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That'll Teach 'Em - Season 1

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Can today's kids handle a 1950's education?

A 1950s boarding school is brought back to life in a unique series designed to get to the heart of the debate about the standard of our children's education over the last 50 years. Combining living history with social experiment, That'll Teach 'Em transports 30 16-year-old volunteers, who have just sat their GCSEs, back in time to a 1950s-style state boarding school where they receive tuition in, and ultimately sit, O Levels in English, Mathematics and History. For one month, the pupils are placed under the supervision of a fierce headmaster, a domineering matron, two housemasters and a number of subject tutors, all former or working teachers, as the world of a '50's state boarding school is recreated in almost every detail. The pupils have to leave their mobile phones, hair gel and all the normal teenage luxuries at the school gates as they are sealed off from 2003 and travel back in time. As well as the more rigorous approach to learning that was common in the '50s, the students are also introduced to the joys of cross-country runs and the outdoor swimming pool. Religious instruction and strict discipline are integral to the regime, while the school dinners reflect the austerity of the time. Pupils can expect spam fritters, spotted dick and stewed prunes to feature on the menu. But will modern-day students struggle with the more rigid teaching style of 1950s? Every year more pupils appear to sail through their GCSEs, many obtaining the top grades, fuelling another heated debate about falling standards, with accusations of a dumbed down examination system. That'll Teach 'Em tackles the thorny issue of a crisis in education as we see whether the 16-year-olds drawn from across the country can cope with the academic rigor of O Levels and the tough, Spartan regime of a 1950s state boarding school.

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EPISODE 1: A new series which takes a group of school children back in time to see whether they can cope with the academic rigour of O Levels and the tough, Spartan regime of a 1950s state boarding school. Having just finished their GCSEs, 30 16-year-olds, drawn from around the country, have let themselves in for a month of intensive tuition, strict discipline, early morning runs and 1950s-style school dinners. In return, they get the chance to sit O Levels in English, Maths and History. Will our kids, weaned on a diet of child friendly teachers and technology-filled schools, sink or swim in a world of chalkboards and spam fritters? This first episode features the children’s arrival at the school as they bid an emotional farewell to their parents and begin to realise just what they have let themselves in for.

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EPISODE 2: In this second episode, the pupils are introduced to the joys of physical education - 1950s style - in the belief that a healthy body is essential for a healthy mind. In their English lessons, the students grapple with the alien world of past participles, syntax and grammar, while it begins to dawn on half of the students that ’girl power’ had yet to be invented in the 50s. While the boys dress up in military uniform and perform drill in the playground, the girls are taught how to stand up and walk across a room gracefully in deportment class.

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EPISODE 3: Thirty 16-year-olds, who have just finished their GCSEs, are taken back in time to see whether they can cope with the academic rigour of O Levels and the tough, Spartan regime of a 1950s state boarding school. In this episode, the pupils get to grips with history, 50s-style, where the emphasis was on the British Empire and students had to memorise reams of names and dates. Out of the classroom, the pupils get a rare chance to let their hair down during sports day where competitiveness is encouraged. But it’s not all fun and games as some students fall foul of the strict regime and face some particularly unpleasant punishments.

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EPISODE 4: In this episode, the pupils find written French a foreign language without the luxury of modern teaching aids. It’s final practice before King’s School Founder’s Day parade and while the boys’ military drill is going well, the girls are struggling with their gym display. At Founder’s Day, the pupils’ parents get to see how much their children have changed over the previous weeks and Lord Tebbit makes a rousing speech. Meanwhile, Nicholas Hall’s biscuit stash is finally uncovered but he has a cunning plan to avoid the blame, and McCready is in trouble again - this time it’s serious.

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EPISODE 5: The series reaches its climax in this final episode as exam fever grips King’s School. The pressure mounts as the pupils begin revision for their O’levels in English, maths and history and some are feeling the strain. Away from the exam hall, frantic rehearsals for the school play are under way. With lines being fluffed and cues being missed, will it be alright on the night? The final prize-giving ceremony reveals how the students, who had been expected to earn strong grades at GCSE, fair in their O Levels and cameras catch up with the students as they receive their real GCSE results. There is also time for a 50s-style dance to celebrate the end of term before the children say tearful goodbyes to each other and the school.

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