Our History

Our History

Did you know we celebrated our 75th anniversary in 2023?

We are almost as old as film itself. Let’s look back at our history and where it started.

The Early Years

The first ever motion picture was shown in a UK cinema in 1896. Ealing Studios, the world’s oldest film studio, was established in 1902 just a few years later and by the 1920s silent cinema had been replaced by moving image with sound in the 1920s.

Fast forward to the 1940s and motion pictures had caught the imagination of the world. We were living in what has been widely accepted as the golden age of film in the UK. During this time, a group of pioneering university teachers recognised that this new medium had potential beyond simply entertainment for the population after a hard week at work. They realised it had transformative potential for use in teaching, learning and research in Universities. They understood that films could bring subjects to life, engage students in a more immersive way, and facilitate a deeper understanding of complex concepts. They wanted to revolutionise teaching with this newer medium. So, in 1948, Learning on Screen was born. We started off as the Universities Film Council, but soon became the British Universities Film Council (BUFC).

We were set up as a charitable organisation, to grow a membership of innovative educational institutions who believed passionately in our mission. This was” the advancement of education in universities by the coordination and development of the use and study of film and related media, materials, and techniques for the purpose of university teaching and research.” During these early years, the organisation was sustained by a handful of volunteers. They worked to find out more about their audiovisual needs of members and to build up a collection of educationally relevant films for them to use.

The Magnificent Seven who started BUFVC

Keeping up with technologic advancements

Over our 75-year history moving image and sound has evolved in line with new technologies. And we have evolved too, expanding our focus beyond films to include a wider range of moving image and sound resources.

By the 1960s, 75% of British homes had a television. We embraced this revolutionary access to moving image and integrated television into our archived collections.

With the widespread adoption of video in the 1980s we changed our name once again to the British Universities Film and Video Council or BUFVC in 1983 and continued to grow our vast collection of audio-visual content, making content available via tapes.

Then, with the invention of the internet we once again transformed. This time launching a new subscription streaming service Box of Broadcasts and digitising vast collections of content to make them available online.

In 2015, in recognition and support of the greater range and impact of our work, our members agreed new charitable objects “The advancement of education by promoting the production, study, and use of moving image, sound, and related media within education and research, for the public benefit.

Where are we now?

We changed our name in 2020 to Learning on Screen but our vision and our mission hasn’t changed. In fact, it’s more important and relevant now than ever.

As we celebrated our milestone 75th anniversary, we reflected on our journey and impact. Our commitment to enhancing the use of moving images and sound in education has undoubtedly played a significant role in shaping the educational landscape and supporting educators and learners throughout the years. And we plan on doing this for many years to come.