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
Science education in England not introduced at this stage (at least not on the basis of the National Curriculum). As a result, the science curriculum at KS1 is more or less plants and animals, and materials, with the emphasis on what can easily be seen or described by feeling things. Key stage 2 (KS2) covers years 3, 4, 5 and 6 of compulsory school education in the National Curriculum. It is the longest stage of compulsory school education in England. Children are typically in the age range 7–11. The National Curriculum divides KS2 into lower KS2 (years 3 and 4) and upper KS2 (years