BBC Schools
Encyclopedia
BBC Schools, also known as BBC for Schools and Colleges, is the educational programming strand set up by the BBC
in 1957, broadcasting a range of educational programmes for children aged 5–16. From launch until June 1983, programming was based on BBC One
during the daytime, before programming was transferred to BBC Two
freeing BBC One to develop its own daytime schedule. The strand remained on BBC Two
for many years after, later supplemented by the 'Class TV' strand on the CBBC Channel
.
Today, the division presents educational material through occasional television broadcasts as part of the BBC Learning Zone
overnight service., through the online service 'Broadband Class Clips' and through the BBC School Radio
programme.
in the Autumn of 1957 in the afternoons. Morning transmissions began on the 19th September 1960.
, but without the 'Colour' legend, as schools programmes were still in black and white while the rest of BBC One's programmes were in colour.
Upon occasions when the schools strand was transferred to BBC Two, a version with the BBC2 double lined logo was used the 2 legend replacing the BBC1 legend. Following the switch to electronic, the BBC2 version was also recreated, however during the Falklands War
, a version with a hastilly added BBC Two ident was used, with the replaced caption being the orange logo on a black background box.
At around this time, special holding captions with the phrase 'Follows Shortly' were beginning to be used for junctions longer than the 90 seconds that the ident required. During a junction, the follows shortly caption would be shown over music before the screen faded into the ident.
. This gave BBC One the space to broadcast a daytime schedule although it was another three years until BBC1 launched a full daytime service. A special strand was set up on BBC Two: Daytime on 2 due to the fact that programmes were broadcast all day rather than just during the morning and the early afternoon as had been the case prior to autumn 1983. The lunchtime period was occupied by adult education programmes which had previously been broadcast on BBC2 on Mondays and Tuesdays. The adult education programmes were only broadcast during the autumn and winter terms so Pages from Ceefax and occasionally Open University
programmes was shown at lunchtimes during the summer term. A special version of the striped 2 ident was created, featuring an orange background instead of the usual black. Clocks were not used alongside the look but the 'Follows Shortly' captions were retained. For the first two years of Daytime on Two, special Ceefax pages were broadcast during the longer intervals. The pages featured schedules and information about Daytime on 2 output.
In March 1986, BBC Two rebranded to the white embossed TWO on a white background. From here on, no special ident was used to introduce Daytime on Two programmes, instead using the normal ident. All gaps between programmes, including the longer gaps which had been filled by the Daytime on 2 Ceefax Pages, were now filled using the newly designed 'Follows Shortly' captions over music, before cutting to the ident and announcement. A later addition was that of a 15 second countdown timer, displaying the seconds in a box, usually located in the top right corner of the screen. However there are examples of the location being changed depending on the programme caption that preceded the ident.
some programming, generally the secondary education programming, was transferred to the new overnight service, as more schools were showing recordings of the programmes rather than the programmes live and by 2010 even the primary schools programming had left the daytime schedules.
Since the launch of the CBBC Channel
, their remit has resulted in their need to show schools programming. They resulted in this by the Class TV strand, shown during schools hours for a few hours, usually repeats of previous programmes, rather than new programmes. In 2008, the CBBC remit was altered to remove the schools element from the channel.
Today, all schools programmes are shown overnight on the BBC Learning Zone.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in 1957, broadcasting a range of educational programmes for children aged 5–16. From launch until June 1983, programming was based on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
during the daytime, before programming was transferred to BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
freeing BBC One to develop its own daytime schedule. The strand remained on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
for many years after, later supplemented by the 'Class TV' strand on the CBBC Channel
CBBC Channel
CBBC is a BBC television channel aimed at 6 to 12 year olds. It complements the CBBC programming that continues to air on BBC One and BBC Two. Launched on 11 February 2002, it broadcasts from 7am to 7pm on Freeview, cable, IPTV and digital satellite, occupying the same bandwidth as, but a different...
