Coventry school takes centre stage in new BBC series

Coventry takes a leading role in a new BBC series which shows children what it was like to go to school in the past.

The series, Back In Time For School, aired its first episode on BBC 2 on Thursday night (January 3) when fifteen pupils began their journey through time at a familiar location.

The students, along with their teachers, lined up outside Bablake School in Radford ready for a Victorian school experience.

The school was almost unrecognisable in places having undergone a historic transformation for the series, which was filmed during the summer holidays last year.

The teachers had to leave their high tech teaching methods behind and get to work in a Victorian classroom, kitted out with a large blackboard, old books, inkwells and even a cane.

Watch: The girls get a Jiu Jistu lesson from a Suffragette

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At one point, the students got a taste of Victorian schooldays quite literally when they were fed a teaspoon of brimstone and treacle - a health boosting concoction which the children struggled to swallow.

Some of the boys were put through their paces as they took on an afternoon of hard labour while the girls were given lessons in sewing and Jiu Jitsu.

Twitter reacts

The show got a lot of reaction from fans on social media, with many sharing their own memories of their time at school.

Bablake is giving a good impression for Coventry. #BackInTimeForSchool #ItsNotThatNiceEven10YardsAway
— Mary Peterson (@dinky1201) January 3, 2019

Nice to see my old school @bablakeschool on the TV in #BackinTimeForSchool . Doesn’t look like it’s changed much!
— James Kerr (@rreksemaj) January 4, 2019

Just watched #BackInTimeForSchool . Despite some obvious flaws, am questioning why we left that behind? Teaching kids how to cook, self-defend and take enforced naps, all replaced by data, targets and every child having to know the same things! We have gone very wrong somewhere.
— Emma Jones (@TheWrongNotes1) January 3, 2019

I was at school in the 50s and 60s, clearly remember ink wells, dip pens and ink monitors. Also teeny bottles of milk that were smelly in summer and iced in winter. Why is the head teacher wearing his hat in school? #BackInTimeForSchool
— ChrisM (@mrs_milly) January 3, 2019

Impressed to hear students openly and intelligently critiquing the racist textbooks and deconstructing the"Empire" mindset. #BackInTimeForSchool
— Matti Colley #FBPE (@matti_colley) January 3, 2019

#BackInTimeForSchool Hands up who remembers tapioca or frogs spawn as we used to call it. Seems weird to say it brings back those memories considering the era.
— audrey clark (@auds104) January 3, 2019

When and where to watch it

The whole series will take the children from the Victorian era right up to the present day, and Bablake School will be the backdrop up until episode three.

Filming for episode four onwards took place at Arden Academy in Solihull.

Episode two, which was also filmed at Bablake School in Coventry, will focus on the inter-war years

The time travelling adventure will see the pupils fast-forward through more than 100 years of history.

Next week, the students will be introduced to the schooldays of the inter-war years and will be learning new languages and testing the latest gadgets.

Back In Time For School continues on Thursday, January 10 at 8pm on BBC 2.