THIS PAPER IS TO APPEAR IN PROCEEDINGS OF THE BRITISH ACADEMY (2009) Not to be cited without the author's consent

Education was the major twentieth century route out of relatively disadvantaged backgrounds and many parents gave up much to ensure that their children could benefit from institutions and opportunities they had been denied. Nowhere was this more the case than in south Wales, where grammar schools provided nurturing environments for many talented individuals who thereby escaped the relative poverty of the coalfield valleys.