The ABC provided schools with educational radio programmes for decades. As early as 1934 station 2FC was broadcasting High School French, Geometry and History lessons. By 1951 it was claimed that 70 percent of N.S.W. schools had radios for this purpose. Eventually, even the most remote one or two-teacher schools were equipped with a radio, often purchased with funds raised by the P. & C. In bigger schools it was usually in the principal's office with each classroom having a speaker and one in the playground.

School broadcasts began in Infants School with Let's Join In announced by Dorothy Fleming at 2.45 p.m. and broadcast around Australia by the ABC from 1954. We'd learn songs like 'The old bullock dray', 'Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree' and 'Bound for Botany Bay'. The music crackled its way to us through the speaker on the front wall of the classroom above the blackboard, near the framed print of Queen Elizabeth II wearing her famous Norman Hartnell wattle gown and tiara. 

In Primary School we had folk dancing in the playground on Fridays from 11.45 a.m. till noon. Because the dances had to be explained 'on air', the steps were simple with lots of skipping and running. We learnt dances like 'Shoo Fly', 'Oh Johnny', 'Grand Old Duke of York', 'Seven Steps' and the 'Hokey Pokey'.

Folk dancing was meant to overcome shyness and develop confidence. Boys were supposed to approach their partners, ask them nicely to dance and thank them afterwards. However, girls weren’t too keen holding the grubby, sweaty boys' hands, especially after playtime. Some girls solved this by picking up sticks in the playground beforehand; then made the boys hold the other end instead of actually touching their hands! There was often a collective sigh of relief if it happened to rain on Fridays.