
BBC Computer Literacy Project 1980 – 1989 - open-source-ux
https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/
======
Wildgoose
I was born in 1965 and was an early micro-hobbyist from the end of 1978
onwards. I remember wanting an Acorn System One which was basically a hex
keypad attached to a Eurocard. Unbelievably primitive.

In 1980 (aged 15) I got an Acorn Atom, (the predecessor of the BBC computer),
with a great keyboard, 8K ROM and 2K RAM. Built-in BASIC and a built-in 6502
Assembler as well.

These computers were functional but bare-bones. You really could comprehend
how everything fitted together. I was really blessed to be part of that
generation at the very beginning.

The BBC computer literacy project was fantastic for replicating my experience
to those immediately following me in school. The UK was an early world-leader
in the number and quality of its programming talent.

The real tragedy was this was followed by the utterly useless national "ICT"
curriculum in schools which was essentially all about teaching kids how to use
Microsoft Office, and probably discouraged an entire generation of kids from
getting involved in software. This still makes me angry.

~~~
rjsw
Also born in 1965 and had an Acorn Atom. Went to two schools that had Research
Machines 380Z systems. Didn't take any lessons in computing or ICT.

I had decided that I was going to be a computer programmer around 1975, I
remember having to talk to careers advisers and the job didn't exist as a
defined thing that you could do.

~~~
tonyedgecombe
Careers advice was a bit dire back then, I remember being told I definitely
shouldn't be a programmer and instead should be an actuary. Good job I ignored
that advice.

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dijit
Here’s something seldom talked about, and maybe it’s only my experience.

I was born ‘89 and in the midlands of the UK, so I missed these programmes
(although my mother didn’t and even as a non-techy person could write BBC
basic on a C64, which is where I got my interest).

But growing up there were quite literally no resources to learn anything about
computers or programming. All courses in school were “computing” which was
Microsoft excel and word courses; if you were really lucky it would be
Microsoft access. They were specifically tailored for office work, not
understanding computers.

As I aged, I found courses on networking (specifically Cisco) in college,
however they all closed the year before I could take them.

I did manage to take a college course but I had to commute 4.5hrs a day for 2
years to take it, which was quite demanding. And I was in the last group who
could ever take that course. (It closed the year after I started, I was
literally the last group in). And there the only thing they taught me
programming related was Visual Basic. (Although they did teach me to crimp
Ethernet cables).

Does anyone else have this experience in the UK? Did I just grow up in a bad
area for computer science?

(I believe shortly after I left school they did start having lessons in
programming though- maybe I am part of a weirdly lost generation)

~~~
rgblambda
The story I heard was that the UK Government, when designing a new curriculum
for computing, consulted with Microsoft on what to include in the curriculum.
Microsoft said office software would be really important and used the
opportunity to pitch their own products. Now because everyone learned Office
in school it's the thing that got used in the workplace and this self
perpetuated up until a few years ago when (in England) I.C.T, which was the
new name for the subject, got replaced by Computer Science which focused more
on programming.

When I studied I.C.T, if the teacher knew how to code, she sure as hell didn't
show it. What was it like with the BBC micros? Did the teacher know enough to
teach the class? I know this is a problem with the current Computer Science
curriculum.

~~~
chrisseaton
> But growing up there were quite literally no resources to learn anything
> about computers or programming.

