London School Board

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The offices of the School Board on the Victoria Embankment (1872-76 by Bodley and Garner and something of a landmark; they were demolished in 1929)

The London School Board (also known as the School Board for London) was an institution of local government. It was the first directly elected body covering the whole of London.

The Elementary Education Act 1870 was the first to provide for education for the whole population of England and Wales. It created elected school boards which had power to build and run schools where there were insufficient voluntary school places; they could also compel attendance. In most places the school boards were based on borough districts or civil parishes but in London the board covered the whole area of the Metropolitan Board of Works - the area today known as Inner London.

Unusually, women were permitted to vote on the same terms as men for the school boards and also to stand for election. The London School Board was elected from ten divisions (one was later divided) with between 4 and 7 members. The electoral system allowed voters as many votes as there were seats, but they could use up as many of their votes on a candidate as they wished, which meant that minority interests could often be elected. Elections to the school board were fought on predominantly religious grounds.

In 1876 a further Elementary Education Act made attendance at elementary schools compulsory, and the school age was set at 5 to 10 years in 1880. The board was responsible for constructing hundreds of schools across London, most of which are still in use. There were several famous members of the school board, including Charles Reed, Thomas Huxley, Benjamin Waugh, and Elizabeth Garrett (who topped the poll at the first election).

The logo of the London School Board, which can be seen on many of the schools it built. This example is from an elementary school built at Droop Street, Paddington, 1877.

The creation of the London County Council in 1889 to replace the Metropolitan Board of Works made a separate education authority somewhat irrelevant. In 1903 the responsibility for education in London was transferred to the LCC.

London School Board

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