ABSTRACT
In common with other School Boards set up under the provisions of the Elementary Education Act of 1870, the London School Board found that its first task was to assess the educational needs of its area and to ascertain what existing school provision it could draw upon. Next came the decisions relating to a school building programme so that all children for whom the Board was responsible could be accommodated. Those Board schools would coexist with non-provided or voluntary schools (mostly under the aegis of the Church of England), industrial and service schools, and the like. Only then could the Board members address themselves to the related questions of the curriculum and teaching methods. The general reports for 1872 of HMis commented that the Board had not yet opened any new schools, preferring to be thorough rather than hasty in its decision-making. Temporary accommodation was found in chapels, mission halls and similar buildings, and those often inadequate and crowded rooms had to suffice for the time being.
