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
Education in Malta on the national IQ scale. The compulsory education period in Malta has been between five and 16 years of age since the introduction of the "Education Act 1988". This is an increase from up to 12 years of age in 1924 (in this year, school "attendance" became compulsory for those already enrolled - the act of enrollment itself was not compulsory) and 14 years of age in 1946, when compulsory school attendance was introduced for all students, enrolled or otherwise. Compulsory schooling has always applied to both males and females during its existence. Schooling is compulsory from the age of