* In Which We Serve: BBC2, Monday, May 1, 6pm. With VE Day all around, this is a good week for history or media teachers to stockpile examples of wartime cinema and propaganda. Made in 1942, this film owes more to a time when Britain was losing than winning the war, with resistance in adversity the theme as the survivors of a sunk battleship rally together. A self-conscious essay in national identity, this film was written by Noel Coward and marked David Lean’s directorial debut and Richard Attenborough’s first film appearance as an actor.
* Meat: BBC2, Tuesday, May 2, 9.30pm. Vegetarianism and animal rights remain one of the most keenly-argued classroom discussions. This new four-part series explores the pro and anti meat-eating lobbies, with a study of the arguments, the marketing and public attitudes to whether animals should be reared for human consumption. Among the items included is how the Meat and Livestock commission spend Pounds 7 million a year promoting meat, taking careful note that women rather than men are statistically more likely to have stopped eating red meat.
* The Old Curiosity Shop: Channel 4, Thursday, May 4, 9.30am. This 1934, black-and-white adaptation of the Dickens novel was the third version made by director Thomas Bentley, after previous silent films of the novel in 1914 and 1921. It was praised at the time for its closeness to the original book.
An obsessive fan of the novelist, Bentley first worked as an actor impersonating Dickens’s characters, and then in 1912 he began the work of putting Dickens on the screen, producing silent versions of the stories. Bentley’s movies were early examples of a tradition that has seen Dickens novels as among the most camera-friendly in literature.
* 3-D: ITV, Thursday, May 4, 7.30pm. The increase in violence against teachers by pupils is the subject of this human-interest current affairs programme. It claims there are 6,000 assaults a year, many of which go unreported because of the bad publicity for the teacher and school.
* States of Mind Go Back Out: BBC2, Thursday, May 4, 9.30pm. Mental illness among young people is of rising concern and this programme offers a dramatised account, based on real testimonies, of how schizophrenia can develop and envelop a young life. Intended to raise awareness and discussion about the treatment available to young schizophrenics, the drama shows how the social services are limited in their ability to help and the pressures that are put upon the family.
* Stage Two Science: Channel 4, Friday, May 5, 10.02am. A set of five new programmes in this upper junior science series from Channel 4 Schools, beginning with “Resources and Transfer”. Later episodes will look at such aspects of physics as magnetism, electricity, sound and light.
* Together Stories: Radio 3FM, Friday, May 5, 2.15pm. A new school radio series providing assembly materials, with the first three taking themes inspired by the journey to school. Later subjects will include Saint Francis of Assisi and the Parable of the Talents. These programmes are designed to complement the Together series of songs and stories shaped around the requirements for assemblies.
