Leeds Nostalgia: Film of the Week: What children did after school in the late 1940s

The film explores different aspects of the family’s life including work, school, home life, and leisure activities.

It opens with children playing in a schoolyard. The boy, Tommy, is playing marbles, and the girl, Joan, is skipping rope. The narrator speaks about the different types of games that are played in the schoolyard and explains it is a very pleasant school building in the city.

Playtime is over and the children go back inside. Inside the school, the children in Tommy’s class all sit at their desks and begin to draw.

Later, it is the end of the day, and school is out. Tommy goes to watch his older brother, Frank, play a game of cricket. While the boys are involved with their sport, Joan and her mother go to the local grocers. They buy a few apples from the shop which the shopkeeper weighs on a scale. After making their purchase, the mother and daughter head home. They walk home from the cricket match along the city walls. York Minster is clearly visible in the background. To view the full clip, see the YFA website.