Children stayed in education longer, increasing the system's responsibility.
The school leaving age was raised to 16 in the early 1970s. This meant more young people stayed in formal education for longer.
This matters because keeping children in school for longer can expand opportunity, but only where the school environment and curriculum can meet a wider range of learners.
Awareverse sees this as a key tension: the longer the state requires education, the stronger the duty to make that education suitable.
A common mistake is assuming longer schooling automatically means better outcomes.
Who had power here, who was left outside, and what would have changed if the human being was seen first?
These deep dives open out from this part of the timeline.