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 in England and Wales introduction of compulsory education in 1870. On 1 September 1972, the age was raised from 15 to 16, following preparations which began eight years earlier in 1964. This left a gap year of school leavers who, by law, had to complete an additional year of education from 1973 onwards. Many of the age raisings in the 19th and 20th centuries were aimed at generating more skilled labour by providing additional time for students to gain additional skills and qualifications. In recent years, government statistics showed that 11% of 16 to 18 year-olds were neither continuing their education after completion of