Pedley (1954)

Comprehensive Schools Today (text)

Background notes

Robin Pedley (1914-1988) (pictured) worked in Leicester University's Department of Education from 1947 until 1963.

In October 1954 the local authority journal Education published three articles by Pedley. These appear in modified form in Comprehensive Schools Today, along with four commentaries by leading educationalists and local authority leaders: HC Dent, Harold Shearman, Eric James and WP Alexander.

Two years after the publication of Comprehensive Schools Today, Pedley published Comprehensive Education: a New Approach (1956), in which he set out to show how the change to a comprehensive system could be achieved in practical terms.

In 1958 Robin Pedley and Brian Simon founded - and jointly edited - the campaigning journal Forum.

In 1963 Pedley was appointed Director of the Institute of Education at Exeter University.

His 1963 book The Comprehensive School was highly influential and was reprinted many times.

The above notes were prepared by Derek Gillard and uploaded on 9 April 2017.