This logical jump doesn't seem to make sense to me. Almost every developed
country on earth used Microsoft Office in the second half of the 90s and the
00s. Why do you think in the UK it was specifically caused by it being taught
in school, when it was also successful everywhere else when it was not taught
in school?

~~~
coribuci
> > But growing up there were quite literally no resources to learn anything
> about computers or programming.

> This logical jump doesn't seem to make sense to me. Almost every developed
> country on earth used Microsoft Office in the second half of the 90s and the
> 00s. Why do you think in the UK it was specifically caused by it being
> taught in school, when it was also successful everywhere else when it was
> not taught in school?

Because the reason why every developed country used Microsoft products was
corruption (you can call it lobbying if you feel good).

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contingencies
A _BBC Horizon_ (1978) episode at
[https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/9d86b9d9acd846addced1578b0a1167f](https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/9d86b9d9acd846addced1578b0a1167f)
quite clearly poses many of the questions currently in vogue regarding
automation, its limits and its social impact. Amazing in some ways how little
has changed. (Although perhaps television is far less lucid and the majority
of people are no longer capable of sustained, rational debate?)

 _Real time trading systems don 't exist yet in American banks._

 _It takes man-years of work to prepare even simple software programs.
Software is now a major cost in computers, often as much as 40% of any new
application._

 _Some people believe that we must change from hardware to software: that we
should stake our future on the chips - not by making them, but by programming
them - and that we should use our software skills to develop high technology
industries around them._

 _What will happen then to the men in today 's jobs? Can we all live on the
wealth of automatic factories and the earnings of an elite band of 60,000
software engineers? It's time to think about the future... _ (49:50s)

 _Undoubtedly, I think we 're already in to a second industrial revolution._
(51:30s)

 _Silicon Valley, I am told, is filled with British experts._ (1:06:10s)

 _If, in fact, the silicon chip enables you to be more efficient, and
proficient, then it equally assumes you have higher profits._ (1:09:30s)

 _In the long run we could build a better society [...] it depends on how
wealth and income is shared. In the short run there is going to be tremendous
social upheaval and I think no one would disagree with that._ (1:11:10s)

Another one broadcast exactly 40 years ago _today_ ...
[https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/44f192e61ad3dbcbccd2311a15be4fd9](https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/44f192e61ad3dbcbccd2311a15be4fd9)

------
exogeny
Interesting to learn about this and compare it to the American experience. I
was born in 1982, and my educational computing history was all Apple; Apple
II, then the Mac, then the Performa, and then I can't quite remember. But
Apple all the way through. We had nothing close to what's being described
here, which I have to give the BBC a lot of credit for.

In the earlier ways of my education, there wasn't much more to computer
classes than letting us play games like Oregon Trail and SimCity. Later in
middle school (for me, 1994-1996), we were introduced to Hypercard and
MacPaint and WordPerfect as entry points into the computer as a professional
tool. Hypercard in particular really stands out for me as a formative moment.
It wasn't until high school (1997-1999) that elective classes were available
for programming and multimedia art.

Much like some of you, I learned to "program" virtually by purchasing C and
C++ books and learning things on paper, with no compiler and no way to
actually run the things I was learning. But I consider myself very blessed to
have been raised in the time that I was, in a school district that I consider
to be fairly ahead of the curve in allowing and introducing computers to the
students.

With all of that said, 99% of the most useful (and fun!) exploration came from
my simultaneous discovery of the BBS, art (ANSI/ASCII), and demoscenes. But
that is a whole other comment!

------
29athrowaway
Watch the 2009 docudrama "Micro Men" from BBC Four.

~~~
timthorn
Or watch Chris Curry, Steve Furber and Hermann Hauser watching "Micro Men":
[http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/news/55409/](http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/news/55409/)

~~~
29athrowaway
The pub "fight" scene and the Mensa flirtation scenes are the best. There's no
way that actually happened.

------
bloopernova
Such "great" memories, such amazing games.

I remember being at school, aged around 7 or 8 (I was born mid-70s) and we had
an assignment to draw stars with a certain number of points, using the BBC
Micro.

I followed the instructions, but I think I intentionally drew the last line of
the star to be off-by-one degree (or maybe 5? I don't recall). From there the
loop would begin again. I made some pretty Spirograph-style patterns on the
screen and got a enthusiastic-yet-confused well done from my teacher.

My teacher for 2nd year Junior school was Mrs Hurley, Elizabeth Hurley's mum.
My big brush with fame was that my mother threatened me with adoption by the
Hurley family. I'm not sure how much she actually discussed with them, but my
memory of that period is patchy at best. Yes, my mother was not a nice person
to me growing up.

I also remember my chip and board designer father being disappointed in ~10
year old me for wanting to play games instead of learn assembly and other very
difficult tasks. I think for my 11th birthday I got a "create games in machine
code" or similar book, with a "go on then" pat on the back. Definitely left a
lot to be desired in the motivational and emotional support departments, my
parents.

(sorry to be all personal and emotional, just this post dredged up some
memories that had lain dormant for a long time)

------
midnightclubbed
When were these programmes shown on regular British TV? '72 here and don't
remember it at all.

We had a classroom full of BBC Micros at school but for the most part they
were used to play games. My introduction to computing was through the ZX
Spectrum home computer and the electronics magazines of the time. By the time
I chose my GCSEs I don't recall a single hour of computer instruction given by
the school so I question how useful The BBC Micro project really was.

Given that the GCSE Computer Science syllabus (or whatever it was called in
the 80's) didn't cover anything I hadn't already self-taught myself I skipped
and continued to learn on my own time. It didn't help that the GCSE was in BBC
basic (even at 15 I knew this wasn't something used by 'real' computer
programmers) and the math teacher who taught that class was barely computer
literate.

Turns out Electronics GCSE was largely filled with metalwork kids throwing
components at each other but the teacher was enthusiastic and knowledgable.

Side note - I had initially thought that Systems Analyst was a good career
path to pursue only to be told by my secondary (high) school careers councilor
that software was a dead end because 5th generation languages would make
programming obsolete within 10 years. I'm still waiting.

