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

Wet, cold and uneventful

On the 10th June, 1956 Alice writes home to report a safe journey back to a Bedford that is unseasonably bitterly cold and wet. The poor weather seems to affect many aspects of college life: washing and ironing is one of the few activities they can get on with although, with no chance of being allowed to have fires lit in their rooms, snuggling up in bed seems to be the preferred place to be. 

Lessons must go on though, regardless of the whims of weather, and Alice has a very busy workload doing prep for classes as well as being out with the children.
A nature walk on Dunstable Downs has to be cancelled because of steady rain and even some thunderstorms. 
Outdoor pools proliferated in the first half of the century and even into the 1950s it is likely that those such as the one at Bedford School would still be in use; perhaps it is here or at the High School where Alice finds herself teaching a class outdoors one damp Friday morning. She ruefully comments that it was wetter for the instructor than for those actually in the water. 

Alice’s writing paper on this occasion also warranted an apology as it was so thin that the ink on the reverse showed through and made it quite hard to decipher in places, which she acknowledges in a footnote suggesting to her parents that holding the paper at an angle might help.

As we cannot do that here, a transcript of the third paragraph is given, showing that the ladies of the college have interests far beyond Bedford and are encouraged to maintain a world view:

Wednesday evening some of us went to a missionary meeting in the town for news of a Bedford [sic] in India and 2 friends of college in Pakistan. The talk was given by a man who used to live opposite college. He said he knew quite a lot about the P.E. college therefore!

In the 1950s the communality of college is still part of the day to day norm but even this is disrupted due to bad weather when one Saturday, languishing in their beds after a cold and tiring week, most of Alice’s house oversleep thereby missing breakfast completely.

 

Bedford School's outdoor swimming pool, mid 20th century

May 1956

Alice arrives back in Bedford for the summer term in early May 1956 and finds herself in the midst of a hot and sunny spell. Writing home on 6th May she says that the area around the College has been transformed, with the leaves on the trees along Lansdowne Road now hiding the houses. She and the other students are making the most of the sun.

The College’s new gymnasium is preparing for its official opening on 29th June and Alice sent her parents a cutting from a feature story on the gym in the Bedfordshire Times and Standard. Stories about the new gym also apparently featured in the Evening Standard and the Times Educational Supplement. The students resort to subterfuge when out and about in town to ensure that the Daily Mirror does not learn anything about the new building, as they are also interested in the story.

Term started on Saturday 5th with an Anatomy class and Athletics trials. On the day after Alice writes her letter, she is scheduled to take part in swimming, tennis and Modern Dance.

The following day, Tuesday 7th, a group photograph of the College’s students is due to be taken.

 

Towards the end of her letter Alice mentions that she is on her ‘locking up week of 11pm’. The college’s rules stated that students could have evening leave until 11pm (9.30pm on Sundays) by signing in and out of the book in their house. Lock up was at 11pm unless a student received special permission for a later return.