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Collection

The Old School Yard

Children – unsung stars of so many Mitchell & Kenyon films – take the spotlight.

The more-or-less formal school parades (plus the odd sports day) collected here present a more regimented Edwardian childhood than the one which so often bursts into M&K's other films. The films capture a transitional moment in British education, with classroom provision extended in 1902's Education Act. 

With a variety of educational models on display - local authority and church-run (Anglican or Catholic) - some schools are more formal or relaxed than others. As we watch them parade, it’s hard not to be reminded that much of this new generation, so full of life and hope, was destined for the trenches of World War I.

17 videos in this collection

Dumfries schoolchildren take their turn in the spotlight.

Loreburn School, Dumfries (c.1901)

  • Dumfries
  • 1901
A small battalion of Yorkshire schoolchildren lines up for a playground photograph.

York Road Board School, Leeds (1901)

  • Leeds
  • 1901
The proud winners of a Blackburn school football match pose for posterity.

Football Match Between St Stephen's Football Club and Moss Street School (1904)

  • Blackburn
  • 1904
Jubilant schoolchildren spill out of a Catholic primary school in Edwardian Preston.

Schoolchildren at St. Ignatius School, Preston (1904)

  • Blackburn
  • 1904
Deprived Edwardian kids of Burnley enjoy some midsummer fun in the park.

Treat to 5000 Poor Burnley Children (1905)

  • Burnley
  • 1905
Lancashire children perform physical education exercises in (almost) perfect unison.

Audley Range School, Blackburn (c.1905)

  • Blackburn
  • 1905
Edwardian primary schoolchildren are marshalled along the streets of Blackburn in strict formation.

Children at St Barnabas School, Blackburn (1905)

  • Blackburn
  • 1905
Barrels of laughs and sackfuls of fun at a school sports event in Edwardian West Yorkshire.

Day School Sports at Park Avenue in Bradford (1902)

  • Bradford
  • 1902
Scottish primary schoolchildren parade for the camera in well-regimented groups.

Schoolchildren at Dalbeattie Public School (c.1901)

  • Dalbeattie
  • 1901
Edwardian boys and girls leave school, shuffled along by their earnest teachers.

Children Leaving Tyldesley Catholic School, Lodge Road (1901)

  • Tyldesley
  • 1901
Waves of children fill the frame in an Edwardian school parade.

Procession of Children at Tyldesley Church School (1901)

  • Tyldesley
  • 1901
A continuous stream of children dash joyously past the camera in the Scottish town of Annan.

Public School in Annan (c.1901)

  • Annan
  • 1901
A lively group of Scottish primary-school children plays up for the camera.

Scholars Leaving St Andrew's Roman Catholic School, Dumfries (c.1901)

  • Dumfries
  • 1901
Can you identify this street corner, or perhaps a young face in the parade?

Parade of Schoolchildren (c.1902)

  • 1903
Female graduates and gents sporting spectacular Edwardian whiskers take part in Birmingham's first Degree Day ceremony.

Birmingham University Procession on Degree Day (1901)

  • Birmingham
  • 1901
The Coronation of Edward VII is celebrated by thousands of Coventry Sunday school children.

March Past of 20,000 Coventry Children (1902)

  • Coventry
  • 1902
Thousands march up Old Elvet in Durham to mark the Coronation of Edward VII.

Hollow Drift Children's Procession, Durham (1902)

  • Old Elvet, Durham
  • 1902