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Secondary School Gymnastics: Leyton County High School for Boys

London schoolboys demonstrate impressive range of gymnastic moves for the cameras.

Sport 1936 11 mins Silent

From the collection of:

Logo for London's Screen Archives

Overview

These boys from Leyton County High School for Boys have been drilled by Thomas McDowell, a PE expert who devised yoga-like routines, including some after the First World War that replicated the mechanism and movement of tanks. There’s certainly something militaristic about these impeccably drilled young men, who perform complex and demanding routines with brilliant choreography.