Microelectronics Education Programme

The UK Government's Microelectronics Education Programme ran from 1980 to 1986. It was conceived and planned by a Labour government and set up under a Conservative government during Mrs Thatcher's era. Its aim was to explore how computers could be used in schools in the UK. This was a controversial time for Conservative school policies.[1]

The programme was administered by the Council for Educational Technology in London, but the directorate operated, unusually, from a semi-detached house on the Coach Lane Campus of the then Newcastle Polytechnic (now Northumbria University).

The Microelectronics Education Programme was developed by the Department for Education and Science when the Prime Minister at the time, Jim Callaghan asked each government department to draw up an action plan to meet the challenge of new technologies. Whilst the prior programme, the National Development Programme in Computer Aided Learning, covered schools, colleges, universities and training establishments, MEP was specifically aimed at secondary schools in England, Northern Ireland and Wales (a primary school programme was added in 1982). Following a change of government in 1979, Keith Joseph as Education Secretary finally approved the proposal in 1980 and in March a four-year programme for schools, costing £9 million. was announced by the Under Secretary of State at the Department of Education and Science, Mr Neil MacFarlane.

The director of the programme was Richard Fothergill. By April 1981 he had set up a small team of seven people, operating from offices at Cheviot House in Newcastle Polytechnic. John Anderson was appointed Deputy, and the rest of the central team consisted of Bob Coates, Helen Milner, Mike Bostock and Lynn Craig later supported by Mike Page for Press and Media, Bill Broderick for International, and Alan Greenwell and Ralph Tabberer for Curriculum Development. The information collection and dissemination was carried out by the information officer who used an early form of Teletext (called Prestel) and email (called Telecom Gold) to disseminate news of materials and training opportunities. Each member of staff created correspondence on a handheld wordprocessor, a Microwriter, designed by Cy Endfield.

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