Back In Time For School - 1980s

Margaret Thatcher is elected as Britain’s first female Prime Minister, and with this comes a return to traditional values and a move against the 'free school' ethos of the 1970s.

The economy is in a state of decline and unemployment is soaring. It’s time for a technological revolution in Britain, and school is all about technology, competition and entrepreneurialism.

First off, the pupils have a CDT (Craft, Design and Technology) lesson, with a new educational robot, 2XL.  And as technology moves on outside the school gates, these changes are reflected within the classroom walls. The pupils have a double Maths lesson and they’re lucky enough, in 1982, to be using the first BBC Micro Computers... although the technology-addicted 21st century kids don’t know how to work them.

With the arrival of an affordable synthesiser and the success of British synthpop, the class test their skills by trying to play Depeche Mode - with a little help from '80s pop star Nik Kershaw.

And in 1988 the pupils embrace their inner entrepreneur: in their brand new Business Studies class they come up with ideas for classic innovations such as the Motorola Dynatec, the Kodak Fling and, of course, the Sony Discman.

This is also the decade when the National Curriculum is introduced, creating a uniformity of subjects and exams across the country.

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