Best Days? Panorama, 21st March 1977

By Chris Jeppesen

Since writing this post, Chris has also participated in an episode of ‘Archive on 4’ on BBC Radio 4, discussing the 1977 documentary and its fallout. You can listen here: ‘Panorama Broke My School’, September 2019.

Broadcast at primetime on BBC1 and introduced by a youthful David Dimbleby, this special edition of the BBC’s current affairs programme, Panorama, promised a unique insight into the comprehensive education system through a fly-on-the-wall look into one West London school. Unlike Panorama’s normal format, in which a narrator guided viewers through a series of set-piece interviews and expert analysis, the programme’s director, Angela Pope, aimed to give viewers a sense of an average day in a London comprehensive. We have found the programme especially interesting, not only for its depiction of school life but also because of the outcry it sparked in the media over the state of education in 1970s Britain.

Best Days? was framed as a contribution to the ‘rumbling argument’ initiated by James Callaghan, then Labour prime minister, during a speech given six months earlier in which he called for a ‘new Great Debate’ on education. In response to rising criticism of the damaging effects of comprehensivization and progressive teaching methods on standards in schools, Callaghan asked all sections of society – teachers, parents, commentators, and employers alike – to come together to discuss how to improve secondary education in Britain. Rather than focussing on the ‘arguments or the experts’, Best Days? instead aimed to show what school could be like for millions of children and their teachers, asking ‘are these really the best days of our children’s lives?’

Pope selected for her case study Faraday School in East Acton, a comprehensive school of around 1,100 pupils, which had been formed in 1966 through the merger of two local secondary modern schools. By the mid-1970s, the school was receiving extra funding from the Local Education Authority as an institution of ‘Educational Priority’ but had also won praise for its pastoral care structures and success in integrating a diverse mix of pupils from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, with around 40% being pupils of colour. It drew predominantly from the area’s most disadvantaged communities and most left the school at the earliest opportunity to enter low paid, low skilled jobs. Only six from the 170-strong 6th form proceeded to university in 1976 (a figure broadly representative of most schools of this type at this time). [1]

Even after the darkness of the Panorama studio, the opening shot of Faraday School conjures a bleak prospect: grey skies frame the grey concrete playground and stained pre-fab buildings as pupils, huddling under umbrellas, file through the rain to the doleful tones of John Lennon’s Imagine. Once inside the school, we follow the pupils through the school day, most of which seemed to be spent in anarchic chaos with unruly students haranguing ineffective teachers.

Unsurprisingly, its broadcast triggered heated debate. Over the following weeks, both defenders and detractors of the comprehensive system took up their pens, filling newspaper editorial columns and letter pages with angry responses that began with the programme but invariably moved on to address wider concerns about the state of secondary education. While Pope declared her ‘confirmed belief’ in comprehensive education and core aim only ‘to show how ordinary children are educated’, others took her programme to be an indictment of the entire system. Writing as The Observer’s TV-critic, Clive James went so far as to accuse her of wilfully misrepresenting her footage, a claim which led to him being successfully sued for damages. [2]

The teaching profession appeared particularly incensed. The National Union of Teachers called for a formal inquiry into the programme’s faults, while former and current teachers scolded the BBC for giving a partial and misleading picture drawn from a school that was unrepresentative of the sector more broadly. Where was the footage of the sixth form or more academic classes, they asked, and what did this absence expose about Angela Pope’s hidden agenda to attack comprehensive education? In stark contrast, for those who had long prophesised a crisis in education the Panorama footage seemed to provide decisive proof. These responses were sharpened by the BBC’s decision to wait until the same week as the publication of the latest instalment of the Black Papers, which once gain condemned comprehensive schools for low academic standards, poor discipline, and ineffective teaching methods. The Sun reported that one Tory Councillor had written to the Secretary of State for Education demanding ex-police and servicemen be placed in classrooms to impose much needed discipline, exclaiming: ‘the three-Rs no longer mean reading, writing and ‘rithmetic – but riot, revolt and ‘reck’. In similarly reactionary tones, Christopher Booker used his column in The Daily Telegraph to rehearse Plato’s description of the collapse democracy into tyranny and mob rule. [3]

The ways in which school life, wider debates around education, and popular entertainment come together is of central interest to the project. In spite of its limitations in terms of representativeness, Panorama’s footage remains revealing as to the ways in which comprehensive schooling was being shaped in the public imagination during the mid-1970s. Fly-on-the-wall documentaries, now such a television staple, were a relatively new form at this time, and while school had long been a popular setting in films and television dramas (see our blog post on To Sir With Love), there had been few such gritty depictions of ‘real life conditions’. The footage fed negative stereotypes that had dogged comprehensives since the late 1960s and fuelled a sense of moral panic about Britain’s youth. Callaghan’s speech and the outcry that greeted Best Days? signalled how overlapping debates about British economic and moral decline, the failure to realise the promises of post-war meritocracy, and rising youth unemployment had all fixated-on schools as the means to diagnose the state of the nation in the mid-1970s.

