7 Plus Seven

There's

Look at those, cool.

- This was no ordinary outing to the zoo.

It was a very special occasion.

It was part of a programme filmed in 1964

when we brought together a group of seven-year-old children

from vastly different backgrounds.

We went to prep schools, primary schools,

state schools, and private schools

and picked out 14 children.

We brought them together because we wanted

a glimpse of the shop steward and the executive

of the year 2000.

"Give me a child until he is seven,

"and I will give you the man."

These children are now 14,

halfway between childhood and manhood.

This is our interim report.

- If we did all love Jeffrey and we all want to marry.

Yeah.

- I think I know the one that he'd likes best,

and that's her.

Jackie, Lindsay, Susan.

Plenty of boyfriends, but not one--

Not one in particular.

You're friends with plenty of boys, you know.

My heart's desire is to see my daddy,

who's 6000 miles away.

Bruce.

You know, I've been getting on well

with my stepfather, and I like to see my father occasionally

and he does come over from Rhodesia.

Do you have a girlfriend?

- Nicholas from the Yorkshire Dales.

I don't want to answer that.

I don't answer those kind of questions.

No, I'm not answering that one.

Suzy.

I gave that up as a failure.

I was gonna be a policeman,

but I've thought how hard it would be to join in.

Paul.

Basketball appeals to me most,

but with this school, I'm one of their best players

in form two, but when I get into a team,

they make me look like I can't play.

- I feel like bundling when there's already a fight.

I was gonna be a film star, but--

Symon.

- Now, I'm gonna be an electrical engineer,

which is more to reality really.

- Singing Waltzing Matilda in Latin

at an exclusive pre-prep school in Kensington,

we chose three boys.

Charles,

Andrew.

I read the Financial Times.

And John.

I read Observer and the Times.

What do you like about it?

- Well, I like, I usually look at the headlines,

and then read about them, about it.

I like my newspaper because I got shares

and I know every day what the shares are.

Stuff like misers like you like.

No, but on Mondays, they don't move up,

so I don't look at it.

I made several blunders on Seven Up.

For instance, I said I was going to Trinity Hall

instead of Trinity College.

They didn't like that too much, nor did my father.

Also, I rather exaggerated when I said

how much I liked stocks and shares

because I don't anymore.

- How do you think you've changed

since you were seven years old?

Well, I mean, one grows so slowly

that one never notices honestly.

I feel the same as I felt at seven, I may not be.

When I leave this school,

I'm going to Collet Court,

and then I will be going to Westminster Boarding School

if I pass the exam.

- John passed the entrance exam,

and is a weekly boarder at Westminster School.

When I leave school,

I'm going the Dragon School, I might,

and mummy's, and after I might go

to Charter House Marlborough.

Charles is at Marlborough.

When I leave this school,

I go to Broadstairs' St. Peter's Court,

then after that, I'm going to Charterhouse.

Andrew is at Charterhouse.

When I leave this school,

I'm down for Heathfield and Southover Manor.

Suzy is at Southover Manor.

- Would everybody please sit round now?

- For one-third of our children,

their education was pre-planned and paid for.

The remainder went to state schools,

and their future seemed less certain.

I want to be a jockey when I grow up.

Yeah, I want to be a jockey when I grow up.

- Tony is on the way to achieving his ambition.

He spends all his free time

at Tommy Gosling's Racing Stables at Epsom.

My dad got on to Mr. Gosling.

Mr. Gosling told me I can come here

for every school holidays and learn a bit more.

Next April, I'll be leaving school,

and I'll work for him for good.

- Did your parents encourage you to do this?

- Yeah, they're pleased with everything what I've got,

you know, going to do,

but they always has wanted me to be a jockey.

Why?

- Enjoyment, just to say, "My son's a jockey,"

like, you know what I mean?

- Tony's change from elementary school

to Secondary Modern didn't alter his ambition,

but how about the other children?

Has a change of school changed them?

Bruce was at a pre-preparatory boarding school in Surrey.

- And that's farmer heath gives me nightmares.

I was about five when I went there,

and then,

I suppose I was too young really to understand it,

and I thought it was a bit severe at the time,

but then I just got used to it,

and didn't have sort of any impulses

to do things wrong, anything like that,

and I just got into the track of.

We're supposed to go sideways.

You know, of what they said

you must do and mustn't.

Right, steady.

Let's go left foot everyone, place.

Squad pleasing.

At St. Paul's, I like the companionship,

you know, with other boys really.

It's a bit, and you get that much more in a boarding school.

- Well, I think boarding makes you feel self-sufficient

and also teaches you to be away from your parents,

and to live with people for a long time,

which you have to do in later life anyway.

- Well, I agree with that a certain amount,

but when you board on a weekly basis,

you have the best of both worlds, so to speak.

One sees one's parents at the weekend,

and one gets all the benefits

from an English boarding school.

- I think prep school boarding is a bad idea

because up til about 12,

maybe it's different with other people,

but I've found you're much more attached to your parents

once you come to about 13, 14,

you're not quite so attached to them.

- Two of our boys who didn't have the chance

to be attached to their parents

were those brought up in a children's home

supported by charity, Symon.

I had one dream,

and everything flew up in the air.

It all landed on my head.

- Symon stayed at the home until last Christmas

when he returned to live with his mother.

They say, "Where's your father, then?

"You know, when your mum's out at work,

"stay with your father."

And I just tell them, I ain't got one.

- What effect has that had on you?

- Well, I don't think it's had any effect on me

because what you don't have, you don't miss,

as far as I can see.

Also at the children's home

with Symon was Paul.

He and his family emigrated when he was eight.

I don't like the big boys hitting us

and the monitors up in the washroom

sends the nurse out,

and there's no talking, but I wasn't talking today,

and Brown sent me out for nothing.

- What do you remember of England?

It seemed to be raining all the time.

I wouldn't stake my life on it

because I can't remember very much.

He went to Australia

to start a new life.

- Well, I was going to become a bank accountant,

but it's more book taking, the mess,

and that was main reason I was thinking

about becoming a panel beater.

And I don't know why now I've stopped thinking about that.

I just haven't made up my mind yet.

I was going to be a phys ed teacher,

but one of the teachers told me

that they had to get up into university.

Were you happy

at the children's home in England?