* Limited Access: Education was a privilege for the wealthy upper classes, while most working-class children had little access to formal education.
* Poor Quality: Even those who attended schools often received poor-quality education, with unqualified teachers and overcrowded classrooms.
* Apprenticeship: Many working-class children were apprenticed to a trade or profession at an early age, often as young as 9 or 10 years old.
* Ragged Schools: In response to the lack of education for the poor, philanthropic individuals established "ragged schools" that offered basic literacy and numeracy instruction to children who couldn't afford to attend regular schools.
* Factory Act of 1833: This law prohibited the employment of children under 9 and limited the working hours of children under 13, which allowed more children to attend school.
* Industrial Revolution: As the industrial revolution advanced, the need for skilled workers increased, leading to the development of more education opportunities for the working class, albeit still limited in scope.
* Charles Dickens' Role: Dickens' writings highlighted the plight of poor and underprivileged children, especially in the context of education, and helped draw public attention to the issue, contributing to the eventual improvement in education for all children in later years.