Starting in 1895, 15 pupils and three teachers are fast-forwarded through 100 years of education, as they explore what schools taught and the way they were taught it, reflecting the transformation in Britain far beyond the school gates. From a time when only 4 percent of children went to secondary school, these pupils form part of the lucky few, as they get to grips with their Victorian classroom.
The time-travelling pupils and teachers prepare to enter the interwar years. Starting in 1918, their lessons begin with the language of peace, Esperanto. As the pupils grapple with strange new words, the teacher struggles to master the latest teaching resource - a wind-up gramophone. In 1920, the pupils line up for a bizarre school medical, having their lung capacity and even head circumference measured as a sign of their intelligence, before receiving a healthy but very unwelcome dose of cod liver oil. The classroom moves outdoors as the pupils have their first taste of experimental teaching. Our class takes a spelling test al-fresco, followed by a silver-service lunch of boiled mutton, potatoes and bean stew. Finally, the headmaster announces a surprising treat - it is time for the class to take their compulsory nap! There is a mutiny in the classroom as it is announced boys will learn science and make a model zeppelin, while the girls tend to dolls and fold nappies. And it is not just the pupils who are feeling the gender divides in this era - female teacher Sue is sent packing as marriage bars come into force. As she leaves the school, a new male teacher arrives to take her place. The pupils test out the latest craze of the Pogo stick before Sara arrives in 1927 to take the class for a special lesson with another gadget - the brand new wireless. Together, they try to master the art of speaking 'the King's English' - the accent of the upper classes. For our Midlands pupils, it doesn't come easy, and they have certainly never learnt a lesson via radio before! In 1929, the Charleston has swept across the Atlantic and into staff rooms and as our teachers test out their best moves, our very 21st-century children prepare to learn the more traditional pastime of English country dancing. Their parents and friends arrive to witness them performing a 'strip the willow'. It is out with the old traditions and in with the new as the pupils leave the classroom and
In this episode, their time-travels begin in 1945. The Second World War has ended, and a revolution in education has begun. Our class are now the pupils of a postwar grammar and make up some of the top 25% of children who passed the 11+. The first lesson begins with English for the girls, and while they might consider themselves lucky to finally be taught an academic subject, learning by rote and writing at speed leaves a bitter taste for some. The boys, meanwhile, have been enlisted for the School Harvest Scheme, taking them out of the classroom and into the fields. Picking berries, the boys are put through their paces, supporting food rations in the aftermath of war. But being at one with nature is a tall order for some of our very 21st-century pupils! A head boy and head girl have been appointed in keeping with the establishment of strict public school values in this school, but they may not enjoy the same level of respect from their modern peers as they would have in the 40s, despite trying hard to satisfy the demands of their new roles. The class are given free school milk as part of a government health drive, a bit of light relief ahead of their next subject. History sees them learning ancient dates and historical events by heart, and makes the more experimental lessons of the past seem like a distant memory. Despite more high-brow learning, the girls find they are still being educated in more delicate subjects of the curriculum, without the boys. Taking part in a deportment and etiquette lesson, practising balancing books on their heads and enunciating social behaviours may not seem useful to them now, but their next lesson of 1950s style sex-ed is an eye-opener, and not in ways they might expect! After school, the pupils take to the playground by pedal as they enjoy the cycling proficiency club, before the boys suffer the indignity of the timeless school cross-country, especially important at a time when athletic superiority was prized highly. School l
In this episode, our time-travelling class arrives in 1960. With a brand new decade, comes a new school for our pupils - the secondary modern. Leaving behind the rigidity and formality of the postwar grammar, they are now training for a vocational future. As they experience more hands-on lessons than ever before, our modern students and teachers will find out whether the 60s were really so swinging, after all. Their first lesson sees the boys and girls separated once again for subjects deemed suitable for each. For the girls this means an introduction to typewriting, and for the boys, bricklaying. As the girls comes to terms with the challenges of carriage-returns and speed typing, to the fast pace of the William Tell overture, the boys attempt to tinkle and tease their way around a trowel, and building a simple wall presents a unique challenge for these modern pupils. In the secondary modern, though, there was no escaping the basics, as our class discover in maths. One of the few lessons in which boys and girls were mixed, there is widespread confusion as they try to master the complex art of the slide rule - no calculators here! Attempting to get to grips with this cutting-edge technology, they take some time out to prank the teacher and commit the age old trick of defacing the overhead projector. In 1963, there is rebellion brewing as the girls are told they will be cooking a meal in their very own purpose-built flat. Sampling the menu is their male teacher, acting as a stand-in husband. The recipes include an intoxicating mix of celery boats piped full of paprika and cream cheese, devilled eggs and kippers in butter. And if that is not enough to put them off their lunch, school dinner in the 1960s serves them a hearty 1,500-calorie meal of mince roly-poly, cabbage and mash, spotted dick and of course, the obligatory lumpy school custard. While the girls have been slaving in front of a hot stove, the boys have been learning a skill deemed crucial for mal
