Word of the day:
Rainbow
"an arch of colours visible in the sky, caused by the refraction and dispersion of the sun's light by rain or other water droplets in the atmosphere. The colours of the rainbow are generally said to be red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet."
As we enter 2026 and many prepare for exams, you might begin to wonder, when did it all start? What is the history of education?
Well, we can date the earliest forms of education as starting in prehistoric societies, long before written language. Learning was far more informal and practical, taking place within families and tribes. Children were taught essential survival skills such as hunting, farming, tool-making, and social behaviour by observing and copying adults, but the more traditional ideas of education extend at least as far back as the first writings of ancient civilisations.
The earliest known school was developed in Ancient Egypt under the rule of Kheti, focused on reading, writing, mathematics, and medicine, mainly offered to boys from wealthy families.
Meanwhile, in Ancient India, education was closely linked to religion, specifically Hindu texts such as the Vedas, and was accessible to all genders.
Later, in Ancient Rome, learning became more practical with focus on law, public speaking, and grammar.
But, how did it reach the UK?
After the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe was largely controlled by the church and monasteries and churches were often trusted to preserve knowledge and teach things such as reading, Latin, and writing, although it was limited to the wealthy. After 1066, (The Norman Conquest) education became much more organised within Britain, introducing grammar schools to prepare young, rich, boys for church or government roles while poor children would work instead, but, in 1870, came the Elementary Education Act which brought state-funded primary schools to England and Wales. In this time, education also became compulsory for children aged 5-10 years old.
In summary, learning has evolved from centering around survival training to structured systems made to teach generations to shape societies, economies, and cultures.