From August 1833, the parliament of the United Kingdom voted sums of money each year for the construction of schools for poor children, distributed by the Treasury, the first time the state had become involved with education in England and Wales, though a precedent had been set by the parliament of Scotland in 1633 when it introduced a tax to fund the programme of universal education in Scotland begun in 1561.

A meeting in Manchester in 1837, chaired by Mark Philips, led to the creation of the Lancashire Public Schools' Association. The association proposed that non-sectarian schools should be funded from local taxes. In 1839 government grants for the construction and maintenance of schools were switched to voluntary bodies, and became conditional on a satisfactory inspection. In 1840 the Grammar Schools Act expanded the Grammar School curriculum from classical studies to include science and literature.

Before 1870, education was largely a private affair, with wealthy parents sending their children to fee-paying schools.

The Forster Elementary Education Act 1870 required partially state funded board schools to be set up to provide primary (elementary) education in areas where existing provision was inadequate. Board schools were managed by elected school boards. The schools remained fee-paying. The previous government grant scheme established 1833 ended on December 31, 1870. Under the 1880 Elementary Education Act, education became free from the ages of 5 to 10, but was also made compulsory for that age group.

The 1893 Elementary Education (School Attendance) Act raised the school leaving age to 11 and later to 13. The Elementary Education (Blind and Deaf Children) Act of the same year extended compulsory education to blind and deaf children, and made provision for the creation of special schools. The Voluntary Schools Act of 1897 provided grants to public elementary schools not funded by school boards. From April 1900 higher elementary schools were recognised, providing education from the age of 10 to 15.