Title sequence and theme music
From the start of the series in Series 1 (1978) to Series 10 (1987), the title sequence was in a comic book style and used "Chicken Man" by Alan Hawkshaw as the theme tune.
From Series 11 (1988) to Series 12 (1989), a new title sequence was introduced, now using still images of certain topics, along with a bassier rendition of Chicken Man.
From Series 13 (1990) to Series 16 (1993), a new title sequence was introduced which showed pupils and staff travelling into school in a slightly grainy CCTV style. This was accompanied by a new, more contemporary-sounding theme written for the series by Peter Moss.
From Series 17 (1994) to Series 23 (2000), new titles were introduced showing pupils taking part various school subjects such as music, chemistry, PE and Food Technology.
From Series 24 (2001) to Series 25 (2002), a more colourful sequence was introduced, showing pupils interacting with the logo itself. This was due to Grange Hill being broadcast in widescreen for the first time, the opening theme had been cut slightly shorter for the first time since 1990.
Only used for Series 26 (2003), the titles once again changed, this was to reflect on the move to Liverpool as the previous titles featured shots of the old school building (based In Elstree), once again the titles & the theme tune had been shortened down.
From Series 27 (2004) to Series 30 (2007), the titles changed once again. These were in the style of a video game, and the Moss theme tune had been edited down to around 12 seconds by this point. This was the first time since 1989 that live action footage was not used.
For the 30th anniversary in Series 31 (2008), and what turned out to be the final series, an abbreviated edit of the original version of "Chicken Man" was reinstated as the main theme, and, for the final time, the titles had changed once again for cartoon pupils and staff experiencing topics discussed in older series' of Grange Hill.
Grange Hill was the first programme to use it as a theme followed by the popular quiz show Give Us a Clue, whose makers used it from 1979 to 1982, despite it already being played on Grange Hill. Give Us a Clue used a less dynamic custom arrangement more in keeping with the style of light entertainment programming.
The last four notes of the original theme song were heard when Brookside, one of Phil Redmond's other TV series, aired its final episode in November 2003.
From 1978 to 1993, the end music would change length and notes occasionally depending on how many actors were in the episode and the mood/theme of the episode. For example, a longer version of the end music would be used if more actors played a role or if the episode focused on a serious tone.
From 1978 to 1979, the ending credits would be on a plain black background.
The closing titles from 1980 to 1984 rolled over a different-coloured background for each episode.
From 1985 to 1989, the ending credits would play over various shots of the episode it showed.
From 1990 to 2008, the ending credits would be on a custom-made background that either shows the Grange Hill logo, or it would be related to the intro used during the time.
