0:02:48 > 0:02:51Educationalists believe a child's character is formed
0:02:51 > 0:02:54in the crucial years from two to five.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57There are about 600 recognised nursery schools in Britain.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01Some run by local authorities, some independently,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04but there are still far too few of them.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07From the outset the, idea was that by giving young children
0:03:07 > 0:03:10the chance to play together, they would develop more fully.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24At the Elizabeth Lansbury Nursery School at Poplar, London,
0:03:24 > 0:03:27music periods are a little more organised.
0:03:27 > 0:03:32# But a silver nutmeg and a golden pear
0:03:32 > 0:03:36# The king of Spain's daughter came to visit me
0:03:36 > 0:03:40# And all for the sake of my little nut tree. #
0:03:49 > 0:03:52A group of mothers banded together in 1961
0:03:52 > 0:03:56to form an association to encourage the setting up of local playgroups.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59Today, it has more than 300 members.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02Small groups of children, aged from two-and-a-half to five,
0:04:02 > 0:04:06play together at regular morning or afternoon sessions in the houses
0:04:06 > 0:04:09of mothers, some of whom have had some training before they married.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39Finger painting here is not so much to develop the future artist,
0:04:39 > 0:04:41as to give an opportunity for self-expression.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48This school runs a part-time system,
0:04:48 > 0:04:50with one group of children in the morning,
0:04:50 > 0:04:52and a different group in the afternoon.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54In fact, two schools in one.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56This is not only to help with the nursery school shortage,
0:04:56 > 0:05:00but of course some children are happier at home for half the day.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03The nature corner teaches little boys to be gentle
0:05:03 > 0:05:06with such delicate things as stick insects.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Even learning to blow your nose can be fun,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25with a coloured paper handkerchief.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Entrance to comprehensive schools is not based
0:06:22 > 0:06:25on the result of an 11-plus examination.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Children of all abilities are admitted,
0:06:28 > 0:06:30from the dullest to the brightest.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34The size of the schools enables them to employ many specialised teachers,
0:06:34 > 0:06:38and most comprehensives offer courses that otherwise would not
0:06:38 > 0:06:41be possible outside of a technical college.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Boys are able to study draftsmanship, architecture,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47surveying, and even boat building.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Teachers like, too, the opportunities given them
0:06:50 > 0:06:52to try out their own ideas.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55Take, for example, the mathematics laboratory at Wandsworth.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59Exercise book sums are replaced by practical experiments.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03By seeing and feeling the shape and nature of mathematical figures,
0:07:03 > 0:07:07the child rapidly grasps the principles of algebra and geometry.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11There are many schools of thought on the subject of comprehensives.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13They've been going for about ten years,
0:07:13 > 0:07:17and an official survey is now being made of how the system is working.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21Comprehensives cater for children of every kind of ability,
0:07:21 > 0:07:25from all kinds of backgrounds, and are essentially large communities,
0:07:25 > 0:07:27sometimes numbering about 2,000.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31This doesn't mean that the clever ones are held back,
0:07:31 > 0:07:34or the not-so-bright neglected.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36The children are soon sorted into tuition groups,
0:07:36 > 0:07:38suited to their abilities,
0:07:38 > 0:07:42and there are many instance of the tortoise overtaking the hare.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10At this comprehensive school at Holland Park in London,
0:08:10 > 0:08:14there are 2,000 pupils, nearly half of them girls.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16Girls are at least a match for boys at school,
0:08:16 > 0:08:19and in some things they're a good deal better.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21At this school all the girls learn housecraft.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24This is a subject they can take in their GCE exams,
0:08:24 > 0:08:26their General Certificate of Education.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29The girls prepare a meal in the model kitchen,
0:08:29 > 0:08:31lay the table in the model flat,
0:08:31 > 0:08:35and then invite a member of the staff for lunch.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37Today, they've asked the headmaster.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41Entertaining in their own homes will hold no terrors for these girls,
0:08:41 > 0:08:44and cooking for a husband and family will be like...
