One difference I have noticed, comparing my daughter's experience (20-25) with mine (85-90), is the quality of teaching is seemingly now of a much higher quality and the teachers appear much more enthusiastic in helping the kids succeed.
Another thing I have noticed is that while the teachers are less strict about the likes of behaviour in the classroom, they are much stricter in some other aspects. In relation to the latter, they come down on bullies like a tonne of bricks, they don't let the kids off site at lunchtime and school uniform compliance is a big issue. My daughter, an A*/A student, wins at least one achievement award each year in a year with 230 kids, has not had a day of absence at school (all appointments are after school) and her teachers adore her. One day, we got a text saying she was being given detention for eating a sandwich outside during lunchtime (her friends had finished eating in the cafeteria, she just wanted to stay with them).