I'm sure next month marks 25 years since ITV's service to schools finished. Latterly, the service had been on Channel 4, as ITV Schools on 4. In September 1993, Channel 4 took over the schools service directly, and lots of new programming was created, whilst some other programmes were kept, but remade.
Maybe we should reminisce about the 36 yeas that ITV provided an educational service to schools and colleges, because I don't recall ITV mentioning it much in any anniversary programming for ITV in general. A lot of people, of a certain young age, will probably not even be aware that ITV had a schools programming service.
So, let's go into the TV room at school, sit down, turn the lights out, and enjoy the presentation, and the memories......
How We Used To Live has to be my all time favourite ITV Schools production along with Picture Box as a second.
Was A Place To Live also on ITV Schools or was it just regionalised or even both?
Pretty sure 'ITV Programmes for school and colleges' were all networked, tx'ed for the network by ATV/Central.
And to be picky, How we used to live and Picture box weren't ITV School productions.
Picture Box was a Granada production - HWUTL was a Yorkshire production.
:-(
A former member
Nope, STV, Grampian and HTV did opted out for local school programming.
Who remembers the really LONG junctions between programmes, especially in the ITV Schools on 4 era, when, occasionally there were a few. I remember one in 1989/90, in a Scottish opt out, which lasted 8 minutes before the programme started. The reason for the long junction was, to have the programme starting as late as possible, in order for them to rejoin the national ITV Schools on 4 continuity at the same time as everyone else.
But on S4C, one programme finished WAY early, and resulted in this near 12 minute long junction!
. . . And to be picky, How we used to live and Picture box weren't ITV School productions.
Picture Box was a Granada production - HWUTL was a Yorkshire production.
I think you'll find there
were
ITV Schools programmes.
The "big four" weekday broadcasters Yorkshire, Granada, Thames and ATV/Central, generally produced most of the ITV Schools programmes, but smaller franchise holders also made them.
ATV/Central did the transmission and CAs when it was on ITV from the 1970s onwards.
Last edited by Stuart on 14 May 2018 4:42pm - 2 times in total
ITV schools was mostly phased out by the time I was properly in school. But I do think I occasionally managed to capture ITV schools as I recall enjoying the Ident Music (or maybe we heard it at school before the teacher inevitably fastforwarded the tape)
In any case I remember watching the Big Breakfast, waiting for the jaunty music and ITV schools animation and then instead of that I get this presentation instead
I would love to understand the reasoning behind Channel 4 Schools as it's legitimately unsettling music and visuals. Was it to spook kids and discourage them watching the schools content? Or did they really think abstract kids paintings mixed with discordant music was a swell idea? All I know is I was spooked enough that for ages I was quite eager to to change channel once the Big Breakfast credits rolled.
Apart from local programming on HTV Wales, STV and Grampian (and later Border), and UTV - there were regional variations in the English regions too while the service was on ITV. The regions liked to showcase their own productions - Thames had a series called Images shown only in London; Granada produced a series called Workshop shown only in the North West, and TSW showed a Cornish language series locally called An Canker Seth (repeated on S4C, I think). Regions also sometimes favoured their own schools series to whatever the network was offering - Granada was known to opt out to show additional episodes of Experiment. Normally a region would schedule their own programme in place of a repeat showing of a programme on the network feed (so it was additional rather than replacement content), but this wasn’t always the case as they were free to pick and choose what they wanted from the network.
Prior to Autumn 1972, schools programmes were shown in two short blocks - from mid-morning until lunchtime and then for an hour or so in the mid-afternoon. Broadcasting restrictions were then relaxed which allowed ITV to start a daytime schedule of serials, dramas and light entertainment (Emmerdale Farm and Crown Court, for example), so from Autumn 1972 the schools service moved to the familiar slot of 9.30-noon. This caused issues for the smaller companies, such as Border and Channel, as (I believe) the unions would not allow technicians to start work that early. So these regions continued with the former scheduling (AM and PM) for a while. Broadcasting hours were also curtailed to reserve power during the oil crisis of 73-74, so once again the schools service was briefly moved to late mornings and afternoons.
And of course - there was no such thing as an “ITV Schools production” - each programme was produced by a regional company FOR the ITV Schools service, and sometimes shown to a wider audience in their local region outside of schools hours. In the mid to late 70s, some schools series were also scheduled during the school holidays (a couple of programmes each morning) under banners such as “Summer School”.
And of course - there was no such thing as an “ITV Schools production” - each programme was produced by a regional company FOR the ITV Schools service, and sometimes shown to a wider audience in their local region outside of schools hours. In the mid to late 70s, some schools series were also scheduled during the school holidays (a couple of programmes each morning) under banners such as “Summer School”.
One example of such a programme was "Animals in Action", made by Anglia. Originally shown during ITV Schools, Anglia later showed it outwith schools programming hours, I believe only in their own region.
And of course - there was no such thing as an “ITV Schools production” - each programme was produced by a regional company FOR the ITV Schools service, and sometimes shown to a wider audience in their local region outside of schools hours. In the mid to late 70s, some schools series were also scheduled during the school holidays (a couple of programmes each morning) under banners such as “Summer School”.
One example of such a programme was "Animals in Action", made by Anglia. Originally shown during ITV Schools, Anglia later showed it outwith schools programming hours, I believe only in their own region.
Animals in Action was originally shown in 1981 in the “Watch it!” children’s slot - it was certainly shown in other regions, though perhaps not networked. This series was networked in Summer 1985 as part of ITV Schools. Anglia made a subsequent series of the programme which was shown in Summer 1986 on ITV Schools - I’m not sure if this debuted or was repeated outside of schools hours in the Anglia region?
Grampian’s Living and Growing, despite being shown across the country in the summer terms, normally debuted in Scotland in Autumn or Spring - and some series were shown late at night in the Grampian and other regions with additional footage, under the title Living and Growing for Adults. Quite a few schools programmes received a preview screening in the late evening, and often with additional discussion about the content of the programme. I recall the Good Health episode Dr Sweet Tooth, the Middle English drama A Game of Soldiers, and the Starting Out episode Mr Christie being shown late at night during summer, the latter probably on Channel 4.
The entire 1986 series of Starting Out was also repeated on Channel 4 in a late evening slot, running concurrently with the broadcasts on ITV Schools.
Thora Hird Presents How We Used To Live was scheduled on YTV on the August Bank Holiday in 1984 - probably a preview of the upcoming new series.