In what way did post war prosperity bring social change to Britain 1951-1964?
Britain as a country in the year 1951 stood as a country widely effected by the Second World War and the country reflected visible damage which the war had caused. Many young men were on the National Service, rationing was only just coming to an end and also social life in Britain felt like it was in the past. However some felt that the year 1951 was a year of change, they felt as if they were on the way to a new modern world which presented technological and social progress, Children who were born during the “baby boom” were born into a different society to which their parents grew up in. Leading up to the year 1964 there were many social tensions, changes in
Australia was appealing to British citizens as it had many jobs and a good amount of housing available.
Affluence began to become more apparent in every class, which meant people were becoming a lot wealthier due to the rise in wages. However this lead to competition regarding jobs and housing and even schooling due to people having more money to spend. This created a more distinctive overview between classes meaning that people could recognise immediately what class you belonged to and what your origins and social background was. The class spilt became more evident throughout the schooling system. Schooling during 1951-64 was a major social problem due to the psychological strain on pupils had to pass their 11+ in order to achieve a better education by their parents as they wanted to avoid the social shame. The technical and grammar schools only took the most capable students which left the working class children with very basic education as they couldn’t afford any private tuition and often weren’t capable at the age of 11 to enter the grammar schools although after a few years they were ready to undergo more strenuous studying but by this time it was too late. The natural progression was from the most private boarding schools, to the most prestigious colleges at Oxford or Cambridge and thence into positions of power and