ITV Schools - the smaller and regional producers

[Arran]

ITV Schools was dominated by programmes from Thames and ATV / Central with Granada and Yorkshire coming in at third and fourth place respectively. Grampian was always associated with sex education, as a result of its programme Living and Growing, although they produced several other programmes

STV, Ulster, and HTV produced ITV Schools programmes that were broadcast in their native countries although some were networked.

What about the other ITV companies? Here is what they produced:

Anglia

Never produced any programmes specifically for schools. Only repeats of programmes for home viewing in the ITV Schools timeslot.

Survival. Science – nature. KS3, KS4. 1976 to 1984.

A selection of 71 episodes from the Anglia Television wildlife documentary Survival were repeated as part of ITV Schools only in the Anglia region, and in the Anglia and Central regions during 1982 and 1983.

The Lost Centuries. History. KS3, KS4. 1977.

Originally broadcast for home viewing in the Anglia region in October and November 1975.

Animals in Action. Science – nature. KS2, KS3. 1985 to 1993.

Originally broadcast as a weekday afternoon children’s programme from September 1980 to July 1983, including on Watch It! and Children’s ITV. Repeated as part of ITV schools from April to June 1985, and Channel 4 Schools from 1990 to 1993.


Tyne Tees

Voilà! Languages – French. KS2. 1966.

Broadcast in the Tyne Tees, Anglia, and Grampian regions.

Money Matters. Citizenship. KS2. 1967 to 1968.

Cornerstones. Religious Education – morals. KS3. 1973 to 1976.

Broadcast in the Tyne Tees and Yorkshire regions.

Have a Heart. Religious Education. 1974 to 1977.


Westward

Optics. Science – physics. KS4. 1969.

The Privileged? Citizenship. KS4, KS5. 1969.

Women Alone. Citizenship. KS4, KS5. 1977.

Weatherwise. Geography – weather. KS4, KS5. 1979.

All four programmes may have only been broadcast in the Westward region.


Channel

En Français. Languages – French. KS2, KS3, KS4. 1972 to 1979.

Produced between 1972 and 1975. Most likely in black and white because Channel Television only started broadcasting in colour in July 1976. Does not appear to have been networked but may have been broadcast in the Republic of Ireland during the 1970s.


Southern

Country Visit. Geography – environment. KS2. 1971 to 1975.

Despite their strong commitment to producing children's programmes, they only produced one solitary programme for ITV Schools. It was broadcast only in the Southern region despite it having more potential for children who resided in larger urban areas in other ITV regions.


TSW

An Canker-Seth. Languages – Cornish. 1986.

Originally broadcast for home viewing in the TSW region from June to July 1984. Repeated as an ITV Schools programme only in the TSW region in 1986.

Border

Never produced a single ITV Schools programme.

TVS

For some unknown reason this prominent producer of children's programmes, that started out strongly committed to factual programmes, never produced a single ITV Schools programme. I wonder if any schools ever showed Art Attack or How 2?

LWT

Only broadcast at weekends, so it never had the opportunity to produce ITV Schools programmes. It also did not produce any Channel 4 Schools programmes.

TV-AM

Only broadcast in the early morning, so it never had the opportunity to produce ITV Schools programmes. It also did not produce any Channel 4 Schools programmes.

[George 1978]

ITN didn't make any schools programmes either. The closest that LWT did anything relevant to schools and education were the sitcoms Please Sir! and Mind Your Language, as well as a fly-on-the-wall school series called School Days from the late 1990s.

As I said in the other thread, Survival and Animals in Action had an educational slant which fitted into the schools TV premise quite a bit. Grampian was good at making educational programmes for adult audiences, and so I suppose the children's side of things were not far off. As well as Living and Growing (repeats and previews used to be seen in post-News at Ten schedules in various regions, usually on Monday nights), they also did Gather Round (religion for Primary Schools - I believe that Christopher Lillicrap - far from his native Plymouth home in Grampian-land was the male presenter). And also Mathman (the theme tune was heard on the radio in a laundry scene in an early Prisoner: Cell Block H episode). Funnily enough, the late 1970s Living and Growing theme was also used as incidental music in PCBH as well.

[Richard1978]

ITN didn't make any schools programmes either. The closest that LWT did anything relevant to schools and education were the sitcoms Please Sir! and Mind Your Language, as well as a fly-on-the-wall school series called School Days from the late 1990s.

As I said in the other thread, Survival and Animals in Action had an educational slant which fitted into the schools TV premise quite a bit. Grampian was good at making educational programmes for adult audiences, and so I suppose the children's side of things were not far off. As well as Living and Growing (repeats and previews used to be seen in post-News at Ten schedules in various regions, usually on Monday nights), they also did Gather Round (religion for Primary Schools - I believe that Christopher Lillicrap - far from his native Plymouth home in Grampian-land was the male presenter). And also Mathman (the theme tune was heard on the radio in a laundry scene in an early Prisoner: Cell Block H episode). Funnily enough, the late 1970s Living and Growing theme was also used as incidental music in PCBH as well.

Did LWT make any educational programming for adults? At one time this was common to be shown on weekend mornings to fill the schedules as it didn't count as entertainment when broadcasting hours were limited.