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BBC Broadcasts for Schools Collection

Topics

Broadcasts for Schools between 1926 and 1979.

Extent

16 m.

The artist David Bassedone using the 1950s pamphlets at the IOE Library’s Special Collections Reading Room (photographed by Julia Rassmussen).

Scope and content

With a mission to 'inform, educate and entertain’, the British Broadcasting Company (later Corporation) began broadcasting to schools in the interwar period. This initiative began with an experimental radio broadcast to a single school in Glasgow in February 1924. This pioneering 'wireless lesson' represented an innovative form of media-assisted education in the UK, designed to supplement classroom instruction.

By the time the BBC received its Royal Charter as the Nation’s broadcaster in 1927, the BBC Education Committee was well-established under the leadership of J.C. Stobart, a former HMI for the Board of Education. Initially, teachers - many of whom were trained professionals - strongly objected to what they saw as outside interference in their domain. They regarded the broadcasts as a potential threat to their professional autonomy and expertise, and were particularly critical of the 'patronising tone' - specifically the use of the King's English - and highbrow content of the broadcasts. In response, the BBC carefully crafted a strategy to appease teachers, emphasising that the broadcasts would ‘supplement’ the school curriculum rather than replace classroom teaching.

By the end of the 1920s, the relationship between the BBC and teachers had evolved, with many teacher trainers becoming involved in creating content for the broadcasts and some acted as advisors. For example, Clotilde von Wyss, a lecturer at the London Day Training College (which became the Institute of Education in 1932), created a series of nature study programmes for the BBC. 

By this time, the Schools Broadcasting Committee had begun publishing authorised illustrated pamphlets as guides to the broadcasts, which proved hugely popular. By 1927, approximately 233,000 copies were distributed to participating schools and by the following year, over forty programmes, some with regional variations, were transmitted from studios in Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow, Bournemouth and Belfast. Between 1929 and 1930, 5,000 schools across the country were subscribing to the broadcasts and over 560,000 pamphlets, edited by various subject committees, were distributed. These pamphlets continued to be published until 1979.

The Institute of Education Library holds the full collection of pamphlets from 1926 until the late 1970s. From Summer 1958 onwards, the volumes also include pamphlets for television broadcasts.

The publication evolved over time. During the academic year 1946-47, it  divided into 'Pamphlets' and 'Leaflets', within the same numbered sequence, and later, in 1973, a new sequence called 'Notes' was added. These are contained within the original numbered sequence.

History

The Collection was deposited on permanent loan with the Institute in 1990.

Access

The collection is currently uncatalogued. It is, however, available to view under supervision in the IOE Reading Room.