There seems little doubt that many viewers’ answer to the question posed in the programme’s title would have been a resounding no. Yet, beyond the polemic, it still offers an important insight into school life in 1977, allowing us, for instance, to see the clothes pupils wore and the ways in which they adapted their uniforms, to chart the school’s layout, and to hear the highly gendered careers advice being given to female students. Collectively the scenes give us a personal view of how young people in 1970s Britain experienced a comprehensive school and understood the world around them as they prepared for uncertain futures.

Please have a watch of this video, we would love to hear your thoughts on it and whether it sparks any memories of your own schooldays. Did this really represent the experience of millions of school children in the 1970s, as Panorama claimed, or was it little more than a sensationalized portrait of an atypical school burdened with impossible expectations?

References

[1]        ‘BBC film “contrived” say Faraday staff’, Virginia Makins, Times Educational Supplement, 25 March 1977, p. 3.

[2]        ‘The Panorama school’, Angela Pope, Times, 28 March 1977, p. 13; ‘The fallible Pope’, Clive James, Observer, 27 March 1977, p. 31.

[3]        ‘Letters to the editor: The one-sided comprehensive view’, Guardian, 24 March 1977; Letters to editor’, Times Educational Supplement, 1 April 1977, p. 68; ‘Get fell in you in ‘orrible pupils’, Sun, 25 March 1977, p. 6; ‘The god in the goggle-box’, Christopher Booker, Daily Telegraph, 26 March 1977, p. 10.

This Post Has 20 Comments

  1. Neil Pomroy

    I attended Reynolds High School, Acton during this period (Faraday ultimately merged with Reynolds to form Acton High School).
    I seem to remember being told the BBC had approached a number of schools in the area. Certainly in the case of Reynolds the newly appointed Headmaster had declined the offer for fear of the potential bad publicity.
    I can imagine a similar documentary could have been made at a number of schools in the area.

  2. Michael lewis

    I was a disruptive,lazy pupil at holland park. I had spent six years previousley at Latymer lower school in hammersmith. It was a good school and many pupils went on to successful careers. I had many jobs ,merchant navy, airforce, etc, but I had a flawed character, inmature, lack of discipline,and poor levels of concentration. If I had understood the importance of a good education, I would have had more success in life. There were so many things more I wanted to do. I read about brunel, Bazzelgette, Thomas Telford and so many other great people. I kept telling myself I had time to change, but at the age of 70 its too late. Life goes slowly when your young, but you should always work hard to achieve what you want. There are many things you can do if you are really determined. I started many things but there was always something more interesting to look at. You end up knowing a bit about many things,but not enough to make a successful career !

    1. Laura Carter

      Thank you so much for sharing your memories and personal reflections Michael. In our research we are finding how people’s views of education look different, depending on the stage of life they are at, just as you describe.

  3. Ian Bartlett.

    Faraday was a great school I have nothing but fond memories from those days. I went on to train as a PE teacher in 1976 and remembered being shown this documentary in one of our education lectures, yes there were some issues at the school as there were in many others but this was not a true indication of every day life at the school.

  4. Gwyn

    At the time this program was first shown, I was in the the 6th form at Faraday High. I watched it with my parents and I didn’t recognise it as the school I went to, at the time I did not know about fake news but the story behind this programme is a lot more sinister and politically motivated than it pretended to be.
    Girls filmed smoking were given by cigarettes by the film crew and filmed in near by flats. Teachers were given provocative prompt notes intended to wind up children.
    The kid in needle work class who was singled out, then shown missing out on a basket ball class, was playing rugby with me that afternoon. Faraday was a big school, and had 12 classes in my year, which covered a wide range of social backgrounds, this programme did film in any class I was in and I did not recognise most of the pupils or many of the teachers.
    A real education in media bias!

    1. Michael Coker

      Are you Gwyn Williams who I used to play rugby with? Anyway, I thought the kid who got singled out in needlework was in the 3rd form when you wee in the form but you say he was playing rugby with you? It’s a long time ago and maybe we had mixed ages in those days. I used to play rugby in Mr Davis’ class. There was Davis, Skelton and Shultz who took PE and Games. I think Mr Shultz went on to marry Linda Ray from my class. I think they’ve been happily married ever since as I see Linda Shultz (nee Ray) appearing on Facebook.

