Dispersing the Problem: Immigrant Children in Huddersfield during the 1960s and 1970s
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- Опубліковано 21 жов 2024
- I created this documentary for a Masters degree in History at The University of Huddersfield in 2017 and give permission for others to use it in an educational setting. It documents the story of dispersal school bussing in Huddersfield during the 1960s and 1970s. This was a national policy which saw Black Caribbean and South Asian children dispersed around a local school area by bus. The film presents the experiences of four people who were bussed in Huddersfield alongside archival research and the testimonies of two former educators.
I'm currently doing some research for my dissertation for my BA History degree. Can I just say that this is fantastic, really well done and super useful. Thank you for uploading.
This is really good research work, the video is so professional, its hard to think a young grad did it, Joe, I would appreciate a chat to understand more about this great piece of work. Well done.
I was one of the children bussed to Milnsbridge School in 1967 for about 3 months and remember 2 classes, one with indigenous children and the other with all the immigrants, as explained by one of the contributors in the video. I used to play football with the 'white' children at break time and i got on with them making friends quickly.The whole class moved to Paddock Junior school for a week or so under an Indian teacher called Mr Oberoi who i remember conducted some basic English tests and took two of us out of the class and put us with a 'normal' class in the same school while the rest of the class(around 40+) were sent to a 'holding school' called Spark Hall. I had a wonderful time at Paddock with a great form teacher called Mr Harrison who i remember being very kind and supportive. When i moved to Royds Hall in 1975 i heard Mr Harrison had died which brought tears to my eyes.I have to say a very big thank you to many of the wonderful teachers at the time who, despite the confusion around at the time, showed kindness and understanding - i will forever be indebted to those people as they set me up to be the person i am, who has gone on to become successful in so many areas of life.After a terrible time at Royds Hall with a lot of violent children and sub-standard teachers, I went on to Greenhead College which was pivotal in my development as it was full of wonderful teachers and a great headmaster, Mr Cooksie. I went on to Manchester University and then Bath University.My life is littered with amazing people i have met in the education system as well as in my career since. All i can say is a huge thank you to the Uk for the opportunity as i am convinced my life in Pakistan would not have turned out like this. Maybe i am a rare success story but i honestly believe that through a positive mindset and setting regular goals to achieve whatever you are passionate about, the Uk offers ANYONE the opportunity to be whatever you want to be. As Henry Ford said "It is not your fault if you are born poor, but it is your fault if you die poor" and that saying holds true through time :-)
Very interesting historical account Joe. Thank you.
As the child of an immigrant, born and raised in Hudds. Always been a fantastic place and ‘home’. Last few years its turned from a quiet likeable place now infested with a criminal culture of the next generation. Hope its a blip but in truth its a sign of our times. The sad thing as always, the ‘indigenous white’ population will tar everyone with the same brush.
Wonder were they are now
I’m. In Oxfordshire
My dad and his bro n sis was an immigrant child from trinidad 1967
dunno how much i agree with calling immigrant children a problem. the caribbean and indian population integrated really will in huddersfield from what i could tell growing up there. while it was probably bullshit at the time and i find some of the reasoning in favor of the bussing policy questionable, i think this move had an overall positive impact in huddersfield. sounds like these guys being interviewed would probably agree.
They weren't immigrants. They were British citizens following the British Nationality Act 1948. Also, Joanne was born here and spoke English all her life, but she was still forced to travel an hour and a half each way to school because her parents were from the Caribbean and 'West Indian' children were viewed as being more likely to suffer from 'educational retardation'. I don't think bussing had a positive impact on Huddersfield. I think some of the people that were involved in bussing had a positive impact because they were genuinely working to create a harmonious multicultural society, but bussing was a bad idea.
Joe Hopkinson would you prefer racially segregated schools then? Dont you think its important for the children of immigrants to integrate into the culture?
The schools weren't segregated at all prior to bussing. As Enoch says in the film white people were scared that large numbers of Black kids existed within certain schools. Also, bussing actually worked to segregate South Asian children in particular. As it says in the film, they were often educated in buildings that were a considerable distance away from the school. Raj's bussed class were in a working-men's club around half a mile from the actual school. In the education committee minutes it notes that other schools used churches, sunday school rooms, and drill halls.
large numbers of any demographic concentrated in an area is basically segregation and thats the impression the film gave. need to mix in with each other to adapt, otherwise we form insular communities. do you want multiculturalism or insular communities where people hold dogmatic beliefs of the other races? cus its one or the other
You're doing that thing where you just ignore most of what I've said. You managed to ignore a lot of what the doc said and just regurgitated the points that suit your perspective. Fair enough if you think bussing is an okay way to promote multicultural society; I disagree. I wouldn't want my children travelling for miles away from their school, arriving/leaving separately from the other kids, not being able to attend after-school clubs. The onus of integration shouldn't be on BAME kids, and lots of BAME kids at one school isn't a problem, just like lots of white kids at one school isn't a problem.