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 Independent state MP Bob Such suggests that it may not happen for at least another four years, whilst in the meantime, too many children are leaving school without any qualifications. The age will be raised by law on 1 January 2009 to 17 or 16 if the person is working or training. Tasmania has for decades had their school leaving age set at 16, with a requirement to be participating in education or training until age 17 recently enacted as of 2007 according to the Department of Education. The Western Australian government is pushing the minimum school leaving age up