  5. Alan

    I was in the upper 6th at Faraday when this program was made. I am now in my 60’s still in contact with friends made during that time and with many good memories. Sure there were difficulties, the school had a broad mix of pupils: abilities, ethnic backgrounds; cultural backgrounds. But it was better than presented in this program. Many left and developed great careers, lives , futures…….it taught many of us a lot.

    1. Laura Carter

      Dear Alan

      Thank you for sharing your perspective on this – it chimes with what many former pupils have told us about Faraday, and it’s very important that it’s recorded!

      Laura

  6. Ella Jones

    Hi, I found this page after learning the other day that my grandad Edward Jones (now 96!) was headteacher of Faraday School when this documentary was made. Apparently his face was plastered over the newspapers with calls for his resignation after it was broadcast! He was fascinated to be shown the above account and delighted to hear comments from former students detailing their experiences – all of which chimed with his memories of the school and his frustration at the time about the inaccuracies of the documentary. (I know he’d absolutely love to hear anymore memories of former pupils’ time there!)

    My aunt was also a pupil at the school at the time and remembered the incident of the girl (her friend) being given a cigarette by the film crew, which in turn led to the girl receiving a very hard time from her strict family.

    Thank you for all the brilliant research you’re doing (also particularly interesting to me not just due to the personal connection but also as a former student of a large and undervalued London comprehensive myself who then went on to study modern history at Cambridge!).

    1. shabnam grewal

      Hi Ella
      I hope you are well. I made a Radio 4 Documentary about the school and the panorama programme. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008pfw and interviewed a few pupils and also a teacher. I was also a student there at the time and remember him. If you get in touch I’d be happy to pass them on.
      all the best
      shabnam
      shabnam.grewal@bbc.co.uk

  7. Dominic Hayes

    I survived Faraday, ’78-’84. Heard the rumours and was extremely apprehensive in those first few months after being ‘dumped’ there. I soon found both my place and that the teachers were dedicated and consciencous. In hindsight I feel privileged to have attended Faraday; it gave me the tools I needed to get where I am today, and lifelong friends from all backgrounds.

  8. DAVID LAWES

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/WORST-DAYS-DOCUMENTARY-CENTURY-EDUCATION-ebook/dp/B08VGKDK77/ref=sr_1_5?fbclid=IwAR2IMbT6naPFU8I41NJxJVWiB11v0C2g2NxG4WkvuMfvNaviVXLIHKeQS3o&qid=1636800358&qsid=258-0099753-4427031&refinements=p_27%3ADAVID+LAWES&s=digital-text&sr=1-5&sres=B09GG9P8QR%2CB004N62QEU%2CB08VGM36L4%2CB08VGLHJ71%2CB08VGKDK77&text=DAVID+LAWES

    I wrote the above book on this documentary, it’s available to download as an e-book. Without doubt the 1970s was the worst decade in history in which to be educated. I was at a grammar school in Bucks at the time and trust me, it was worse than this. Things are much much better now thanks to rigorous scrutiny and teacher accountability. I watched this documentary in March 1977 with my parents and they tried to persuade me that I was insulated from this by being at a grammar school. If only! My book was well received and I am friends with one or two old Faradayans as a result of publishing it

  9. Gavin Robinson

    My sister was at Faraday when this film was made. I had left after A levels two years before.

    I experienced a lot of situations where the teachers could not control their classes. The biggest factor in my mind was the lack of support given to inexperienced teachers.

    This was a big school, with a highly diverse range of pupils. Teaching was pretty challenging.

    Of course the programme makers ignored the best classes and focussed in on the kids who would act up to the camera.

    So I have mixed feelings. I don’t think this programme shows a failing system, it shows teachers struggling to cope with a situation that they have not been trained to deal with.

  10. Michael C

    I was there from 1971 to 1976, I left in the summer of 1976 just before this film was made. It all looks spot on to me. I was in the top form all the way through school and it was no different to what’s in this film. I couldn’t wait to leave. Most of my friends in my class stayed on. I think they enjoyed school more than me but I don’t think it made a significant difference to their prospects. The best things for me were the games “lessons”, playing rugby, football, gymnastics, basketball and swimming at Acton baths. I also enjoyed Economics with Ian Williamson but the quality of teaching wasn;t great as the classes were just so disrputive. I was probably one of the disrupters, more of a class comedian and cheeky than rude and aggressive like some.
    I remember some of the teachers in the film like Mr Jeffries (I think he taught French) and Mr Humphreys (woodwork and metalwork). Some kept better control of classes but many were just like in the film and it was nigh-on impossible to learn much. Mr Grant was my maths teacher. We had a love/hate relationship. It was my favourite subject and the one I did best in. As Alan says above, many of us went on to develop great careers and lives, for me that was despite the poor schooling we had rather than because it was good.

