BBC Radio 7, 27 March 2011
King Street Junior was a comedy series broadcast on Radio 4 from March
1985 to November 1998. Written by Jim Eldridge, himself a teacher, it followed the lives of a group of teachers and students
in a multiracial working-class area.
In this episode "Pressures," from the third series (1988), at least two topics that
dominated the educational agenda at that time came under the microscope. The first was the National Curriculum, introduced
by the Conservative government of the time, which aimed to standardize education, as well as introduce a series of tests for
students at different age-levels. Geoff Long (Paul Copley) vigorously opposed it, on the grounds that the students
would be forced to learn great slabs of Tennyson with little idea of why they were doing so. However his was a lone voice: although
his colleagues tacitly agreed with him, they understood that no amount of protest would change the government's
mind. The head teacher Harry Beeston (James Grout) offered sympathy for Long's view but little else.
The second issue arose from the sports teacher Philip Sims' (Karl Howman's) decision
to include a girl in the school cricket team. Although the girl concerned (Victoria Keedy) was the best player in the
side, helping King Stree Junior to win its first match of the season, practically everyone (including Sims' colleagues)
was appalled by the decision. The head teacher of St. Joseph's, a rival school (Joe Dunlop) threatened to complain to County
Hall, while Miss Rudd (Vivienne Martin), the music teacher at King Street, protested that such things were "just not
done." Sims adopted a pragmatic view of the situation; it did not matter whether boys or girls played together, so long as
the team actually won. However his optimism proved misplaced: a directive came down from County Hall in London, banning
mixed participation in team games such as cricket, soccer or rugby.
John Fawcett-Wilson's production of King Street Junior was a true
period-piece: County Hall no longer holds educational sway over local authorities, while the National Curriculum has been
part of the school fabric for over two decades now. Most cricket clubs hold regular training sessions
for boys and girls, and there are several mixed Kwik Cricket Leagues running up and down the country. The English Cricket
Board encourages mixed participation - so long as appropriate changing facilities are available for girls as well as boys
- but disapproves of boys playing in girls' leagues, unless explicit provision has been granted in the rules of those
leagues.
