DOI: 10.5255/ukda-sn-5225-4
title: 1970 British Cohort Study: Age 16, Sweep 4 Head Teacher Questionnaire, 1986
title: 1970 British Cohort Study – Survey and Biomeasures Data
title: BCS70; Youthscan

description: &lt;p&gt;The &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;1970 British Cohort Study&lt;/span&gt; (BCS70) is a longitudinal birth cohort study, following a nationally representative sample of over 17,000 people born in England, Scotland and Wales in a single week of 1970. Cohort members have been surveyed throughout their childhood and adult lives, mapping their individual trajectories and creating a unique resource for researchers. It is one of very few longitudinal studies following people of this generation anywhere in the world.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Since 1970, cohort members have been surveyed at ages 5, 10, 16, 26, 30, 34, 38, 42, 46, and 51. Featuring a range of objective measures and rich self-reported data, BCS70 covers an incredible amount of ground and can be used in research on many topics. Evidence from BCS70 has illuminated important issues for our society across five decades. Key findings include how reading for pleasure matters for children's cognitive development, why grammar schools have not reduced social inequalities, and how childhood experiences can impact on mental health in mid-life. Every day researchers from across the scientific community are using this important study to make new connections and discoveries.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;BCS70 is run by the &lt;a href="https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/cls-studies/1970-british-cohort-study/" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"&gt;Centre for Longitudinal Studies&lt;/a&gt; (CLS), a research centre in the UCL Institute of Education, which is part of University College London. The content of BCS70 studies, including questions, topics and variables can be explored via the &lt;a href="https://discovery.closer.ac.uk/item/uk.cls.bcs70/75fe4705-0c94-4f75-b1e6-ad9c61ffde26" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"&gt;CLOSER Discovery&lt;/a&gt; website.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;em&gt;How to access genetic and/or bio-medical sample data from a range of longitudinal surveys:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br&gt;For information on how to access biomedical data from BCS70 that are not held at the UKDS, see the &lt;a href="https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/data-access-training/genetic-data-and-biological-samples/" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"&gt;CLS Genetic data and biological samples&lt;/a&gt; webpage.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Polygenic Indices&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;Polygenic indices are available under Special Licence SN 9439. Derived summary scores have been created that combine the estimated effects of many different genes on a specific trait or characteristic, such as a person's risk of Alzheimer's disease, asthma, substance abuse, or mental health disorders, for example. These polygenic scores can be combined with existing survey data to offer a more nuanced understanding of how cohort members' outcomes may be shaped.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Secure Access datasets&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Secure Access versions of BCS70 have more restrictive access conditions than versions available under the standard Safeguarded Licence.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;p&gt;The impetus behind the &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;1&lt;span&gt;970 British Cohort Study: Age 16, Sweep 4 Head Teacher Questionnaire, 1986&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; survey, which was sent out to every school in Great Britain which anyone born in the target cohort sample week in 1970 was likely to be attending, was to find out more about the schools attended by cohort members, especially as many of the members were about to leave full-time education. This information was particularly important as the response by teachers to the main survey's 'Educational Questionnaire' (Document L) was disappointing, because of the widespread industrial action that year in protest against government educational reforms. The head teacher questionnaire achieved a slightly better response (4,592 pupils covered, as opposed to 3,760 for Document L).&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The head teacher questionnaires were not able to be keyed, documented and deposited at the time of the survey, due to lack of resources, but funding finally became available in 2004-05 to complete this task at the CLS.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;A school type variable for the full BCS70 cohort, derived from data in the Head Teacher Questionnaire, is available as part of the main Sweep 4 study (available from the UK Data Service under SN 3535).&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Latest edition information&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;For the sixth edition (September 2022), the data file has been updated with a minor labelling change. &lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;