Remember until 1993 every ITV company had School programme education officer.
Also remember that prior to 1989 every primary school in England and Wales could effectively set their own curriculum unless the LEA had created a curriculum for all of its schools. Some LEAs had a common core curriculum for all their schools in some subjects, but others operated a light touch approach devolving the curriculum to the teachers and governors of individual schools.
It's difficult to deny that in the 1970s and 80s, the BBC and ITV companies had more influence than any other national entity when deciding what children learned in primary schools - maybe less so in English and maths than in history, geography, science, and probably music.
That's excellent. Really put the Channel 4 presentation at the time to shame!
I never realised S4C showed Welsh school programmes before 1987 when ITV schools moved over the Channel 4. I guess they would have had to as HTV only showed English language from Nov 1982 when S4C launched.
I remember during the ITV Schools on C4 era, S4C used to show their own version of the rotation/clock with S4C logo in the corner (English language programmes) for the first programme of the morning, and if it followed a Welsh programme. Otherwise they tended to just play the same version as C4 did with the 4 logo in the corner.
The Educational Television Company, which was set up when it became Channel 4 schools on air, had a regional officer in each area, Scotland, North East etc. I know this, because in 1996, as I was preparing to go to college, I had to look for a phone number for my parents one day. It was under Ed, and going through the Fife edition of the phone book, it had an entry for "Educational Television Company", with an address in the Whinyknowe area of Glenrothes. It turned out, the officer for Scotland actually lived in Glenrothes, and that was her house. Anyway, I wrote a letter explaining I was going to college, and asking if she could send out a Channel 4 schools guide, which would detail programming, in case their was anything that would be useful to me. A few days later, I got said guide.
The Educational Television Company was later renamed Channel 4 Schools, and then 4 learning. I would imagine the officers probably used to work for the ITV companies, if they had not joined after June 1993.
I remember during the ITV Schools on C4 era, S4C used to show their own version of the rotation/clock with S4C logo in the corner (English language programmes) for the first programme of the morning, and if it followed a Welsh programme. Otherwise they tended to just play the same version as C4 did with the 4 logo in the corner.
Originally S4C opted out of every junction to show either the ITV Schools on S4C roto and clock, or before Welsh language programmes, the S4C Ysgolion roto and clock. In the final year (1992-93) they stuck with the Channel 4 feed and only opted out of junctions when they showed local programmes.
I’m actually surprised by the influence BBC and ITV Schools had on the curriculum, because when I was at school we watched very little television. In reception class, we watched My World, then in (what is now) Years 1 and 2 we watched Words and Pictures and Watch. In junior school (Year 7) we watched Look and Read - but after that, nothing. Very, very occasionally a secondary school teacher would show us a video of The English Programme, Experiment or Chemistry in Action if it suited the lesson, but this was once a year at most. I’m not sure if other people’s experiences differ.
The ITV Schools on 4 roto and clock were, to the best of my knowledge, one continuous sequence played from tape.
However, about two months into their use (around November 1987) a couple of subtle changes were made. On the original sequence, the ITV logos glided off to the edge of the screen as the clock spun into the centre. In the new sequence, these logos disappeared (or faded out) behind the clock face. The second change was at the very end of the clock. Originally, there was a feeeze frame as the music ended - on the new version the freeze frame was removed and the logo in the centre continued to animate and change colours until the clock was faded from the screen.
I think this accounts for the differences between the recordings above. S4C’s sequences were also on one continuous tape, but the music was added live and often mis-timed.
Interesting. Never actually noticed any difference before. However, looking on Youtube, while you're right about the clock, it seems the roto is only different in the opening fixed time junction - that being it was edited so that the logos disappeared behind the clock. The normal junctions seem to not change and the logos continue to go off to the edge of the screen.
The ITV Schools on 4 roto and clock were, to the best of my knowledge, one continuous sequence played from tape.
However, about two months into their use (around November 1987) a couple of subtle changes were made. On the original sequence, the ITV logos glided off to the edge of the screen as the clock spun into the centre. In the new sequence, these logos disappeared (or faded out) behind the clock face. The second change was at the very end of the clock. Originally, there was a feeeze frame as the music ended - on the new version the freeze frame was removed and the logo in the centre continued to animate and change colours until the clock was faded from the screen.
I think this accounts for the differences between the recordings above. S4C’s sequences were also on one continuous tape, but the music was added live and often mis-timed.
Interesting. Never actually noticed any difference before. However, looking on Youtube, while you're right about the clock, it seems the roto is only different in the opening fixed time junction - that being it was edited so that the logos disappeared behind the clock. The normal junctions seem to not change and the logos continue to go off to the edge of the screen.
My mistake there. So the opening “standby” was edited to both remove the freeze frame and, inadvertently or otherwise, make the ITVs disappear behind the clock disc. The normal junctions were edited just to remove the freeze frame.
Unless I'm mistaken, the Educational Television Company / 4Learning was headquartered in Warwick until 2001, and then Wetherby.
The Espresso Group took over the company in 2007, and was itself taken over by Discovery Communications in 2013. The Channel 4 Learning website doesn't appear to mention Discovery at all, which suggests it has hardly been updated (if at all) in the last five years...
I take it C4 and the BBC for that matter no longer create new programming, or even content, online.
BBC Bitesize seems to be what there is now:
https://www.bbc.com/education though I'm not sure how much of that is new content as such
The BBC still make schools radio programmes, although they're mostly downloadable they also go out on Radio 4 overnight. I can't remember whether they go out on just DAB or just FM, I think it's the former. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolradio
Interestingly, they still make Time and Tune which I remember when I was at school and it dates back to the 50s. Though thankfully Music and Movement has gone by the looks of things,
hated that as a child - standing in the school gym trying to be a tree
Last edited by Inspector Sands on 17 May 2018 12:46pm - 3 times in total