In this episode, our time-travelling pupils and teachers arrive in the 1970s. It is out with the old and in with the new as they leave behind their 1960s secondary modern and embrace the experimental 70s and a comprehensive. In their first lesson, the boys and girls are finally mixed, as they learn about commerce and air travel, complete with a life-size model plane structure in the classroom. Role playing sees some of the class try their hand at being a pilot, air hostess or air traffic control, while others are confined to being the passengers and commenting on the service! Most of the class board a Midland Red bus and depart for a special school field trip to an iconic local attraction – Spaghetti Junction. Health and safety was taking a back seat in this decade, and our modern class experience the highs of a trip to a motorway site, to count the passing traffic. Meanwhile, three pupils have been detained at school for their fashionably rule-breaking long hair. They use their time to form a union, aimed at fighting back against the teachers. In 1973, thanks to the bold demands of the Schools Action Union, this comprehensive becomes a free school – and abandoning the rules has the teachers more than a little worried! The first thing to go - school uniform, followed rapidly by punishment. Our class does as 50% of Birmingham’s schools in this period did, as they join together for a home economics lesson. Today, it is curry on the menu, and despite never having cooked before, some of the boys improvise with their recipes, risky, given that everyone is eating it for school dinner! And judging by the level of culinary skill, the teachers might have bitten off more than they can chew. After the delights of ten bowls of curry, the pupils are in for a treat as they learn how to play the steel drums. Mastering the art of both musical performance and dancing, they put on a show for their friends and family in the school hall. Changing attitudes in the 70s
Our pupils and teachers arrive in the 1980s. The revolutionary spirit of the 70s has all but disappeared and in its place, a return to discipline, rules and uniformity. The focus of teaching is all about competition, entrepreneurialism and technology. Their first lesson embraces the technological revolution as the teacher unveils a cutting edge gadget, a 2XL robot. As they attempt to answer the robots questions, they are baffled about how this could be called high-tech - even if it might have been acceptable in the 80s. Next up, it is double maths. But by now even this everlasting bastion of the classroom has had a facelift. With the latest BBC microcomputers making their way into schools in 1982, this very 21st-century tech-addicted class try out a new maths programme - they just don’t have a clue how to work it. School dinner has left behind its silver service roots as the canteen opens for business. Dinner ladies in tabards serve up fast food, to a fanfare from the students. They eat chips for the first time in 87 years, paired with crispy pancakes, wrinkly sausages, beans and potato waffles. In 1983, with the arrival of affordable synthesisers, the class get the chance to embrace the booming synthpop industry in the UK in their music lesson. And there is a very special guest, Nik Kershaw, who listens to them playing some smash hits, before performing his own song especially for them. Inspired by their new love for synth, the kids, parents and teachers rock out to some of the most iconic tunes of the decade at their very 80s school disco - all finished off in true style, with a slow dance to Spandau Ballet. Amidst all the technology, there are some school traditions that never change. For the boys this means a cross-country run. Despite Seb Coe winning gold at the Olympics in 1984, some of our class aren’t feeling the competitive drive. And while they struggle through hedges and fields, the girls are trying out a brand new sport complete with leot
The pupils and teachers arrive in their final time-travelling decade, the 1990s. Ready to embrace the decade that gave us girl power, Brit pop, Oasis and Blur, Mr Blobby and the Gladiators, the pupils arrive at their comprehensive school. Their first lesson taps into a moment of pop culture we all remember – Italia 90, and the pupils take the chance to trade football stickers. The canteen is still stocked sky-high with fast food and in this era they have potato smiley faces and turkey drummers added to the menu, along with cans of apple Tango and bottles of Panda Pops cherryade. In 1992, they have a treat in store as a very special guest from the Gladiators joins them to kick-start the eliminator with a blow on her whistle. And the treats don’t end there as CD-ROMs become affordable, the school receives its very own copy of Encarta and a world of knowledge is available at the click of a mouse. By the mid-90s, it is time for the class to connect with the wider world and embrace the joys of fundraising as they perform a fashion show for their friends and family. As the world becomes more accessible, their computer class gives them the chance to connect to the Information Superhighway, as they fire up the dial-up modem and access the very first world wide website. Careers are all important in this decade, and what better way to pick the job of your dreams than via database? The pupils input their details using Kudos and some of them receive surprising results. As the decade draws to a close, and the pupils contemplate bidding farewell to Bopit, Dreamphone, the Gameboy and their pet Tamagotchis, the school holds a leaving assembly. With balloon arches and t-shirts for signing, the pupils reflect on how much they have loved being kids of the 1990s.
In this final episode of the series, the class and teachers return to school for their very own reunion party, where they are joined by presenter Sara Cox and social historian Polly Russell. As pupils, teachers and families celebrate together, they reflect on over 100 years of time travel and explore how the legacy of the past lives on in the schools of today. But their journey isn’t over yet, as our intrepid class of pupils set off to explore what the future of the classroom might look like. They experience the cutting-edge possibilities of virtual classrooms and contend with the unsettling notion of lessons run by artificial intelligence. As they relive some of their favourite memories, from school dinners to weird and wonderful lessons, they compare how their historical experiences measure up to the present and the future. Will a modern school dinner ever match the joy they felt when helping themselves to chips, pizza, waffles and mash in the 1980s? Can a cross-country run ever be less traumatic, even when accompanied by pioneering tech? And can a simulation really make 21st-century teens fall in love with their history lessons? Life-changing memories are shared, and before the end of the party, the class join together for one final school photo.
