Chadwick St

I went past Chadwick Street today to find that the Campus there is being demolished!

Back in 1989 I did my PGCE at Chadwick Street which was part of Bolton Institute of Higher Education (BIHE) then. My PGCE was actually from Manchester University, but Chadwick Street was the Teacher Education Centre.

I had just completed my Open University Degree and decided to give up my job as an electronics technician to become a teacher! My year at the college was memorable, a great atmosphere and I made loads of friends there. I had never been to University and this was the next best thing to me.

Had a whole year as a student living on my grant...loved it!!

Spent my placements at Salford College in Worsley and Bolton College. Gosh...can't believe I taught IT to twenty four girl hairdressers at Salford College and Science to sixteen A level nurses!!

Must admit that working in a college is nothing like working in a school!

Turing apology

"Gordon Brown has said he is sorry for the "appalling" way World War II code-breaker Alan Turing was treated."

"A petition on the No 10 website had called for a posthumous government apology to the computer pioneer. "

Alan was a genious, he is the master of computer technology today. Alan Turing and Tommy Flowers built the first ever number crunching computers based at Bletchley and Manchester University. The trouble was that nobody knew about the computers, later, "Collossus" the first programmable computer, was a secret and after the war, instructions were given to dismantle the machines and hide them away! Fifty years later when the secrets were revealed the machines were 'found' and rebuilt. This was all too late for Alan...a sad story!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8249792.stm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing

What was it that Winston Churchill said...something about owing so much to so few...well Alan Turing, you rank high in the league table!

I signed the petition and now he has got the apology deserved!