.
Today, the division presents educational material through occasional television broadcasts as part of the BBC Learning Zone
BBC Learning Zone
The BBC Learning Zone is an educational strand run by the BBC as an overnight service on BBC Two. It shows programming aimed at students in Primary, Secondary and Higher Education and to adult learners...
overnight service., through the online service 'Broadband Class Clips' and through the BBC School Radio
BBC School Radio
BBC School Radio is the audio division of BBC Schools, the educational division of the BBC. It is aimed at primary schools.-History:BBC School Radio began on 4 April 1924 when the BBC was still the British Broadcasting Company . The first school broadcast was given by the composer Sir Walford...
programme.
Origins
The BBC began broadcasting schools programmes on BBC TelevisionBBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
in the Autumn of 1957 in the afternoons. Morning transmissions began on the 19th September 1960.
The Pie Chart
From September 1960 until September 1974, the presentation was a black and white card with a pie chart split into five segments with a BBC logo in the bottom right corner. The pie chart segments disappeared with the seconds and was operated via a mechanical model. They were introduced, from 1969, by a special version of the BBC One mirror globeNODD
Nodd may mean:* The Nodd, an American band* NODD, Nexus Orthicon Display Device...
, but without the 'Colour' legend, as schools programmes were still in black and white while the rest of BBC One's programmes were in colour.
The Diamond
In September 1974, the presentation was changed to a blue diamond on a black background with the BBC One legend. It was commissioned to mark the start of schools programmes in colour, and consisted of the three diamonds of increasing size inside one another, first forming out of the background before pulsating and splitting into smalled diamonds, before eventually decreasing altogether. The colour scheme was changed following the BBC One rebrand of image to orange on a navy blue background with, unusually, an orange legend. This was accompanied by an orange version of the BBC One Network clock. A still version of the diamond was occasionally used on the channel, with a double lined version of the BBC1 logo. This was accompanied by a similar version for BBC Two with double lined BBC2 logo, for occasions when schools programmes were transferred to that channel.The Dots
In September 1977, presentation was again changed to a countdown clock of disappearing dots around a spinning 'Schools and Colleges' legend. A white BBC1 legend was underneath, with the altered network clock discontinued. The spinning Schools and Colleges legend was in fact unintended and was a result of an issue with the mechanical model used. This was amended by the following summer. In autumn 1981, the new corporate double lined BBC1 logo was added to the model in replacement of the old one, however this amended model only lasted three months, as the whole mechanical model was replaced by a computer generated version. The primary difference was that the dots, instead of fading to the background colour of blue, they instead faded to black.Upon occasions when the schools strand was transferred to BBC Two, a version with the BBC2 double lined logo was used the 2 legend replacing the BBC1 legend. Following the switch to electronic, the BBC2 version was also recreated, however during the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
, a version with a hastilly added BBC Two ident was used, with the replaced caption being the orange logo on a black background box.
At around this time, special holding captions with the phrase 'Follows Shortly' were beginning to be used for junctions longer than the 90 seconds that the ident required. During a junction, the follows shortly caption would be shown over music before the screen faded into the ident.
Daytime on 2
In September 1983, Schools programmes were moved from BBC One to BBC TwoBBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
. This gave BBC One the space to broadcast a daytime schedule although it was another three years until BBC1 launched a full daytime service. A special strand was set up on BBC Two: Daytime on 2 due to the fact that programmes were broadcast all day rather than just during the morning and the early afternoon as had been the case prior to autumn 1983. The lunchtime period was occupied by adult education programmes which had previously been broadcast on BBC2 on Mondays and Tuesdays. The adult education programmes were only broadcast during the autumn and winter terms so Pages from Ceefax and occasionally Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
programmes was shown at lunchtimes during the summer term. A special version of the striped 2 ident was created, featuring an orange background instead of the usual black. Clocks were not used alongside the look but the 'Follows Shortly' captions were retained. For the first two years of Daytime on Two, special Ceefax pages were broadcast during the longer intervals. The pages featured schedules and information about Daytime on 2 output.
