Teaching Practice and Christmas 1956

Alice is very busy with her teaching practice at the moment but hoping to get home for just one night to watch the original film of Oliver Twist which was first released in 1948 and produced by David Lean with Alec Guinness portraying Fagin.

Alice is working at a local village school in Harrold which she clearly loves, although not so happy about teaching P.E. in the snow. The social history is portrayed wonderfully with her astonishment that 8 children in one class still had to use a well to get their water.

It is apparent that Alice and her supervisor do not always get on, which must have made the teaching practice difficult at times.  She also mentions a new teacher who also doesn’t seem to fit in at the school who Alice feels sorry for.

Alice is looking forward to the Christmas Carol Service and there is a programme showing the Procession of Carols which would have been sung during the service.  She is then going on for coffee with her colleagues and music tutor, Mr  Thackray (who incidentally was appointed as the College’s first male lecturer in 1954) which she is looking forward to. The Christmas plays and pantomime are being rehearsed and seem to be coming on well with plenty of useful evidence for her teaching practice file.

Some aspects of student life don’t change; Alice has to ask her Dad for some money to pay her expenses and to buy some items she needs.

 

 

Drawing water from the well in the garden

Teaching training and petrol shortages

Alice is getting ready to start her teaching practice tomorrow and is apprehensive.  She says the atmosphere is a “trifle strained” between the second and first year students, as the second  years have just finished their teaching practice and the first years are just about to start.  Alice draws a lovely little picture in this letter, illustrating what she will look like waiting at the bus stop in the morning to go to teach with all the equipment she has to take with her!

Students at the Bedford College of Physical Education undertook teaching placements with secondary children, which Alice is about to start, and also short placements with primary children. The photograph included in this post was taken by a fellow student of Alice’s, Mary Spokes in 1955.

Alice is continuing to do very well at lacrosse; in this letter she recounts the matches against Dartford.  In other letters which Alice sends home in November she is delighted to share the news that she has been selected to play lacrosse for the South of England reserves team, where she will be the wing defence. Moreover, there are in total 10 students from Bedford College of Physical Education that have been selected to play for their territorial team.

Sadly, in the autumn of 1956 there was a petrol shortage, which Alice has been affected by as a planned trip to Slimbridge has to be cancelled. Petrol was in short supply across Europe due to the Suez Canal crisis.  When petrol was available in November, when Alice writes, it caused huge queues at petrol stations and led to the government taking the decision to ration petrol from December for four months.  Ration books were reintroduced during this period, similar to the ones used in the Second World War.

On a brighter note, Alice is thinking ahead to Christmas and requests a permanent whistle as a present. She also mentions that she needs to get her eyes tested in the Christmas holidays as well referring to the holiday job that she will have at a grocers near to her home.  However, she must get through her teaching practice first!

 

 



Teaching practice 1955

 

Half Term Approaches

It’s October and Alice is already looking forward to half term!  Her wireless is now fixed and she can listen to the BBC Home Service and BBC Third programme.  Home was where Alice could listen to news, features, regional programmes and some general entertainment.  The Third programme was broadcast only in the evenings and was unashamedly highbrow, with classical music concerts, poetry readings and talks on scientific, philosophical and cultural themes.  Alice sounds pleased to have the albeit limited entertainment, especially as it is a cold October and she has had to negotiate having her electric fire earlier than normal!



First years listening to The Grand National on a wireless, c.1947-50

On the second page of her letter, Alice mentions some of the awful injuries that have been sustained by her fellow students whilst pursuing their gym classes in “learning to fall off things”!   Although, she does state this is "exceptional", so hopefully not all classes were as prone to injury!

Outside of her studies, Alice has had her first public appearance as the secretary of the Natural History Society and tells her parents of the exciting talks and visits they have planned over the next term.

Later in the letter, Alice makes reference to the hockey trials taking away players from her lacrosse team.  This means Alice is moved up from the 2^nd team of the Bedford College of Physical Education, to the 1^st team. However, Alice wins both her first team matches.

The College used the Fairhill Playing Field, adjoining the games field in Sidney Road for playing hockey and cricket matches.  The Fairhill Playing Field was shared with other users, as its use was administered by Bedfordshire County Council.  Bedford Physical Education Archive holds correspondence between the College and Bedfordshire County Council Education Committee, principally concerned with applications to use the playing field during specified periods, but also includes papers on reasons why the College needed additional playing field space. The letter below is from the Local Education Authority to Dr Walker, the Borough Education Officer, explaining that the College may need an additional pitch if more students come to the College.

Letter from Director of Education at the Local Education Authority, 1963

Returning as a 2nd-year

It’s September 1956 and Alice has returned to Bedford College of Physical Education for the start of her second year.  She is struggling with getting the wireless (radio) to work and wonders if her brother Roy has any useful suggestions.  In 1956 her choice of listening would have been limited to just three radio stations: the BBC Light Programme, BBC Third Programme and Radio Luxembourg.  Adding to her woes, she and her fellow students are facing an inspection to check if they all have the required uniform and books on their reading list…

Alice makes reference to her participation in the College lacrosse trials.  A study of the Lacrosse Record Book for 1953-1957 held in the Bedford Physical Education Archive reveals that she came through the trials to play in either the 1^st or 2^nd teams for the 1956-57 lacrosse season.

   

Alice has sent her parents a copy of the Courses of Studies booklet published by the College which includes a list of the subjects to be studied for the Certificate in Education.  A portion of the 1960 booklet is shown below.  Students who passed the examination were subsequently recommended to the Ministry of Education for recognition as Qualified Teachers.

A Very Busy Time

The end of June 1956 is a very busy time in Alice’s life, not only does she have revision for the looming exams but has teaching practice write-ups to complete.  Repeat school visits in Hertfordshire are also on the cards to look at schools selected for their architecture and good results.

The Demonstration appears to be an important event in the college year, Alice is attending practices and is involved in scene shifting, dress changes, policemen (sic) and waitressing; although it appears that the 2^nd & 3^rd years will be actually putting on the demonstration.  The annual church fete is also on the calendar and the 1^st years are in charge of running this.   

The 4^th July is the Inter Year Athletics meeting which Alice is training daily for and complains she is in the 800 yards this year which means extra training as she has further to run. There is also a 3^rd year sale on the same day where she plans to buy items cheaper in preparation for next year.

A visit to Mullion Camp in Cornwall is also looming large as Alice requests some extra items to take with her and reminds her parents the fees are now due for it.

A surprising element to Alice’s teacher training is a visit to Cambridge for dissections which she states:  ‘not a particularly enjoyable day but very interesting’

The final part of Alice’s letter home tells of spending Sunday ‘stitching and tailoring for a 3^rd year’, in preparation for the Demonstration, a sewing machine was borrowed from the vicar to help with this and Alice was very pleased with the results.

The final paragraph tells of her getting her hair cut by another 1^st year student who did well but ‘cut off so much we had to find a carpet sweeper to clean up the mess.’

Making alterations for Demonstration Day, 1933

Demonstration Day Programme, 1956

Dance Demonstration performed by senior students, c.1942-1945