  11. Kevan Hill

    Faraday was a neighbouring secondary school to the school I attended for a year (1975 -76) I then moved to Sussex. Yes, Faraday had its challenges, the 1970’s were a highly transitional decade. The final consolidation of the comprehensive school system, which began in the 1960’s, had an enormous impact on the education system, school communities were faced with the demand to redefine their entire identity. All this in tandem with the concurrent societal and cultural changes of the era. I was a working class kid myself, so I can identify with the students shown on this documentary.
    As a former secondary school teacher of some 19 years, in a wide range of school environments, I would say that the teachers at Faraday School featured in this hit – piece documentary, coped admirably within the conditions of their contemporary context.

  12. shabnam grewal

    Hi Ella
    I hope you are well. I made a Radio 4 Documentary about the school and the panorama programme. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008pfw and interviewed a few pupils and also a teacher. I was also a student there at the time and remember him. If you get in touch I’d be happy to pass them on.
    all the best
    shabnam
    shabnam.grewal@bbc.co.uk

  13. Steve

    Not much to add to Michael C’s comments really. 71 to 77 for me, it was being filmed when I left halfway through the lower sixth. I was an awful disruptive student and probably got what I deserved if I’m honest, although I think as a result of the rationing of secondary education between those who went to grammar school and those who didn’t, we were literally thrown to the wolves.
    I’ve watched the documentary a couple of times and can’t really picture myself there, maybe I’ve shut the whole sorry episode out? I always describe what I’ve achieved in life as being ‘despite’ a formal education.

  14. Susan Vale

    I was at Faraday from 1974 to 1978, and I agree that we were not pushed to succeed as much as we could have been, some teachers were great and some weren’t but that’s life… But I also do agree that the documentary was a complete stitch-up. Good, quiet classes were ignored or not shown – Angela Pope had her own agenda and made a programme that reflected that. As Ella Jones said, many of the scenes were set up, and we knew that – only no one asked the pupils at the time… One of my jobs after leaving Faraday was as the Bursar’s Secretary at one of the University of Cambridge colleges, so my comprehensive school education can’t have been that bad!

  15. Colin K

    I was in Farady when this was made, I left at 16 in 77. There were some teachers who commanded respect – Mr Jamieson, Mr Bell, Mr Peterson, Mr Edwards to name few but a handful just had no clue – I particularly remember Mr Barnes and a teacher nicknamed Pixie – on occasions there had literally been chairs flying around the room. I experienced some pretty shocking violence and bullying. Couldn’t wait to leave and dreaded every minute of going to school I’m afraid. This left its mark on me throughout my later life and it’s only as I enter my sixties that I seem to be coming to terms with it all. Maybe that’s more about me than the school though – who knows? Ella – Mr Jones Son was at the school – Conrad – it that your dad?

  16. Sadie R.

    Hi,
    I attended Faraday during that time (1974-1979) and clearly remember the Panorama drama.

    I remember thinking to myself that I had hardly seen the camera crew anywhere in the classes we were in, or around campus, yet they were “there”…somewhere.

    When the program aired on TV I was excited to see my school on TV “depicting the average day in a secondary high school”. Yet what I saw was nothing I had been prepared for.

    I remember thinking, “Where is that? That’s not my campus.” The shock and horror of seeing the lies was unbelievable. This was reckless assault-journalism to take down a school for nefarious reasons.

    At the time this sort of journalistic terrorism was not an everyday thing and it was hard for people to believe that such a level of irresponsibility could be exercised by the media.

    Everything that was conveyed about my school was a lie for the MOST part. I hardly saw the film crew in any regular class or even on campus. We had excellent teachers, excellent deputy headmaster and head master.

    I’m proud to have attended Faraday. I was there till 6th form and then emigrated to the US with my family where I’ve lived since. I went on to college and university and got my BS degree with honors.

    I worked in the medical field as a respiratory therapist for nearly 30 years. I obtained several US patents on medical devices. And, I’m a prolific artist thanks to the encouragement I got from Ms. Cooper’s art class. I owe a lot to my foundational education I received at Faraday and the fantastic staff. I still know and remember my chemistry from Mr Mckay’s class to this day. I also excelled in Calculus in college thanks to Mr. Peterson who laid the foundations of math and made it so fun and easy!

    It’s a complete lie that only a handful of students went on to university. Most of my friends went on to college!

    I’m so glad that this debacle is being exposed and an opportunity is being provided to clear the air and let the real story be told. Too bad it’s taken 46 years to voice our side of this story.

    I’ve always looked up to my grandpa and he routinely said, “Don’t always believe what you read or see on TV. It’s mostly theater.”

    SHAME on you BBC and all the staff involved.

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