Records of the Schools Council for Curriculum and Examinations

Records of the Schools Council for Curriculum and Examinations relating to responsibilities for curriculum and examination developments. Includes some papers of predecessor bodies the Secondary Schools Examinations Council and the Curriculum Study Group.

Agenda and minutes of the Council and the majority of its subsidiary committees, working parties and groups are in EJ 1; those for other similar bodies are in EJ 9 and EJ 13. Numbered papers of the committees, panels, groups and working of the Council are in EJ 2

Files kept by the Secretary to the Council are in EJ 3. The minutes and papers of the Secondary Science Curriculum Review Steering Committee are in EJ 5

The Council's annual reports are in EJ 11 and a collection of its publications in EJ 12

• Schools Council for Curriculum and Examination, 1964-1983
• Secondary Examinations Council, 1983-1988

Topics

Education

The Schools Council for Curriculum and Examinations was set up in 1964 by the Secretary of State for Education and Science on the recommendation of a working party which was chaired by Sir John Lockwood. The council assumed responsibility for most of the curriculum and examinations work previously done by the Secondary Schools Examinations Council (established 1917) and the Curriculum Study Group (established 1962 within the Department of Education and Science). Some papers of these bodies from 1961 to 1964 are included in the records of the Schools Council, as are some papers of the Central Advisory Council for Education.

In 1968 the constitution of the Schools Council was revised: the role of teachers' representatives was strengthened and the distinction between the policy and executive divisions was abolished. In 1969 the council became a registered charity. The constitution was revised for a second time in September 1978.

In April 1982 the Secretary of State for Education announced that the Schools Council would be abolished and replaced by two separate organisations to deal with examinations and curriculum matters, both having their members nominated by himself. These two organisations were the Secondary Schools Examinations Council, which began work in 1983, and the School Curriculum Development Committee, which began work in 1984. The Schools Council's constitution was revised for a third time early in 1984 to permit it to go into voluntary liquidation. From 14 March 1984 the affairs of the council were placed in the hands of a liquidator.