The post-war period was significant for the education of Britain’s schoolchildren.
The 1944 Education Act established the principle of free education for all and created the tripartite system of secondary schools: grammar, secondary technical and secondary modern.
Self-motivated adults who wished to improve themselves could find opportunities in the numerous evening classes and correspondence courses.
The local Technical Colleges (or “Techs”) provided a variety of courses, including freelance writing. For Hazel, this would prove an important means of fulfilling her ambitions, as it was for others like her.
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HAZEL
I've been living with my mother and my stepfather since my Dad died.
GRANVILLE
Get on alright?
HAZEL
If I could afford to move out, I would. I work in the despatch department at David Brown’s, but the money’s hopeless. [FADE TO]
GRANVILLE
You meet different people in my line. Some are nicer than others, of course. Have you got a hobby?
HAZEL
I used to want to be an artist, but I’ve taken up writing, actually. I’m doing a course at the Tech.
GRANVILLE
What d’you write about?
HAZEL
Anything and everything. I’m not much good at the moment, but I keep trying.
![Ration Book [The National Archives, BT131/40, Crown Copyright]](/openlearn/files/ole/imported/8202/ration_book_flickr_RHS.jpg)
![Crowd outside Buckingham Palace [Photographer: Michael Pead]](/openlearn/files/ole/imported/8205/golden_jubiliee_crown_RHS.jpg)
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