ILEA Educational Television Service
The ILEA Educational Television Service was a UK cable TV service created by the Inner London Education Authority to bring four educational channels to schools. It ran from September 1968 until March 1979 and was then replaced by a videotape service after the GPO network was privatized.
The service launched in September 1968, with plans announced in 1967 to broadcast from Laycock Television Centre. By 1969 it aimed to reach nearly all schools in its area. The first facilities were in a converted Highbury high school, with Battersea studios opening in 1970. It used the GPO Television Service infrastructure to run on several cable channels (2, 3 and 4), while a separate higher-education service on channel 7 was produced by ULAVC from 11 Bedford Square.
One notable early project was a re-enactment of The Man with the Flower in His Mouth in 1968. In September 1969 the service began airing You in the Seventies, a series of 30 plays for teenagers depicting social issues and real-life challenges. The series helped the service gain recognition beyond London.
The Battersea studios, opened by chief engineer Walter Kemp, grew to include two buildings, then a third for publishing. The service maintained high production standards and offered broadcast-quality equipment. Glyn Edwards produced various programs, including News at 1066, interviews on advertising, and a range of music and arts programs. He supported Sesame Street-style content and collaborated on programs like Music Alive, The New Soundscape and World Music, which featured early music videos and performances by artists such as Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, Lou Reed and David Bowie.
Other ILEA programs from Battersea covered a wide range of topics: Career Choices, Cities (geography for secondary students), Eclair (French), ILEA Reports (teacher discussions), London Magazine (for primary students), Primary Maths and Science, Stimulus For Writing, Teaching The Less Able, West Indian English, The World Expands (Age of Discovery), and You In The Seventies.
The service broadcast on channels 2, 3 and 4 for schools, with a separate higher-education channel on 7 produced by ULAVC. The network used VHF and could barely deliver colour; an experimental colour broadcast occurred around 1977, but the service remained mostly monochrome.
The end came with the privatization of the GPO into British Telecom in 1979. As many monitors were aging, the ILEA switched to a videotape service, ordering 1,000 video recorders. By the end of 1979, more than 75% of schools in the ILEA area had VCRs thanks to a discounted rental deal. The ILEA itself was later abolished in 1990.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 11:57 (CET).