Act 1880, attendance to age 10 became compulsory everywhere in England and Wales. In
Raising of school leaving age all academic requirements early. The school leaving age was raised from 16 to 18 following a law change on 17 July 2007. The change will be implemented within three years of the law being passed. The school leaving age in Belgium is set at 18. The statutory minimum school leaving age in France is 16. There are, however, a few specific cases where young people may enter employment before the age of 16, such as employment in the parents’ company, sporadic work or taking up an apprenticeship at 14, to name a few. The apprenticeship option is becoming increasingly popular