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 needed because of the collapse in unskilled jobs in the economy, which means that young school leavers at 16 years of age are finding it increasingly more difficult to find employment. The number of unskilled jobs available fell from 8 million in the 1960s to 3.5 by 2007, with predictions of further drops to just 600,000 by 2020 due to the increasing demand for skilled labour. Whilst the government is eager to implement the changes, many oppose the proposal, some on civil liberties grounds. Compulsory school attendance is usually justified by reference to the argument that minors are incapable of