80 years ago, in the hopeful shadow of VE Day, Britain stood on the brink of transformation.

Amid the ruins of war, the country dared to dream of a fairer future — and education was central to that vision.

The 1944 Butler Education Act had already laid the foundations: free secondary education for all, regardless of background.

It was a bold step toward a meritocratic society, where the child of a miner might become a doctor or an engineer.

This wasn’t idealism.

It was policy rooted in the belief that society worked better when everyone was given the tools to succeed.

Through the 1950s and 60s, the post-war Labour and Conservative governments expanded access.

New schools rose.

Teacher numbers swelled.

The Open University emerged. B

y the 1970s, there was a real sense that education could be a social leveller.

But slowly, the dream was derailed.

The Thatcher era introduced a market mentality into education.

League tables.

Parental choice.

Competition over collaboration.

Schools became brands; pupils became statistics.

The 1990s and 2000s saw New Labour embrace testing, targets, and academisation.

Education became more bureaucratic, more fragmented — and less personal.

Then came austerity.

Over the past 15 years, successive Conservative governments have slashed school budgets in real terms.

Teachers are leaving in droves, driven out by low pay, impossible workloads, and constant scrutiny.

Children are returning from holidays hungry.

Head teachers are crowdfunding for essentials like glue sticks and toilet paper.

Mental health services in schools?

Decimated.

Arts and humanities?

Deprioritised.

Special needs provision?

Patchy and underfunded.

Meanwhile, the private school sector thrives, bolstered by tax breaks and elite networks.

And what about universities?

Once seen as a gateway to opportunity, they are now a debt trap.

Young people face £60,000 in student loans for a degree that may not lead to a job that pays enough to buy a home or raise a family.

The post-war promise was cradle-to-grave opportunity.

Today, we offer pressure, precarity and postcode-based privilege.

If we could afford to build an education system for everyone when the country was broke and bombed-out, why can’t we do it now, in one of the wealthiest economies on the planet?

The answer is political will.

And perhaps fear.

A truly empowered, educated population asks difficult questions.

Tell us your story

Did you or someone in your family benefit from the postwar education reforms?

What are your experiences with the school or university system today?

Are your children getting the education they deserve?

Let us know in the comments or by messaging us directly.

Let’s hold the system — and its leaders — to account.