W. J. Adey's successor, as Director of Education, was Charles Fenner. The appointment was announced on 1 June, 1939, first as an acting brief and then permanently when Adey's long service leave expired. As a whole the appointment was expected and approved. Fenner's background was quite exceptional; a science degree with first class honours at the University of Melbourne, followed later by a doctorate, an impressive list of publications and scientific research papers on geography, geology, anthropology and natural history, a reputation as a world authority on glass meteorites, overseas experience as a delegate at scientific conferences and as an educational observer and guest speaker, ten years experience as a part-time lecturer at the University of Adelaide and a constant stream of newspaper articles, reports, conference addresses and public comment…

23 years in the position of Superintendent of Technical Education had made Fenner very well known throughout the State. He had pioneered the compulsory education of apprentices, supervised the post-war reconstruction scheme, developed technical courses of many kinds and established widespread contacts with industry. He was also keenly interested in art, in the development of art and craft in schools, in the work of the Art School and in audio-visual education. If ever there was a Director with personal experience and interests at all levels of education, from small outback schools to the University, it was Charles Fenner.

The remaining months of 1939 were very busy ones, the most important single action being the decision to close down the Central Schools. Their attachment to primary schools had always mitigated against public recognition of their work; Fenner therefore announced that they would 'reappear in 1940 as junior technical boys schools and junior technical girls schools, each with a separate entity, and with the status of a secondary school within the technical division.' His penchant for good public relations was immediately apparent: well-attended meetings of parents were called to explain the move, exhibitions of student work were held and illustrative graphs and diagrams began to appear in official documents and newspapers, as they had been doing for two decades in his own reports.

In September the war that had been looming for so long finally broke out and the Schools Patriotic Fund (SPF) was established to coordinate the efforts of all schools. It proved to be an astonishing enterprise…The impact of the war on technical education was enormous. From early 1940 G. S. McDonald, the newly appointed Superintendent, and J. S. Walker, the youngest inspector in the State, were busy organizing facilities and services for wartime use. By May more than 400 RAAF fitters were being given courses at the Grenfell Street Trades School, and training in machining, fitting, welding and tool-making were getting under way for munitions and aircraft construction…By September the Grenfell Street Trades School, the Adelaide Technical College and the School of Mines went on to a three-shift roster, working 24 hours a day. Specialist teachers and instructors assumed heavy workloads…

Despite the war, the struggle for professional improvement went on…Fenner himself was constantly involved, writing on the cultural value of technical education, on the school leaving age, and on the 'stuffing versus stimulating' approach to teaching…In Adelaide in 1942 there was angry criticism of the Education Department and the Civil Defence authorities because the schools were utterly unprepared for war, there were no air raid shelters, no medical supplies and no emergency plans…And so the city became pockmarked with mounds of earth and zig-zag trenches, black-out hoods and paint went on windows and car head-lights and adhesive strips crossed bare panes of glass to give shatter-proof protection.

In November 1942 Executive Council approved a new set of Regulations which revised the scholarship system, reduced the age of entry into secondary schools, required students to take three year's study before attempting the Intermediate examination, enlarged the authority of inspectors…Above all, machinery was introduced for the continuous revision of the curriculum. There was to be a Curriculum Board for each of the main areas—primary, secondary, technical and rural—with the superintendent as chairman in each case and places for male and female nominees of the teachers themselves. The Minister said the new regulations were 'a great step forward' and praised the Director and his officers for their organizing skill…Meanwhile the squeeze in the schoolrooms had begun, and there was only one solution, temporary accommodation. In 1943 Fenner announced the Department's large scale commitment to 'portable schools'. These, he said, consisted of a single room about 24 feet square, and were being turned out as fast as the Architect-in Chief's Department could build them…

On 17 April 1946 C. L. Abbott resigned from the Ministry, giving as his reasons the extreme workload of three portfolios…Exactly a month later, on 16 May 1946, Fenner retired because of ill health at the age of 62. He, too, had fallen victim to what Abbott called 'the almost insupportable burden…of administering this huge undertaking', which was what the Education Department had become. In casting about for a successor, the commentators were at no pains to disguise the burden.