~~~
M2Ys4U
> When were these programmes shown on regular British TV? '72 here and don't
> remember it at all.

Throughout the '80s.

There's a timeline on the website:
[https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/timeline](https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/timeline)

------
leoc
This wave of computer-literacy programming was actually started by a series
from the BBC's commercially-funded rival ITV, Christoper Evans' _The Mighty
Micro_.[http://www.retro-now.com/the-mighty-micro-itvs-forgotten-
com...](http://www.retro-now.com/the-mighty-micro-itvs-forgotten-computer-
program/) [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqrLFTwrYemNYgb-
hPXd3...](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqrLFTwrYemNYgb-
hPXd3Kiwe0L8vuyIr) (Evans also appears as a guest in the CLP's _The Silicon
Factor_.
[https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/b5047fb21312089c95fdf482cda3c697](https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/b5047fb21312089c95fdf482cda3c697))

I wonder if anyone has chased down people who remember Dick Brodner's
circa-1980 home-automation setup in his Chicago house
[https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/e0417b82d1c1a84345852bf21916073e](https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/e0417b82d1c1a84345852bf21916073e)
, or found out what became of it or if anything remains of it?

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markb139
My career got started because of these programmes.

I even spent 5 years working as an engineer at the BBC. There were plenty of
BBC micros around performing ad-hoc tasks.

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SuperGent
I recently contacted the BBC regarding this as I was involved in the curation
of a temporary exhibit at The National Museum of Computing.[0] David Allen,
the producer, along with a couple of others involved, were very friendly and
keen to see this acknowledged for helping the home computer boom in the UK.
For me personally, I don't think I would be where I am today without these
programs. [0] [https://www.tnmoc.org/news-releases/2020/1/21/reliving-
brita...](https://www.tnmoc.org/news-releases/2020/1/21/reliving-britains-
heyday-in-1980s-home-computing-at-tnmoc)

------
bane
This was an amazing project for its era. There are millions of people who can
trace their livelihoods to this project, and billions of people who can trace
something they use everyday directly to it as well.

I know its fashionable for Brits to kind of beat up on themselves for how the
computing industry shook out, but from this project came ARM and modern mobile
computing. And without the inspiration from this time, we wouldn't have the
Raspberry Pi series. It's an incredible global legacy that actually _worked_
as it should have even if precisely the effect of it wasn't what was intended.

------
djaychela
Having seen this I was wondering just what an impact this project had on the
software industry in the UK, but the comments have this pretty much covered.

I'm not directly involved, but I've always had an affinity for computers since
my junior school had one, and I got to take home the manual for the BBC one
summer holiday - came back full of ideas of what I could do with it. I was
allowed by my form teacher (who was a maths teacher) to use it as much as I
wanted during break and lunch times, and whenever I finished the Friday
afternoon maths exercises I could go on the computer (handily I finished them
early, I was good at it back then).

Amazingly in my secondary school (from ages 11-16), computers were 'only for
the kids who were bad at maths' \- the (grammar) school I went to had a really
regressive policy, and looked down on them. Crazy - I had a ZX Spectrum
(couldn't afford a BBC!), and did programming in my spare time. Never wrote a
single line of code at school, despite wanting to.

Fell by the wayside, alas, and now at 48 I'm trying to make up for it, but the
BBC project had such potential for all kids in my era.

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saw-lau
Thank you _so much_ for posting this - can now work through all of the
programmes while stuck indoors! Such wonderful nostalgia.

------
29athrowaway
ARM processors, such as the one in every iPhone and many other mobile devices,
are descendants of the processors used in Acorn computers, the manufacturers
of the BBC Micro.

------
joedunn
I worked on the bbc machine (and its precursors). Was employee 21 at Acorn.
Wish I could say I contributed significantly, but not really. I was there
though! Wrote some of the Atom OS among many other things. And the “filing
system” that wrote files to cassette tape. Now that was a startup (Acorn, I
mean).

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flobosg
I remember reading about the project and the BBC Micro in a nice writeup at
the Two-Bit History blog: [https://twobithistory.org/2019/03/31/bbc-
micro.html](https://twobithistory.org/2019/03/31/bbc-micro.html)

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simon_kun
'78 reporting in. We had a BBC Micro in our school library in Derbyshire. That
coupled with the Speccys and c64's floating around at the time are probably a
large part of why I'm sitting here in SF working at a senior level in big
tech. Thanks BBC.

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anentropic
I got my first taste of programming thanks to this!

Around age 8, my school had BBC Micros and they taught us to solve picture-
drawing puzzles using the LOGO language.

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lucidguppy
The Spectrum Next needs to be mass produced. While the raspi is wonderful - we
need an 80's machine with all the pain points removed.

------
ETN21
I remember this!

