I could have predicted last night's episode last week. The kids reduced the headmaster to tears, Jamie was lost for words, and yet there was a glimmer of hope. The somewhat understated transformation of teacher/student relations caught me by surprise when one-to-one conversations appeared on screen. The teachers were finally able to show their brilliance and we got to learn about the individual students rather than the rowdy bunch, one of them even got a signed copy of Starky's book on Elizabeth I, which he duly notes has sold millions, suggesting it's in a bookshop near you and you should buy because the author is on TV and finally comes across as 'a nice guy'.
Tempers flared just before their first Latin class (with Mary Beard) and what could have been an interesting session turned into a huge inter-student argument. When confronted by the headmaster, he became the target of blame for rudely interrupting an argument that he didn't understand, never mind the Latin teacher!
Poet laureate Sir Andrew Motion made his rules clear that any student who interrupts will be excluded, and Motion hit the nail on the head when he swiftly sent away three kids who were stunned to have been the target of a well-deserved kicking off. Well done on that front, discipline works! and so does a one-to-one talk, take away the distraction of a classroom and (surprise surprise) you'll find the kid has a brain, and feelings... maybe it's their up-bringing that made them this way?
And voila! you have a Channel 4 documentary! Emotion, arguing, frustration, then feelings, lifestyle problems, a bit of blubbering, a teenage mum in trouble, Jamie Oliver looking concerned... what more could they do?
Cherie Blair. Can't wait.
