and freely planned, they were towered to provide ventilation using the Plenum system, with fresh air being drawn in from above the polluted ground level, heated if necessary, and vented also from the tower. The tower was typically placed over the staircase to draw air through the school. There were terracotta plaques, glazed tiles, ornamental ironwork, tall windows, and stained glass. Martin & Chamberlain worked for low remuneration to enable a healthy education. The Pall Mall Gazette in 1894 stated: In Birmingham you may generally recognize a board school by its being the best building in the neighbourhood. In London it is almost vice versa. With lofty towers which serve the utilitarian purpose of giving excellent ventilation, gabled windows, warm red bricks and stained glass, the best Birmingham board schools have quite an artistic finish. In regard to light and air the worst schools are equal to the best in London. Some of the schools are still in use as schools, some have other uses, and some have been demolished. Good examples are the Icknield Street School near the Hockley Flyover, north of the Jewellery Quarter, and Oozells Street Board School, now the Ikon Gallery. List of schools See List of Birmingham board schools See also London School Board George Dixon (MP) Sources Educational Documents, England and Wales 1816 to the present day, J Stuart MacLure, 1965, 1979, Education in Britain 1750-1914, W B Stephens, 1998, The English School, its architecture and organization Volume II 1870-1970, Malcolm Seaborne and Roy Lowe, 1977, Nine Famous Birmingham Men, edited J. H. Muirhead, Cornish Brothers Ltd., Birmingham, 1909, Article by George H. Kenrick. School types Defunct schools in Birmingham, West Midlands History of education in England