when did school leaving age raised to 16
Raising of school leaving age in England and Wales In England and Wales, this age has been raised numerous times since the introduction of compulsory education in 1870. On 1 September 1972, the age was raised from 15 to 16, following preparations which began eight years earlier in 1964. This left a gap year of school leavers who, by law, had to complete an additional year of education from 1973 onwards.
Education in England At age 16 the students typically take exams for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) or other Level 1/2 qualifications. While education is compulsory until 18, schooling is compulsory to 16, thus post-16 education can take a number of forms, and may be academic or vocational. This can involve continued schooling, known as "sixth form" or "college", leading (typically after two years of further study) to A-level qualifications (similar to a high school diploma in some other countries), or a number of alternative Level 3 qualifications such as Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC), the International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambridge Pre-U, WJEC or Eduqas. It can also include work-based apprenticeships or traineeships, or volunteering.[12][13]