Melvyn Bragg and the mobile cinema have rambled through a selection of topics so far in the BBC2 series, but next week the focus turns to education with a look at Britain’s secondary modern schools.
On Friday 23rd September (18.30-19.00 BBC2) the programme arrives at Francis Combe Academy in Watford to look at the 1960s and an era when the results of the 11-plus exam could make a big difference to a child’s future. In the programme Bragg meets educational historian Catherine Burke, author of The school I’d like, and talks with old pupils of Francis Combe, who when it was a secondary modern, took part in ‘Our school’, a documentary by film maker John Krish.
A recently released DVD – ‘A Day in the Life: Four Portraits of Post-War Britain by John Krish’ will be available in the library shortly, and features ‘Our school’.
For more information about the series and programmes currently available on the BBC iPlayer check the BBC website.
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The episode last night – on the slums of East London – was an improvement on the first episode, in terms of more concentration on history and less on Melvyn Bragg and the mobile cinema itself. Hopefully that’s a sign of things to come as this upcoming episode on secondary schools sounds like it could be really interesting.