The Platinum Jubilee: 1952-2022, YSJ through the decades

When Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne in February 1952, the world was a very different place. Space flight was still a dream, segregation was still legal in the USA and Ripon College and St John’s College were still single sex institutions! Seventy years later as we mark her Platinum Jubilee, a lot has changed and in many respects, the world is almost unrecognisable. We’ve certainly gone through some changes ourselves, from becoming coeducational to becoming a university, a lot has changed for us since 1952!

As we celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee, we’re looking back at the seventy years of her reign at York St John University.

1952

During the 1950s, lots of things changed for our students. But in 1952, some items were still being rationed, including tea and sugar. But there was plenty for our students to celebrate, including the still new NHS! Although a one shilling prescription charge was introduced in 1952, for many of our students, the prospect of free healthcare would still have been a new and exciting idea.

In this year, alongside mourning for the King and celebrating the accension of The Queen, students also:

• threw out their compulsory ID cards which were issued during World War II
• learnt that the UK had an atomic bomb
• worried about the Great Smog blanketing London

Students in York would also have had opinions about the new college crest! Approved in 1953, we’re sure students will have been giving their opinions on their college’s rebrand.

1962

By 1962, life was changing for our students. Ripon College celebrated its centenary with style! After 100 years, Ripon’s alumni released a special edition of their college alumni magazine and will no doubt have returned to campus to celebrate.

It was also in 1962 that the first women were admitted to York St John. The first cohort of women entered a college that wasn’t quite set up for them: equipment lists didn’t factor in their needs, there were no sports clubs for them to join and some of the students kept ‘forgetting’ that some spaces were just for the women to use!

But throughout the year, our students will have also:

• Worried about the smallpox outbreak
• Speculated about space travel when 12 European countries formed the European Space Agency
• Wrapped up warm as the ‘Big Freeze’ began – no frost free nights until the start of March!

1962 was also a year for big cultural beginnings. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and the first James Bond film all premiered, and our students would have been at the forefront of these crowds! On a slightly more academic note, students will also have watched the first ever University Challenge and celebrated the Education Act which introduced maintenance grants for students and paid student fees.

1972

By 1972, a lot had changed. Neil Armstrong had walked on the moon, students didn’t have to worry about money so much and rationing was very much a memory! In 1972, both colleges had begun to diversify their course offerings, but both colleges also feared the upcoming changes. Although students wouldn’t know it yet, it would only be two years later that the two individual colleges merged to become The College of Ripon and York St John (CRYSJ).

But 1972 was also an important year in history. Our students will have:

• Been horrified by the events of Bloody Sunday, The Troubles and Bloody Friday
• Been affected by the Miners’ Strike
• Learnt that anyone could now serve on a jury, even if they didn’t own property

Students would also have felt nervous as the school leaving age was increased to sixteen. This meant larger schools, a longer curriculum and a need for more teachers!

1982

By 1982, life at York St John was very different to life at college in 1952. CRYSJ was constantly growing, and by 1988, our student population surpassed 2000 for the first time! In 1982 students still had to travel to Leeds to receive their awards, something which staff knew needed to change. But it wouldn’t be until 1989 that our first students graduated in York Minster, a place that was much closer to home for some students, and still a trek for those studying in Ripon!

Alongside The Queen’s Pearl Jubilee, students will also have:

• Watched The Falklands War unfold
• Read about the birth of the first ‘test tube babies’
• Spent some of the first 20p coins

1984 was also a big year for cultural events: Prince William was born, Pope John Paul II became the first Pope to visit the UK, and Channel 4 began broadcasting. Our students might even have managed to get tickets for Eurovision that year, since it was held in Harrogate!

1992

In 1992, life at CRYSJ was beginning to change. In 1991, all BA and BSc programmes moved to the York campus and the College celebrated its 150th anniversary. A College Opportunity Fund was set up to help the next generation of students succeed. Then, like now, our alumni were some of its most generous contributors. In 1992, the first recipients of money from this fund will have started their studies, helped by the generosity of our alumni community. You can follow in their footsteps by donating to this fund’s successor: our alumni-funded scholarships fund.

Alongside the Ruby Jubilee celebrations, students will have:

• Been shocked by the separation of the Prince and Princess of Wales
• Voted in a general election
• Learnt about the Church of England vote to allow women to become priests

In 1992, the Further and Higher Education Act which allowed polytechnics to become new universities began paving the way for the idea of York St John University. Students will also have speculated about the future of Britain’s industry with the announcement of deep coal mining pit closures and a production cut in manufacturing steel.

2002

In 2002, our students and alumni community said goodbye to our Ripon campus. Closed in 2001, 2002 saw other celebrations of Ripon life, including a new stained glass window in Ripon Cathedral. Students will have enjoyed living in a student community centred in a single city for the first time since CRYSJ was formed.

Alongside the Golden Jubilee, students will also have:

• Listened to the new BBC Radio station, BBC 6 Music
• Watched two royal funerals
• Watched Girls Aloud form when they won Popstars: The Rivals

By 2002, students would also be learning under our first female principal in York, Dianne Willcocks. Although Ripon College had been led by women, and the original women’s teaching school based in York was led by the Cruse sisters, Dianne was the first women to be principal of CRYSJ. She would later become our first Vice Chancellor when we applied and were granted, university staus is 2006.

2012

In 2012, our students experienced the wettest April since records began! Our campus will have been full of dripping umbrellas and soggy jackets as our students moved between buildings. Compared to 1952, our campus has expanded quite far, and with several buildings built, expanded and even sold in the intervening years.

At York St John, we’re old enough to remember the last time we celebrated a ‘new’ jubilee. In 1897, when we were still our founder colleges, our students celebrated Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, the first Diamond Jubilee ever. In 2012, we celebrated The Queen’s.

Alongside The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, our students:

• Read about the conviction of Stephen Lawrence’s murders
• Discussed Scottish Independence after the referendum question was revealed
• Watched the London Olympic and Paralympic Games

By 2012, our students were also university students from their own university institution. When we became York St John University, we were able to grant our degrees in our own name. In 2012, work was also already underway to begin working towards our 2015 ability to award postgraduate and research degrees.

2012 also marked the 160th anniversary of our Boat Club! Although the club was founded when York St John was a single sex college, it, like its institution, has weathered many storms.

2022

Today, York St John is quite different to our founding colleges in 1952. Not only do we award degrees, we also award them ourselves and across a range of disciplines. We’ve also swapped one campus for another; although our Ripon campus closed in 2001, in 2018 we opened a London campus which is due to relocate to a new London location this summer.

Our student experience is also very different. Our students don’t live on site anymore, and they don’t have catered accommodation either! Students today don’t have any curfews and many enjoy the full social side of their studies. Our students also come from a range of backgrounds, cultures and countries creating a vibrant university community. But the founding principles which guided Ripon College and St John’s College in 1952 still ring true today.

A jubilee celebration to remember

This weekend, people around the country will be marking the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Whether this is through street parties, using the time off to spend time with loved ones, or visiting somewhere new thanks to the long weekend, we wish every celebrating a fantastic time.