Cyling Stevenage students from the 1970s have been in the spotlight as part of a BBC series which takes viewers back in time.
Clips of Bedwell secondary school pupils on their bikes were shown as part of the Back In Time For The Weekend series, which follows a family who have given up their 21st century technology and are travelling back in time through the decades.
The episode – the third of six instalments – looks at the 1970s, touching on the economic crisis of 1974 which saw a huge hike in petrol prices and the government’s introduction of the three-day working week.
Footage at the Stevenage school – which was later renamed Marriotts with the original site having now been demolished – demonstrated the growing cycling trend of the time which saw more than a million new bikes sold every year and total numbers trebling by the end of the decade.
The episode, first aired earlier this month on BBC Two, was watched by former Bedwell pupil Wendy Worgan.
The 53-year-old – known to classmates as Wendy Heartfield when she was at the school between 1973 and 1978 – posted stills from the show on Facebook group Old Memories of Stevenage...2 where others confirmed that it was definitely shot at the school in Telford Avenue.
“I remember being told that the TV cameras were going to film us all coming out of school on our bikes,” said Wendy, who grew up in Stevenage where her dad was a photographer.
“I had no idea what it was for and actually don’t know to this day – perhaps it was a news item about the rise of cycling as obviously Stevenage had faboulous, safe cycleways in the 1970s.”
The 1970s episode will be aired again on BBC Two at 12.15am on Wednesday, March 2, as well as being available on BBC iPlayer for three more weeks.
The clips of students outside the school’s bike shed and heading down a hill are shown at just past the 30-minute mark.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here