Did the children have to attend school?

Whether children had to attend school depends heavily on the time period and location. There was no universal compulsory education throughout history. In many places and times, children worked instead of attending school. In others, schooling was only available to the wealthy or certain social classes. Only in relatively recent history (the last 150-200 years) and in many, but not all, parts of the world, has compulsory education become the norm.