0:08:44 > 0:08:45well, like being back at school.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59Sewing classes are naturally very popular.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01These girls are making summer dresses for themselves,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04or maybe something special for the school dance.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07It's not surprising that many firms are anxious to employ girls
0:09:07 > 0:09:11like these as home service advisers as soon as they leave school.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13Some will themselves become teachers.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26Education these days covers a lot more ground than the three Rs.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28All the boys at this school pass through the workshops,
0:09:28 > 0:09:31and this decides many of them on careers as craftsmen,
0:09:31 > 0:09:33technicians or technologists.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41At careers conventions, such as this at Chidbrook,
0:09:41 > 0:09:44children and their parents can meet and talk to representatives
0:09:44 > 0:09:47of various industries and professions.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51They can see some of the equipment used and processes employed.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53They're free to ask as many questions as they like,
0:09:53 > 0:09:56and the answers may help them in a choice of career.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16In Britain today, taxpayers and ratepayers contribute about
0:10:16 > 0:10:21£890 million a year to educate seven million school children.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25Yet more and more parents are also paying to send their sons
0:10:25 > 0:10:28to one of 90 independent public schools.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31Schools such as Eton, which is the largest.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35Parents stint themselves to raise the £2,000-£4,000
0:10:35 > 0:10:37which a public school education costs.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40Many now save the fees through insurance policies.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43Today, less than 10% of the boys of Eton
0:10:43 > 0:10:46come from Britain's old aristocracy.
0:10:46 > 0:10:51The running of Eton is largely the responsibility of the senior boys.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54In each house there is a body of them called the Library,
0:10:54 > 0:10:56which is self-elected.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00The Captain of the House is appointed by the house tutor.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03Communications to organise life depend on Fags.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07The Library also controls discipline.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11Young offenders are punished for being noisy or dirty or rude.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15The Captain may punish by beating, but only with his tutor's consent.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04Most children's homes are not in new buildings,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07but they've brightened a lot of them up inside.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11None of the old brown and dark green paint that I knew 30 years ago.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15What matters much more is the greater understanding
0:12:15 > 0:12:17and love the children get today.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20In the 17 years I lived in children's homes,
0:12:20 > 0:12:23I don't remember any real understanding,
0:12:23 > 0:12:25and very little warmth or affection.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29There are more than 2,200 children's homes in Britain,
0:12:29 > 0:12:34and they ARE homes, not orphanages or foundling institutions.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38500 of them are run by voluntary societies.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42This new one at Canterbury is one of Dr Barnardo's 110 homes
0:12:42 > 0:12:45which cater for 2,500 children.
0:12:45 > 0:12:50Like most of the other homes, it's got a homely atmosphere.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53The nearest we ever got to a play room was a room with wooden chairs
0:12:53 > 0:12:54and a few lockers.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59Much more thought is given to children's interests today.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01Look at this model railway.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05How many children living with their families could have one like this?
0:13:05 > 0:13:09Mind you, the boys in this home helped to build it over 15 years.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Stand by studio. On mic.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25This is Crown Woods broadcasting on Channel Three.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27It's just after 3.41,
0:13:27 > 0:13:31and at quarter-to-four, you can hear the tenth edition of Crown Week.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33Until then, some music.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Children produce a weekly magazine programme, which they prepare,
0:13:44 > 0:13:47write, and transmit themselves.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49The show is heard over the school's loud speaker system,
0:13:49 > 0:13:52and the rest of the pupils listen in.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54They later discuss and criticise what they have heard,
0:13:54 > 0:13:56and they don't pull any punches.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59All the activities you expect to see in school are augmented
0:13:59 > 0:14:01with others that are much rarer.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03Closed-circuit television, for instance.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26This large county secondary school in Surrey is one of a number
0:14:26 > 0:14:28which are trying out teaching machines.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30They use them with large groups of children,
0:14:30 > 0:14:32working through a whole lesson period,
0:14:32 > 0:14:34such as in the mathematics class,
0:14:34 > 0:14:37or sometimes for individual children working on their own,
0:14:37 > 0:14:40either to catch up the others, or forge ahead.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44Pupils load their own machines, and use them at their own rate.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56Sometimes they also use calculating machines
0:14:56 > 0:14:58in conjunction with teaching machines.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07This machine uses sound, as well as vision to teach
0:15:07 > 0:15:10and a dial replaces the push button operation.
0:15:10 > 0:15:11The programmes in this machine
0:15:11 > 0:15:14are on what is called a branching system.
