In an attempt to provide a system to suit all children the tripartite system was created. This system stated that secondary education would begin at age 11 where pupils would take the 11 plus exam to determine the type of secondary school they would attend. Grammar schools were offered to those who passed the 11 plus exam, secondary modern schools were offered to most other pupils and technical schools to those who were perceived to have a technical ability. This tiered system created a disparity between pupils attending different types of schools. Students who attended grammar schools were looked favourably upon in comparison to those who attended secondary modern schools. …show more content…
Schools were judged on the number of pupils who passed the 11 plus exam. Without a national curriculum the schools taught children in accordance with the criteria for the 11 plus exam rather than a wider curriculum.
For the first time the 1944 act made LEA’s make provision for special educational needs at primary and secondary level. Previously the education of special needs was treated separately to the education of able pupils. The less handicapped would be able to receive an education in ordinary school and those with more serious needs would still continue to receive an education in special schools.
The 1944 Act went a long way to create a fair education for all including pupils with special educational needs (Blatchford, R.(2014). There was however a lot of controversy as to whether the tripartite system was fair and enabled all children to obtain the education they