In March 1986, BBC Two rebranded to the white embossed TWO on a white background. From here on, no special ident was used to introduce Daytime on Two programmes, instead using the normal ident. All gaps between programmes, including the longer gaps which had been filled by the Daytime on 2 Ceefax Pages, were now filled using the newly designed 'Follows Shortly' captions over music, before cutting to the ident and announcement. A later addition was that of a 15 second countdown timer, displaying the seconds in a box, usually located in the top right corner of the screen. However there are examples of the location being changed depending on the programme caption that preceded the ident.
1991 Onwards
Following the rebrand of TWO to BBC2, including the introduction of the '2' idents, no special strand was set out to mark schools programmes. The 'Follows Shortly' captions were phased out in place of promotions of other appropriate programmes, through static programme captions. In 1995, following the launch of the BBC Learning ZoneBBC Learning Zone
The BBC Learning Zone is an educational strand run by the BBC as an overnight service on BBC Two. It shows programming aimed at students in Primary, Secondary and Higher Education and to adult learners...
some programming, generally the secondary education programming, was transferred to the new overnight service, as more schools were showing recordings of the programmes rather than the programmes live and by 2010 even the primary schools programming had left the daytime schedules.
Since the launch of the CBBC Channel
CBBC Channel
CBBC is a BBC television channel aimed at 6 to 12 year olds. It complements the CBBC programming that continues to air on BBC One and BBC Two. Launched on 11 February 2002, it broadcasts from 7am to 7pm on Freeview, cable, IPTV and digital satellite, occupying the same bandwidth as, but a different...
, their remit has resulted in their need to show schools programming. They resulted in this by the Class TV strand, shown during schools hours for a few hours, usually repeats of previous programmes, rather than new programmes. In 2008, the CBBC remit was altered to remove the schools element from the channel.
Today, all schools programmes are shown overnight on the BBC Learning Zone.
Flagship Educational Programmes
- Look and ReadLook and ReadLook and Read is a BBC television programme for primary schools, aimed at improving children's literacy skills. The programme presents fictional stories in a serial format, the first of which was broadcast in 1967 and the most recent in 2004, making it the longest running nationally broadcast...
, a programme teaching English through stories and word structure - SceneScene (UK TV series)Scene is a British television anthology drama series made by the BBC for teenagers. Featuring plays on topical issues, sometimes of a controversial nature, and by leading contemporary playwrights, programs were originally broadcast to a school audience as part of the BBC Schools strand. Dramas from...
, A programme for Teenagers, aimed at topical issues - Music Time, a primary look at music
- Zig Zag
- Science Topics
- Landmarks, a history programme
- Look, Look and Look Again, an arts programme
See also
- ITV SchoolsITV SchoolsITV Schools was the educational television service set up in 1957 by the Independent Broadcasting Authority, broadcasting learning programmes for children ages 5 to 18 across ITV-affiliated stations...
, the commercial counterpart to the BBC - BBC Learning ZoneBBC Learning ZoneThe BBC Learning Zone is an educational strand run by the BBC as an overnight service on BBC Two. It shows programming aimed at students in Primary, Secondary and Higher Education and to adult learners...
- The Open University
- BBC School RadioBBC School RadioBBC School Radio is the audio division of BBC Schools, the educational division of the BBC. It is aimed at primary schools.-History:BBC School Radio began on 4 April 1924 when the BBC was still the British Broadcasting Company . The first school broadcast was given by the composer Sir Walford...
External links
- TVARK section on BBC Education, including the BBC Learning ZoneBBC Learning ZoneThe BBC Learning Zone is an educational strand run by the BBC as an overnight service on BBC Two. It shows programming aimed at students in Primary, Secondary and Higher Education and to adult learners...
and The Open University. - sub-TV BBC Schools