0:15:14 > 0:15:15If the student gives the wrong answer,
0:15:15 > 0:15:17she's sent back to study and try again.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22Here, in the grounds of Loughborough Training College, is another
0:15:22 > 0:15:26collection of teaching machines, this time in a travelling classroom.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29This caravan goes round to schools all over Leicestershire.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37These are two of the early models.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46Today, many work on a press button system.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52Teaching aids being tried out at Loughborough include
0:15:52 > 0:15:55coloured movies, which lead on to practical experiments.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57The children watch this film about air, one of a series,
0:15:57 > 0:15:59as often as they like.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23It's the only school in Britain to be fully equipped
0:16:23 > 0:16:27with a multitude of TV and radio sets, record players, film,
0:16:27 > 0:16:29film strip and slide projectors,
0:16:29 > 0:16:31tape recorders and language machines.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33All part of an experiment christened,
0:16:33 > 0:16:37by the children themselves, An Adventure Into Learning.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40This is a new and noisy world.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57The children run their own library of 1,500 films and film strips.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00However, the usage of the ordinary book library has increased
0:17:00 > 0:17:03greatly since the school became automated.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05The children learn to look after the equipment
0:17:05 > 0:17:07and understand how it works.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10Indeed, they claim to do less damage than the staff.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16The ordinary classroom, however modern,
0:17:16 > 0:17:20will have to be redesigned as these learning methods spread.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23When there's a really important story to invent,
0:17:23 > 0:17:25chaps need a bit of privacy.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27One day, Russell and I went to bed.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29We were reading the paper.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32We were just about to turn to the back
0:17:32 > 0:17:35when we saw an exciting bit in the front.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37It said, "The highway man.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41"Reward for him to be captured, £1,000."
0:17:43 > 0:17:46I, I only thought that they...
0:17:46 > 0:17:48were in fairy stories.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50I didn't even think they lived.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Normal kids, no different from any others,
0:17:53 > 0:17:56except that in the two years the experiment has been running,
0:17:56 > 0:17:59children of ten and 11 have acquired vocabularies
0:17:59 > 0:18:01of boys and girls of 14 and 15.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05It may be a while before the state
0:18:05 > 0:18:07can afford to equip every school like this
0:18:07 > 0:18:11but that it is going to happen, few doubt.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13Initially, some of the Oxhey Wood teachers
0:18:13 > 0:18:16had their doubts but they are now fully enthusiastic,
0:18:16 > 0:18:20find together with the children, that learning is indeed an adventure
0:18:20 > 0:18:23when you can bring the whole world into the classroom.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35Outdoor work begins on a playground map
0:18:35 > 0:18:38which includes models of places of interest, towns and rivers.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50The next stage is to get the class out to see for themselves.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53They may spend a day cruising on a river to study the waterway
0:18:53 > 0:18:57and how it's used, why locks are necessary and local river history.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00All of this will later be written up in the classroom.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05On foot, another class follows the river to its source,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08where different types of rock are found and examined,
0:19:08 > 0:19:11not just talked about in a geography classroom.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13Mathematics comes into outdoor studies
0:19:13 > 0:19:16when the rate of flow of the river is worked out.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18Chips of wood are dropped from a bridge
0:19:18 > 0:19:21and timed over a given distance as the current carries them along.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50More than 800 secondary schoolchildren from Surrey
0:19:50 > 0:19:53leave their classrooms for a 14-day outdoor study trip of a kind
0:19:53 > 0:19:58which is becoming more popular even than the summer holiday.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08They travel across the continent for a Mediterranean cruise
0:20:08 > 0:20:11in one of two school ships run by a British company.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14More than 30,000 British schoolchildren sail in these ships
0:20:14 > 0:20:18for educational cruises which range from Russia to North Africa.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22Dormitories sleeping up to 40 children
0:20:22 > 0:20:24are allocated to each school
0:20:24 > 0:20:27and as well as the five ships' five matrons to look after the girls,
0:20:27 > 0:20:30there's one teacher with every 15 children.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33For the eight days the ship was at sea,
0:20:33 > 0:20:35these schoolchildren had five lessons,
0:20:35 > 0:20:37each of 45 minutes, every day.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42As they were cruising in Greek waters, all the lessons dealt
0:20:42 > 0:20:46with some aspect of Greece and its contribution to world history.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55But this still left time to lounge on deck and enjoy the sun.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05No public funds have been contributed to these trips.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08The Ministry of Education and many county authorities
0:21:08 > 0:21:12are encouraging the idea of taking children out to see for themselves.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15And so it's back home again by train.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19Loaded down with presents and souvenirs for the family,
0:21:19 > 0:21:22excited and anxious to get to school again to tell the others
0:21:22 > 0:21:24all about their adventures.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39Not so many years ago, London
0:21:39 > 0:21:43and the great cities of Britain were pockmarked with bomb sites.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45Sometimes they've been cleared
0:21:45 > 0:21:48and turned into playgrounds or elegant gardens.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51Among other things, a sport grew out of them.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53The racing game of cycle speedway.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56A game born in the bricks and rubble of the air raids,
0:21:56 > 0:21:59a sport for youngsters who were spending nights in the shelters.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02The first speedway cycle tracks, 90 yards round,
0:22:02 > 0:22:04were marked out by the boys and girls
0:22:04 > 0:22:09of bombed streets using shattered bricks to mark the course.
