Audley Range School, Blackburn (c.1905)

Blackburn
1905
Silent
1m

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

These straight-faced boys and girls are doing something akin to calisthenics, an exercise regime favoured by the armed forces to promote discipline and cohesion as much as physical strength. More than similar examples in the Mitchell and Kenyon collection, this film demonstrates how Edwardian schooling was adopting some militaristic elements in the wake of the Boer War and the 1902 Education Act.

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.