Due to scheduling issues, I was not able to attend the Whitelands archive on Tuesday. This means that I may have to alter my question if I can not access the Whitelands archive.

I visited the Digby archive today and analyzed the timetables (1886) and chronicles of the college leading up to the outbreak of the second world war (September 1939.) I also managed to look at some of the prospectuses of years after 1952, they were useful in order to consider the difference between 1886 and 1952. This seemed especially prominent in the focus of the teaching, while the earlier timetables focused on education with students having lessons in arithmetic, history and geography alongside their lessons in teaching philosophy, the prospectus of 1952 showed the need for a specialised subject. This specialised subject and change of system potentially reveal the changes in educational law and teaching practice especially with the McNair Report of May 1945. Which was followed quickly by the Education Act of 1945 initiating changes in the curriculum and running of the college.

All of this research was useful however I could do with finding a timetable that is closer to the war period so in the late 1920’s or early 1930’s so that I can make a clearer comparison within my essay.

The question that is still playing on my mind is the effect of the Second World War on the education at Digby Stuart College.

Following the discussion on my short presentation, it was clear that the title of my essay needs work as it is very broad and does not clearly state the time period I wish to look at.

In order to correct the time period issue I will be narrowing my research down to the second world war, so will change the wording from ‘inter-war’ to ‘Second World War’. Looking specifically at the transformative effect of the war on the education of female teachers

Overall my essay question is:

To what extent can the Second World War be seen as a transformative moment in relation to Whitelands and Digby Stuart College student experience and the curriculum they experienced.

The whole question will probably go through several rounds of alterations as the question itself is highly dependent on the resources and material available in the archives. I may find that drawing a comparison between the two colleges is hard as they are both too similar or potentially there is too much to discuss in relation to the colleges individually.

I have meetings with the Whitelands archives on Tuesday 23^rd January 2018 and the Digby Stuart Archive on Friday 26^th January 2018. So hopefully I will gain more clarity from these meetings and the materials I access in the archives this week, in firming up my argument and question.

My next steps will be considering the potential subheadings and structure for the essay which I can then discuss in class on Monday 29^th January 2018.

Following on from my tutorial today, I have further narrowed down my question. I have decided to focus on Whitelands and Digby Stuart College. Through these colleges, I will then be looking at the transformative effect of  War on Women’s Teacher Training Colleges.

To do this I will look in further detail at the curriculum and student life prior to the outbreak of war whilst comparing this with the conditions that the students would have experienced, both during the evacuation and on their return to London. The two colleges I will discuss both have different experiences surrounding their evacuation from London so it will be interesting to see if there are any differences in the student’s experiences or similarities that might be mirrored in other scholarship on this topic.

Click Here to see the difference in the experiences of the 2 colleges  

Overall my essay question is:

To what extent can the inter-war period be seen as a transformative period in relation to Whitelands and Digby Stuart College students and the curriculum they experienced.

Whilst in terms of my project I will be looking at the differences between the life of a current student on either Whiteland or Digby Stuart College compared to the life of a student in either Whitelands or Digby Stuart College during the inter-war period. I have several options on how I could present this project either through a leaflet or through a more graphic depiction aligning the two daily routines alongside each other.

After the Christmas break, I started to research the four colleges individually looking at their stories following the outbreak of war in 1939, this was to allow me to make an informed decision in choosing which colleges to focus on.

The evacuation processes of the four colleges were all very different.

With Southlands not evacuating till 1940 as they were considered safe in Wimbledon. Although they did immediately start discussing building air raid shelters and training their students in what to do with the war at large, while still in Wimbledon.

Click Here for More Information on the History of Southlands College

While the evacuation of Froebel college was a lot simpler with the college moving to Knebworth House in Hertfordshire with first-year students staying at Offley Place (close to Knebworth House.) While some of the smaller schools associated with Froebel College either shut down as parents refused to let their children leave London. While the Colet Garden Demonstration School moved to Hertfordshire followed by the two free Kindergartens from Notting Hill and St Pancreas moving to Tunbridge Wells, Kent and Eydon, Nottingham.

Click Here for More Information on the History of Froebel College

Whitelands had a varied experience following the outbreak of World War 2, with a delayed evacuation as their plans to evacuate fell through.  To begin with, the college was relocated to Cambridge and Halifax and then moved to Bede College, Durham. The College shared premises with Homerton College for part of the war but much of the war was spent with the colleges split over several sites with students saying that all college spirit was lost. With one student even saying that the college motto should have been ‘join Whitelands see England”

Click Here for More Information on the History of Whitelands College

Digby Stuart College experienced a varied evacuation with the college evacuating to the Hotel Marina in New Quay but finding the hotel bearly habitable they had to relocate. Three months later they moved to Stanford Hall Leicestershire and remained here for 6 years in the 17th Century mansion of Lord and Lady Braye.

Click Here for More Information on the History of Digby Stuart College

Overall the research into the evacuation experiences of the four colleges has helped me to determine that I want to look at the student experience in more detail. However, I am still unsure of the exact wording of a question as this will be heavily influenced by the college I choose.