Williamson

© Beth Williamson 2008
young artists in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s was a difficult task; art education
was divided and, as Ehrenzweig saw it, fundamental changes in approach were
required to rescue the training of artists from the rigidity that had been imposed
upon it by government-led courses and guidelines. 2 The degree of change that
was seen in approaches to art education in Britain during the 1950s became
even more pronounced in the following decade. 3 In 1959 the Ministry of
Education appointed The National Advisory Council on Art Education (NACAE)
— known as the Coldstream Council after its chair, Sir William Coldstream —
which devised the new Diploma in Art and Design. The Council first reported in
1960, then again in 1962 and 1964. 4 While its proposals offered improved
status for art schools, it also called for inspection and validation of courses by a
central controlling body. The Summerston Council, chaired by Sir John
Summerston and set up to implement the Coldstream recommendations, sent
its team around the country to inspect and validate the bulk of art and design
courses at degree-equivalent level in the UK. Most inspections took place
between February 1962 and March 1963. Of the 87 colleges (201 courses) that
applied for recognition, 29 colleges (61 courses) were finally approved —
Goldsmiths College in London was one of these. 5 Following the Coldstream
Report, the National Diploma in Design (NDD) was gradually replaced by the
Diploma in Art and Design (DipAD). 6 The Coldstream Council was clear that
teacher training as such was not within its remit, although the changes it called
for did impinge upon subsequent developments in teacher training. After
completing the DipAD students entering into teaching normally took a pedagogy
year to complete their Art Teacher’s Diploma qualification. The Art Teacher’s
Certificate (ATC) course at Goldsmiths had fulfilled this purpose since the
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