 The Education Act 1944 made secondary education available to all children up to the age of 15 and abolished fees for state @-@ schooling ; a ' <unk> system ' of secondary schools was established to provide <unk> based on aptitude and ability : grammar schools for " academic " pupils , secondary <unk> for practical studies , and technical schools for science and engineering . Pupils were allocated to them depending on their score in the eleven @-@ plus examination . Carre 's became a Voluntary <unk> Grammar School ; from 1945 all entry was by the County Selection Examination . By 1955 , the school had 330 pupils on roll and the need for new accommodation was met in the 1950s and 1960s by a major building programme at the Northgate site ; completed in 1966 , this added dedicated classroom blocks , a canteen and hall . 
