Documents relating to the old college

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BC20-D9a-b A Bideford College stamp card (front and back), ca. 1997.

[Above] A stamp was issued for attending (and not unduly misbehaving in) a lesson. Failing to present a stamp card on more than one occaision was a disciplinary offence, although if memory serves me some teachers were more concerned than others. Later on (from about 1998 onward), stamp cards were discontinued. The stamps were marked in dedicated pages toward the back of the newer homework diary, any loss of which now became more unpleasant. A replacement diary would not only be required as before (at cost!), but also a temporary stamp sheet would need to be completed and stuck into either the replacement homework diary or any which was subsequently found.

Letter about yr8 parents' evening, from 1998..

[Above] This is a letter informing parents about a parents evening. There was a section in the homework diary to acknowledge the delivery of letters, although in my experience this feature was rarely enforced. It seems strange today to think that pupil-delivered letters were the only way for the school to actually inform parents of anything. Notice the complete lack of website address, contact email, etc!

BC20-D6a First page of homework diary, 1997.

[Above] Sadly the cover is missing for this diary. The cover colours changed every so often, and included bright yellow (a recurring colour, I think), dark red (difficult to read with black text), white, green, etc. The front inside cover was partitioned with a blank timetable. I can't remember what inside the back cover.

BC20-D6b Second and third pages of homework diary, showing Code of Conduct. 1997.

[Above] The code of conduct on these pages had no need to mention mobile phones. No personal stereos!

BC20-D6c some of the main diary pages, showing some entries. 1997.

[Above] These pages are the mainstay of the homework diary. Homework was entered, in theory, and (again, in theory) signed off when complete. As there was no way to check homework had actually been entered, there was no easy way to verify its completion either (aside from the consequences meted out for any failure to deliver it).

BC20-D6d The centre page (right), showing a record of the postcards issued. 1997.

[Above] The centre pages were reserved for recording the postcards and/or consequences issued.

BC20-D6e The centre pages, showing a record of the negative consequences issued. 1997.

[Above] These centre pages show the negative consequences issued.

BC20-D6f The centre (back) page, on which was information about Activities Week. 1997.

[Above] Information about Activities Week. Activities Week was a week during which non-school activities could be undertaken. I'm not sure whether this was compulsory or not.

BC20-D6g The inside back page, where the letters were supposed to be recorded. 1997.

[Above] This is where the letters home were supposed to be recorded.

BC20-D10 A postcard. This one was for being a good messenger.

[Above] This is an example of a postcard. These were issued for good conduct/homework etc, and the designs were varied. This particular example was awarded for being a good messenger. Messenger duty was an activity which one was sometimes required to carry out, the purpose of which was to complete various administrative tasks in a timely and professional manner. These included (as the name implies) delivering messages, paperwork, or in some cases, P.E. kit (some people had nice parents!). Time was of the essence (especially if someone was about to turn up for P.E. with no kit). Only much later did it occur to me that having undertaken the role of Messenger one also assumed a massive amount of responsibility, and with it extensive possibilities for misuse. The consequences for abusing the role didn't really bear thinking about however, as the alternative was to actually go back to lessons (the importance of Year 9 didn't become apparent to me until it was probably too late). Tailing that poor, kit-deficient person to Moreton Park only to give them their P.E. kit after they'd faced the consequences could have been amusing to some, but more often than not that kitless person was myself. My ability to attract the wrath of others was so inate it's easy now to look back at all these hypothetical outcomes, and the revenge I could have expected. Messenger duty was an opportunity to demonstrate trust and responsibility, and be treated accordingly.

At the time, computers were a rarity and were usually set up in dedicated computer rooms. If a regular teaching room did have a computer, there was a very good chance it didn't work. It almost certainly wouldn't have had any network connection (which, if present, would have been hardwired to the internal intranet). Most classrooms didn't have phone sockets either. There was also a distinct lack of CCTV, until (I think) the local town council added about 4 cameras at various points around the college campus. I'm not exactly sure who was responsible for these, but I don't recall there being any in-house CCTV monitoring system in the old admin block.

BC20-D7 This certificate is awarded for collecting two of the pink cards full of stamps...

[Above] This is the result of getting enough stamps to complete two of the pink cards featured at the top of this page.

BC20-D8 ...and this one is for collecting 30 postcards.

[Above] Principal's Certificates were awarded for collecting 30 postcards. The design changed slightly over time, this version was issued in 1997.

BC20-D11 This is a Governor's Award (Bronze Edition). The WordArt is strong here.

[Above] I think Governor's Awards were issued for obtaining three or four Principal's Certificates. There may have also been Silver and Gold editions. The WordArt would most likely have been produced in Microsoft Office '97.

BC20-D1a This is the cover of the programme to the ceremony where Governor's Awards were presented.

[Above] This is the cover to the programme to a Governor's Award presentation evening. The inside is shown below:

BC20-D2 The inside of the programme.

[Above] This is the inside of the programme. Certificate recipients are named on the right.

BC20-H1-2/2 This picture shows the change in design from an earlier jumper logo to a later one.

[Above] This shows the change in logo design. The design on the left was in use by 1997, and was changed to the design on the left when the college underwent a re-brand in the early 2000's.

Until around 2005, schools carried out Heaf testing (aka the Daisy Prick test) as a precursor to subsequent TB vaccination/BCG where necessary. Bideford college was no exception, and the scans below show a partially completed record card for this process. This particular card is incomplete not through a lack of parental intent, but due to the pupil to which it relates being elsewhere on the day the test was administered. The reason/s for their avoidance of this test have not been publicly disclosed.

BC23d1-2 This picture shows a scan of the partially completed Heaf test record card..

The second side is shown below, and is divided into two halves. The left containing pertinent questions and the right side being reserved for the outcome of any testing/vaccination activities:

BC23d2-2 This picture shows a scan of the reverse side of the partially completed Heaf test record card.

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