The Media Archive for Central England is the public screen archive for the East and West Midlands. An independent charity and company based at the University of Lincoln, MACE acquires, catalogues, preserves and makes widely available moving image materials that inform our understanding of the diverse cultures and histories of communities between the Lincolnshire coast and the Welsh border.
This film is part of Free
Hereward College
The opening of Hereward College in 1971 represented a major advance in access to education for young disabled people.
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Overview
In 1971 Hereward College opened its doors to students with disabilities. It was the first of its kind but when ATV Today's Derek Hobson visited in May 1972 it only had twenty-five students out of a population of three million people with disabilities in England. It may have been a drop in the ocean but this pioneering college was symbolic of a new way forward, although notice how the college is still being referred to as 'an experiment'.
Students Jeff Underwood and Sharon Walker share their first-hand experiences and we also hear from the principal Arthur McAllister who had been involved in the scheme since its initial planning stages in 1961. The 'experiment' was deemed a success and Hereward College continues to thrive offering education to nearly 700 students with and without disabilities each year.
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