Dewsbury academy’s chance to teach the nation a lesson

THE ORIGINAL series helped to turn the staff and students at an Essex secondary school into prime time television stars whose daily lives were watched by millions.

Now a follow up to Channel 4’s hit show Educating Essex is being filmed in Yorkshire.

Cameras have started rolling this term in the corridors and classrooms of Thornhill Community Academy in Dewsbury.

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The second series of the documentary, which will be called Educating Yorkshire, will be filmed over the rest of the academic year and is expected to hit television screens in the autumn.

Educating Essex was watched by an average audience of almost two-and-half million viewers on Channel 4 and took social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook by storm.

The principal of Passmores Academy, in Harlow, Vic Goddard, and his deputy Stephen Drew became household names as viewers watched the way they taught and supported pupils.

Now producers are hoping to repeat the success in Dewsbury.

There have been 64 fixed cameras set up around the school.

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Educating Yorkshire is being put together by the same team at TwoFour Productions and will follow the same format as the original series with shots of school life unfolding mixed with interviews with members of staff and pupils.

Producers say they had been looking for schools in parts of the country which showed a different side of Britain to Educating Essex.

Thornhill Community Academy, which was previously known as the Community Science College at Thornhill, has recently converted to academy status. Its head teacher, Jonny Mitchell, born and raised in Dewsbury, was appointed in 2011 and has been instrumental in converting the school to an academy.

He said: “I am incredibly proud of Thornhill’s journey so far and the staff and students that have contributed to our successes.

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“This is an opportunity to show how a normal school nurtures youngsters, from a variety of backgrounds, providing them with opportunities to flourish academically and socially.

“I am confident Thornhill will represent the very best of Yorkshire and that the series will give a much-needed boost to the town and wider community as a whole.”

A Channel 4 spokeswoman said: “Like Educating Essex, this new eight-part series will explore what really happens behind the school gates. Focusing on both the GCSE students and staff who teach them, the series will explore their day-to-day lives at school as they face the most important year in their education.

“Sixty-four fixed cameras have been installed throughout the school premises capturing every detail of life in the school – from the corridors to the canteen, the headteacher’s office to the playground.

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“The series’ raw, honest and often entertaining portrayal of teaching has been recognised as providing a remarkable service to the profession and education in the UK. Inspirational head Mr Goddard and deputy Mr Drew were standout stars, illustrating the challenges teachers face, but also highlighting the great rewards.”

Filming for Education Yorkshire began last week and will continue through to March. The production team will then carry out further interviews during the summer. Twofour’s head of documentaries, David Clews, who was awarded a Bafta for directing Educating Essex, said: “We looked into filming in a number of schools which represented a different part of Britain to Essex.

“Thornhill Community Academy was chosen because of its fantastic staff and students and we feel extremely privileged to have access to film them.

“The school provides highly-rated education to a diverse 
and vibrant community in Yorkshire – it has had successive years of improving exam results which are continuing under headteacher Jonny Mitchell’s stewardship and its newly-awarded academy status will provide an insight into how these schools operate.”