| Administrative History | In 1539, the Assembly ordered that all children over the age of six in Chester should attend school, but the order was apparently not enforced. The only school known to have existed in sixteenth century Chester was the King's School which was founded in 1541 by Henry VIII. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, schools were founded in Chester by charities, parishes and such organisations as the Chester Ragged School Society. Under the Education Act, 1902, Chester County Borough became a local education authority and following the Education Act, 1944, Chester's schools were reorganised as primary and secondary schools. In 1972, further reorganisation divided them into first, middle and high schools. Since the Local Government Act, 1972 came into force on 1 April 1974, Chester schools have been administered as part of a county education district. |