Voices of Worcester - Life on Campus
Student life has always been about more than lectures and assignments. From the 1960s to the present day, these memories reveal the friendships, communities, achievements and traditions that made Worcester feel like home for generations of students.
Anne Morphy – 1960s – brew groups & friends for life
When Anne first arrived in 1966, she thought the campus wasn’t much to look at, but she soon learnt that it was the people that made Worcester special. Here she talks about her first impressions of Worcester and the legendary Worcester Brew Groups.
Deb Cadman – 1970s – milk fights & the policeman’s ball
Deb Cadman came to Worcester to train as a Rural Studies teacher in 1974. Deb lived in ‘digs’ in St Johns and spent a lot of time in the Dive and the Hines building, which was used as a base for students living off campus.
In this clip Deb talks about the social life at Worcester, from milk fights and the Dive’s sticky floor, to the Policeman’s Ball.
Muff Murfin – 1960s – putting the life in to student life
Muff Murfin and three school friends from Gosport County Grammar all opted to study at Worcester in 1960.
In this clip Muff talks about life on campus. From motorbike mayhem to hunting squirrels after class, Muff certainly put the life in to student life.
Anne Garrison – 1970s - politics, whistling kettles, and a campus home
Anne Garrison studied Dance at Worcester College of Higher Education between 1974 and 1977. She came to Worcester from Scotland on the advice of a teacher who said Worcester was one of the best places to study dance in the country.
In this clip, Anne talks about her first days in Worcester during the second general election of 1974, the pros and cons of student accommodation in those days, and the community feel of her new campus home.
Tom Wilkes – 1960s – from hippies to Hot Chocolate
Tom Wilkes started studying at Worcester in 1968. He reckons he got onto the teacher training course at Worcester because he impressed the technology tutors with a picture of a canvas canoe he’d just made.
In this clip, Tom remembers how even hippy freedoms had to be curbed a little when on teaching placement, as well as the legendary occasion when Hot Chocolate played The Dive.
Barrie Dinsdale – 1960s – student sport
Barrie Dinsdale was at Worcester from 1960 to 1963 and was Captain of the Cricket team, played football for the 1st XI and was later Chairman of the College Football Club. Alongside sports, Barrie also learnt to be a teacher.
In this clip, Barrie talks about the place of sport at Worcester in the 60s. Then, as now, sport was a big part of student life.
Roger Timbrell – 1960s – rural teaching placements
Roger Timbrell studied at Worcester between 1964 and 1967. In this clip, Roger talks about life as a trainee teacher in the countryside, including living in a pub whilst on placement, and taking the class fishing.
David Morphy – 1960s – the student voice
David came to Worcester from Liverpool to train as a teacher in 1967. He served as Vice President in the Student’s Union and also edited the Henwick Herald. Here he talks about the importance of the student newspaper, hand printed on an old Gestetner machine, and being summoned to the office of the College Principal Ned Peirson.
Jade Haley – 2010s – the modern student's union
Jade was the first person in her family to go to university when she came to Worcester to study Psychology in 2013. Despite being initially uncertain about what to expect, she went on to achieve a great deal at Worcester, including serving as President of the Student’s Union. Here she discusses the role of the SU in the 21st century and the gentrification of The Dive.
Jane Finch – 1970s - a family affair
Jane first came to Worcester when her father took up the position of Farm Manager for the then Worcester College. The move to Worcester meant that Jane, aged 17, was uprooted from her childhood home in the Cotswolds and transported to a semi-detached house on the junction of Henwick and Hylton Roads, by the back gates of campus. For the next few years, the campus was Jane’s back garden.
She studied in the college library and later got herself a place at a teacher training college in Kent. Meanwhile her father decided to become a teacher himself, and alongside his role as farm manager, he went to lectures and qualified as a rural studies teacher in 1976. Ironically Jane and John Finch started teaching at Bewdley High School on the same day, both having secured their first teaching posts there.
Jane came to live on campus when her father took up the post of farm manager for the College. Jane remembers campus life in the 1970s – including Misty the sheep dog and Vic & Ron – as well as the moment she and her father started their teaching careers on the same day, at the same school.