February 1958: a busy start to the month

The beginning of February 1958 is a busy time for Alice.  First and foremost, she is still preoccupied with finding employment after she finishes her 3-year course in July and is constantly looking out for suitable PE teaching posts for which she can apply.  The Principal of Bedford College of Physical Education, Eileen Alexander (referred to in Alice’s letter as ‘Alex’), receives direct notification of vacancies from schools a few days before the posts are advertised in The Times Educational Supplement.  Alice is excited to see details of a vacancy at Apsley Grammar School in Hemel Hempstead and decides to withdraw her application to St. Martin-in-the-Fields High School for Girls, London in favour of making an application to Apsley.

Secondly, Alice is about to start a block teaching practice at the Notre Dame High School in Northampton.  She will be out of the College for just over two weeks and has several tasks to complete before she goes.  These include a practical pathology examination, a group dance to perform for which she is the choreographer, delivering a talk on the ‘outward bound’ course she attended in Snowden in December, and participating in a gymnastics demonstration using wall bars in the College gymnasium.

Bedford Physical Training College students on wall bars in the gynasium.  Note the fireplace in the corner! c.1927-1930

Demonstrations and the long wait for exam results, 30 June 1957

This month Alice spends a lot of time writing to her parents despite being very busy with taking exams and preparing for and performing in multiple demonstrations. Alice is in good spirits as she is excited for the annual College Camp in July and subsequently returning home. In this letter, Alice has written only to her mother who is camping in Wiltshire and was unable to come to her gymnastics demonstration.

Alice talks of the gymnastics demonstration attended by her father and aunt saying she has left instructions for her father to explain the programme to her mother once she returns home. During the demonstrations (she participated in two) the temperature is reportedly over 80°F; gymnastics at that temperature must have been unbearable for them!

Pictured below is the Gymnastics programme from the Archive. It shows that shape and pattern are the pre-eminent factors for this year as with the three thematic approaches of body shape, rope work, and pushing and pulling with asymmetry and symmetry.

The swimming demonstration took place on 29 June and Alice believes the performance was one of the most successful in recent years. However, she admits a slight faux par on her part - during a pairs diving sequence she misjudged her footing and went crashing into the water – “with a rather large splash”. Although accidental she was fearful of what the staff may think but looking up she was pleased to see they had found the funny side of the mishap.

Demonstrations aside, Alice must wait for her Biology and English exam results, commenting that the Biology exam was extremely hard and so believes she will not get a distinction.

Alice closes her letter wondering what she could do for work over the summer, hoping to attend a friend’s birthday party on the way to camp, and asks her mother to send on a few camp essentials.

BPEA OSA 5/6 Programmme for Demonstration Day 1957

Specs, swimming and an eclipse, 19 May 1957

Alice writes to her parents a fair amount in May 1957. Alice thanks her parents for the gift of spikes and is brimming with anticipation to meet a mystery person referred to as ‘Mr. Baker - whole 7.’ We are unsure of who this Mr Baker may be but believe she is referencing a letter from her parents. She goes on to say that she regrets she will be unable to visit home for a special ‘do’ as her schedule is very demanding.

   

In previous letters this month Alice has had her eyes tested and now she addresses the fact that she has to wear glasses. She’s not particularly thrilled with her new specs as she refers to herself as an owl and comments on them being uncomfortable and sitting awkwardly on her nose.

Her week ahead is jam packed but she found the time on Monday evening to view an eclipse from a window sill. Alice has an extra gymnastics practice on Wednesday evening and a swimming ‘do’ where she participates in the floating formation section.

In the coming week she will be visiting schools as part of her teaching placement, and chairing her first meeting at one of the Hertfordshire colleges in her capacity as Midland T. C. C. U representative. The Teaching Colleges’ Christian Union is an inter-varsity group where Alice was a regional representative. Pictured is an image of the termly supplement circulated to members, where it discusses prayers for the summer term, Christian teachers, the classroom and behaving in a Christian manner. Alice states that she is hosting tea that afternoon with two people she met at the Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick.

BPEA PP 1/4/1

Spring is in the air, 1957

It is March in Bedford and amidst dashing out to pick some primroses Alice seems busier than ever.

The students have a series of exams at the end of the Spring Term and Alice has a heavy timetable as lessons continue with revision built-in. She still has to travel to Cambridge for the 'dissection' classes (Anatomy and Physiology was a key part of the curriculum) despite an impending English exam the following day, but she doesn't seem bothered by that at all. She talks about her hopes for subject choices in her final year and is enthusiastic to take a variety of options...except for Ballroom dance.
The games fixtures also continue and this week has proved very successful with wins in hockey and lacrosse and a draw in netball; Alice thought the Anstey students were really 'nice people' and enjoyed playing to win in glorious sunshine!

 Alice also had fun attending the Dramatic Society's production of 'Jonah and the Whale', although her asides (scribbled on the programme), suggest she and her friends were not a little distracted by the thespian students and that the humour in their observations clearly helped them to let off a little tension and steam.

Wry comments noted while watching the play

Second year timetable: Spring 1957