Arts education and oracy with Muriel Pyrah in the West Riding of Yorkshire 1967–1972

This chapter explores the reasons why Alec Clegg wanted Muriel Pyrah’s reputation as a teacher of arts and oracy to be better known, and how her pupils’ recollections can be interwoven with Clegg’s hopes, to re-tell the story of how pupils were educated for an uncertain future. Clegg’s publications, such as The Changing Primary School, often made space for the recollections of teachers who favoured reassuring their pupils through the use of imagination, poetry and the power of movement and dance. Pyrah’s priorities on the other hand were science, precise observation of the natural world and a shared articulation of factual knowledge. Pyrah’s scientific and factual approach was easier for Clegg to use in trying to persuade a wary public, than Seonaid Robertson’s interest in touch, symbolism and phantasy. Her impact as an arts educator was remembered fondly by former pupils wanting to discuss their experiences in both interviews and informal conversations.