0:22:09 > 0:22:10Those were tough days
0:22:10 > 0:22:13and they invented a tough little sport to go with them
0:22:13 > 0:22:16and cycle speedway, which is now organised and has its leagues,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19can probably claim to be the only sport today
0:22:19 > 0:22:22to have originated in the crackle of ack-ack fire.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25Any old dressing-up made a change from the world of ration cards
0:22:25 > 0:22:28and air raid warnings and any old bike would do.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30The game caught on in amazing fashion
0:22:30 > 0:22:34in the East End of London, in Coventry and up north.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37The track was usually a shambles, rough and ready.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40Some of the lads remember the speedway stars
0:22:40 > 0:22:42who'd been their idols in pre-war days
0:22:42 > 0:22:45and tried to copy the dirt track technique.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03The first move to give town children space in which it was safe to play
0:23:03 > 0:23:06was the play street, from which through traffic was banned.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09Today parked cars often reduce the play space drastically
0:23:09 > 0:23:11and can often be dangerous.
0:23:26 > 0:23:27The old-fashioned playground,
0:23:27 > 0:23:29with not much more than swings and roundabouts,
0:23:29 > 0:23:32doesn't exactly fire the imagination of children in the Jet Age.
0:23:32 > 0:23:37Neither is this sort of thing much more exciting.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40The London Borough of Camden thought up a new idea,
0:23:40 > 0:23:42with the emphasis on a miniature road system on which
0:23:42 > 0:23:44children can ride on bicycles
0:23:44 > 0:23:46and in toy cars supplied by the centre.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49The site was deliberately chosen to be in the middle
0:23:49 > 0:23:52of the large Regent's Park council estate in the area.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07But despite the fascination of traffic lights that really work,
0:24:07 > 0:24:10many children wanted to build their own world of make-believe
0:24:10 > 0:24:14so very soon, scope for adventure was also provided.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16The idea of this kind of playground,
0:24:16 > 0:24:18which is open throughout the year, is that anything goes.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20Within reason, of course.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24And the children have the scope and the materials to give full rein to their imagination.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28Wonderful what you can do with a lot of old timber.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48These children are members of a club which meets twice a week
0:24:48 > 0:24:51during the school holidays at the Centre for Spastic Children
0:24:51 > 0:24:53in London's Cheyne Walk.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56There is never a lack of helpers to fetch the children from their homes
0:24:56 > 0:25:01all over London and to help them enjoy themselves and make friends.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10Many of the voluntary helpers are sixth form
0:25:10 > 0:25:12boys and girls from local schools.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57Adventure is the keynote of Boys' Club life today
0:25:57 > 0:26:01and there are 200,000 boys between 14 and 18 who are finding it
0:26:01 > 0:26:04with the help of the National Association of Boys' Clubs.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09A club is a boy's springboard to weekend or holiday expeditions
0:26:09 > 0:26:10at home and abroad.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13At Conway, they are converting a tumbledown cottage
0:26:13 > 0:26:16into an adventure base where they can eat and sleep,
0:26:16 > 0:26:18plan their expeditions and get a shower.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21Yes, these boys are tough all right.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41The one attraction boys don't join clubs for is girls.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43In fact, many boys look upon their club
0:26:43 > 0:26:45as somewhere to get away from them.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49Most boys' committees exclude girls, except as canteen helpers,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52football supporters or guests on dance nights.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00Yes, the boys' club is one of the few male preserves
0:27:00 > 0:27:04left in Britain today, but for how much longer?
0:27:04 > 0:27:06Some of the local authorities which help to favour
0:27:06 > 0:27:10new clubs and their leaders want the boys to let the girls in.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12But is this really a girls' world?
0:27:26 > 0:27:29Judo, one of the 22 sports and games that the young can choose
0:27:29 > 0:27:33as they go from Bronze to Silver to the Gold Award.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37Many fall out - pressure of exams, a new job.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40But even a few weeks spent in this scheme
0:27:40 > 0:27:42means some broadening of experience.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd