(An external degree is a degree offered by a university or a university approved centre to students where the students’ learning takes place outside the direct supervision of the university/college). The external degree is offered alongside the traditional internal degree programmes for those students who can attend the University full time). External degrees were established… Read more »

Dates of Inventions, Discoveries and other Developments. This section complements the pen portraits ‘Great Engineers and Pioneers and their Education’ on this website. Again it must be stressed that the industrial revolution was driven by craftsmen like James Watt, self- taught business people like Matthew Boulton and artisans like Henry Maudslay. It did not develop… Read more »

Founded in 1977 the Further Education Unit with Geoff Melling its first chairman when Geoff returned to the inspectorate Jack Mansell was then appointed in 1980 to head up the Unit and soon proved to be an excellent director having an in-depth knowledge of the FE sector.  The purpose of the Unit was to advise… Read more »

The Select Committee on Scientific Instruction deliberated and met from 1867 to 1868 and reported in July 1868. It concluded with a series of conclusions including: Effecient elementary instruction should be available to every child to enable the working class to benefit from scientific instruction. In order for this to be effective, regular attendance of… Read more »

Thomas Huxley (1825-1895). Author, Biologist, Educator and Research Scientist. Thomas Huxley was born in Ealing in 1825 son of a mathematics teacher. Mainly self taught he began a medical apprenticeship and soon won a scholarship to the Charing Cross Hospital where he gained an MB degree in 1845 from University of London. At the age… Read more »

 Contrary to the general belief that the Industrial Revolution only brought about social disorder and despair because of the factory conditions, it is actually the case that many innovative initiatives developed at a local level amongst the workers and artisans themselves. There was a wide and rich set of developments including the Co-operative movement, Mechanics’… Read more »

Trade Schools in England As mentioned in the history of technical education there were a number of separate developments in technical and commercial education provision and the focus for this pen portrait will be on a few examples of trade or similar schools. As the apprenticeships declined in the late 1800s/early 1900s the trade schools… Read more »