ITV Schools [ Main | Programmes: 1 2 | Wallpapers ]

ITV Schools (1960s) A reconstruction by the Test Card Circle of the second interval caption/tuning signal shown between Schools programmes in the 1960s. The first looked rather like a test card. Until 1968, Rediffusion networked the service then ATV took over. The "SCHOOLS" was bolder on the genuine slide. Many thanks to the Test Card Circle for the footage.

ITV Schools (1960s) One minute before the start of each programme, this countdown clock appeared. Sadly no VT exists of the genuine article so this is a Flash reconstruction; the music is "Paysage Ecossais" by the Paul Bonneau Orchestra. Many thanks to Rory Clark for "filmising" and transfer to VT!

ITV Schools (1973?) The first of ITV's colour countdown clocks; the seconds cut out rather than wiped from right to left. This version was still used for regional opt-outs after it was discontinued nationally.

ITV Schools (1974) Until 1974 there was just one caption used during the intervals, known as "the lightspots". The accompanying music is called, appropriately, "Time To Spare" - presented here in full.

ITV Schools (1974) ITV's second clock had two circles around the edge and the seconds wiped out. Note the change in ident to "ITV Programmes for Schools And Colleges".

ITV Schools (1975) The lightspots approx. one year later. Spot the difference - the "FOR" is the same size as the "SCHOOLS & COLLEGES". Large file; contains another music track in its entirety.

ITV Schools HTV Wales Opt-Out (1977) Until 1982, Welsh language schools shows were transmitted on ITV. The clock was burnt-on to the programmes, as the VT clock shows. But surprisingly, there was no Welsh version of the countdown.

Picture Roll (YTV only) (1978) During some intervals Yorkshire opted out of the network slide and instead showed "Picture Roll" - a scrolling sequence of children's paintings under a theme (in this case Racing Cars).

Picture Roll (1978) This time it's not Racing cars but a tribute to The Muppet Show, a hugely popular programme of the day. Not in full.

ITV Schools (1978) In the late 70s the "lightspots" caption was ditched in favour of picture captions which changed weekly. The service was rebranded "Independent Television For Schools And Colleges" and the clock was modified accordingly.

ITV Schools Westward Opt-Out (1978) Until 1983 the English regions opted out during some intervals. Here's a fantastic example from Westward Television, using a yellow telecine version of the 1969 clock. Although by now we were well into the slides era.

ITV Schools (1979) The best-known Schools clock appeared during Spring Term 1979. This clock would last until 1987 and this recording dates from 1985. The fonts used suggest the clock was part of a wider ATV presentation revamp.

ITV Schools ATV Closing Announcement (1980) Peter Davis - ATV announcer and the original voice of Sky One - closes today's Schools programmes. At this point most regions showed the interval slide, but Westward and TSW had their own branded captions.

Picture Roll Save and Recycle (1980) YTV were still showing picture rolls during Summer Term 1980. This example is ahead of its time, encouraging viewers to "Save and Recycle" some eight years before most of us had heard of global warming.

ITV Schools Telecine Clock (Reconstruction) (1981) A common sight until 1983 was the telecine version of the clock, used mostly for regional opt-outs. Note the differences; Futura lettering for the ident, and seconds which cut out. As yet no footage of the real thing so this is a Flash reconstruction. Thanks to Rory Clark for "filmising" and transfer to VT.

ITV Schools (1981) A classic standby interval from Autumn Term 1981, featuring artwork from David Weston's "History of the British Steam Locomotive" series. The music is "Lavender 1" by Martin Kershaw.

ITV Schools Clock rewinds (1982) Once all the seconds on the clock had disappeared, it would "rewind" after about five seconds, in real time. When things went wrong viewers saw this phenomenon. This clip is from Summer 1982 - it happened at least twice that term.

ITV Schools (1983) Enjoy here a classic junction from Spring Term 1983, accompanied by Andrew Jackman's composition "Frivolity". The painting is by Burne-Jones, though we don't know the title.

ITV Schools (1985) The artwork from Spring Term 1985 featured stained and painted glass windows. In this example we even see the artist at work! Musical accompaniment is "Teatime" by Johnny Patrick - aka Porky the piano player from "Tiswas".

ITV Schools (1986) An oddity here from Autumn Term 1986. All interval slides that term came from the Cadbury's National Exhibition of Children's Art, and on Mondays and Fridays the announcer gave the artwork a credit.

ITV Schools Thames Closing Announcement (1987) Peter Marshall signs off programmes for London viewers. It was not uncommon for Thames announcers to do this in vision, but today we're lucky!

ITV Schools HTV Wales Opt-Out (1987) The major regions continued to have their own Schools programmes; Wales was no exception. The clock was the same as the national one, but HTV often played music from previous terms (as they did here).

ITV Schools Special Announcement (1987) Hilary Holden warns the following programme might upset small children. The text was three strips of card placed on a blue background You can see the joins if you have a video copy!

ITV SCHOOLS GETS READY TO MOVE In 1987 major changes were afoot. The IBA finally agreed to allow ITV Schools to move to Channel 4, as most people could now receive the channel and would therefore not be disadvantaged. As Summer Term 1987 drew to a close, these promos appeared between programmes and sometimes during regular transmissions, depending on where you lived.

Promo A Promo B Promo C

ITV Schools Last Day (1987) The end of an era - Monday 29 June was the final morning of schools programmes on ITV. This interval is not THE last one but comes from that day nonetheless. Get those hankies out!

ITV Schools (1987) Ratings-obsessed ITV chiefs were running scared of BBC1's daytime schedule in 1987, and Schools programmes were moved to Channel 4 from 14 September. Gone was the mechanical clock and in its place this new hi-tech symbol and countdown. Two new pieces of music accompanied this spectacular sequence - "The Journey" and "Just A Minute", composed by James Aldenham (Brian Bennett).

ITV Schools Clean Roto (1988) If time allowed at the end of schools programmes, the roto was shown until handback to Channel 4 at noon. The sequence would play from the start rather than backtiming, allowing fans to savour the first half of "The Journey".

ITV Schools (1992) When Channel 4 introduced breakfast television in 1989, it was necessary to extend the first interval to five minutes at 9:25am. For the first three minutes, Channel 4 would play one of their own interval tracks over the roto, then the usual 2-minute sequence would follow.

ITV Schools (1993) Channel 4 became self-funding in 1993, and instead of a long interval before Schools programmes we got adverts. The clock spun in as usual but counted down from 40 seconds.

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