JNAS Archives

How Alex Bloom Built Radical Democratic Secondary Education in Post-war London

Alex Bloom (1895–1955) was a remarkable school leader whose reputation in his lifetime extended far beyond the UK. Against the odds, in the bomb-damaged remains of London’s East End immediately after the Second World War, he established a school that championed equality, democracy, diversity and creativity. That school – St George-in-the-East Secondary Modern in Cable Street – is known to many as the inspiration for the novel and film To Sir With Love, but its significance for education goes far deeper. An explicit affirmation of Bloom’s progressive values and aspirations, it had no punishments or rewards, no prizes or failures, and no set curriculum. It became a beacon for radical democratic schooling, achieving an astonishing international reputation and a lasting legacy.

Based on primary research with former teachers and pupils of St George-in-the-East, How Alex Bloom Built Radical Democratic Secondary Education in Post-war London recounts the story of the school’s founding, pedagogy and democratic inclusivity. Through the book’s own narrative, and in short contributions from some of today’s leading educators, it examines Bloom’s contemporary and subsequent influence on education in the UK and further afield. Most of all, this book reveals Alex Bloom’s extraordinary dedication and commitment to his staff, his pupils and their community, exemplifying the importance of engaging with the school’s contemporary realities.

Constructions of Progressive Learning

Dartington Hall School in Devon, England (1926–87) was one of the most celebrated showpieces of progressive education. Founded within a wider project of social and rural reconstruction, it gained international attention for its commitment to freedom, creativity and child centred learning. Eminent thinkers including Bertrand Russell and Aldous Huxley sent their children to Dartington, while visitors travelled from near and far to observe its distinctive ethos. In its early decades, the school developed some of the most specialised educational architecture in the country, collaborating with notable architects such as Oswald P. Milne and William Lescaze.

Constructions of Progressive Learning tells the story of the institution through its architecture – a perspective largely overlooked in histories of progressive education. The book demonstrates how Dartington’s learning environments both shaped and reflected changing ideas about the body, gender, democracy, pedagogy and class. It argues that the architecture of progressive education was not fixed, but evolved in response to shifts in leadership, policy and educational philosophy. Drawing on Dartington’s innovations in performance writing, the book weaves archival research, oral history and site writing practices into a richly layered narrative. The method brings marginalised voices of forgotten staff and students into dialogue with more dominant accounts of headmasters and architects. In doing so, the book offers a timely reflection on how educational environments might centre wellbeing, relationships and lived experience, rather than performance metrics alone.

Span the World with Friendship

Within the histories of progressive educational movements and youth work, one organisation that rarely gets a mention is the Woodcraft Folk. Founded in 1925, it has been consistently at the forefront of promoting radical social change through education. It played a role in breaking down the barriers between East and West during the Cold War, in promoting a co-educational and cooperative based approach to learning, and in encouraging environmental activism at a time when it was unfashionable.

The Woodcraft Folk’s evolving approach to education for social change is explored in Span the World with Friendship from a range of disciplinary perspectives, including political and social theory, cultural history, anthropology, educational theory and youth work theory. Through investigation of published and primary sources, including letters, meeting records and oral testimonies, contributors bring scholarship to a narrative that has often been uncritical. Beginning with a biography of founder Leslie Paul, chapters study the Folk’s relationship to debates in the labour movement, the extent to which the eugenics movement influenced its ideas and practices, and how the folk songs and dances used within the organisation reflected wider social and cultural trends. Internationalism is a key theme running through this book which concludes with a focus on how the Woodcraft Folk’s progressive nature is moving it increasingly towards being a youth-led movement.