Christmas! Class Dismissed

This is Dockbridge High, a school just like yours.

For three years, our cameras have followed day-to-day life here.

There have been highs and lows.

Now we're back to witness what happened when this school faced

its toughest challenge yet.

Christmas! Can this ordinary school get through the simple task of not

ruining it for everyone?

This is Class Dismissed at Christmas.

SCHOOL BELL RINGS

It's the last day before the Christmas holidays,

and everyone is feeling festive.

You, slow down, little girl.

I'm a teacher.

It's Christmas!

High five if you asked Father Christmas for a fidget spinner.

Santa banter!

It's Christmas!

This time of year is all about fun, silliness and laughter

and who better to convey that sense of Christmas spirit than Mr Potter?

Now I know it's almost Christmas, but school is school.

And I expect you all to behave in a sensible and studious manner today.

I am willing to accept that today will involve...

..some fun.

CHEERING

But not too much fun!

-A little fun.

-CHEERING

Not that much fun.

Just a moderate amount of fun.

Sensible fun.

The kind of fun that falls between

lots of fun and absolutely no fun at all.

-Merry Christmas!

-That's too much fun.

Sorry, sir.

There is still a day of lessons ahead,

so it's important that none of us

gets overexcited or distracted from our learning.

It's snowing!

What are you doing? Have you never seen snow before?

Sit down! It's only snow!

The snow continues to fall while the school day gets underway.

And Juan Castaneta is giving his class a truly Spanish Christmas

-experience.

-Feliz Navidad.

Feliz Navidad.

-What's he saying?

-Feliz Navidad.

It is Spanish for snowflakes and holly and ho, ho, ho.

Doesn't it just mean Merry Christmas?

To some. Ah, Christmas.

The time of year when we swap our tapas for tinsel.

Our sombreros for Santa hats.

And we replace our maracas with crackers.

Here, look.

Whoa!

Here! Everyone!

Take a cracker. And shake your cracker like a maraca and sing.

# Feliz Navidad. #

Come on. # Feliz Navidad. #

Stand up! # Feliz Navidad! #

Sing it like you mean it!

# Feliz Navidad! #

Merry Chrrrrrrrrrrrristmas

and a hhhhhhappy HHHHHHHHHanukkah.

SCHOOL BELL RINGS

As the snow starts to cover the school, year ten are in English

and Mr Capp is retelling one of the greatest Christmas stories

ever written.

Hashtag Crimbo, hashtag lol-iday, hashtag banter.

We're going to be looking at an old-school classic novel,

A Christmas Carol by my main fan, Charlie Dickens.

Now, this is about a bro Scrooge, chilling like a villain.

And I've written it in yo lingo.

Boom!

Tahj, why don't you read out the first line?

Tree, moon, icy snowman, angry face,

screw, pointing man, books.

HE LAUGHS

Oh, my days.

-Hey, who's your mate?

-Tahj.

Banter.

It clearly says it was Christmas Eve and it was 'nuff chilly...

Brrrrr!

So this grumpy dude Scroo-ge - see what I did there -

told his staff they had to work in the freezing cold.

Jasmine, take the next line.

Icy, cross arms, cash bag, sad face.

Nopadociasaurus. Rarr!

It says even though it was freezing cold, he gave no money to charity.

-Obvs.

-Oh, yeah.

At midnight, he was visited by three ghosts.

Wooo!

-Come on, Emily.

-The ghosts of Christmas present, past and future.

Exactly! At least someone knows their text speak.

I read A Christmas Carol last year, sir.

And that, Embo, makes me...

..smiley face!

Why is he a poo?

SCHOOL BELL RINGS

Break time, and everyone is excited to get out into the snow.

-You go.

-No, you don't.

Nobody is going out in this.

Oh, come on, sir, it's only snow.

Yeah, it's not even that cold.

It's so cold.

Yeah, let's leave it for today.

Yeah.

Need heat. Hold me.

SCHOOL BELL RINGS

After break, it's citizenship,

and Joy is getting festive by doing a class secret Santa.

Now, Tahj, do you want to go first?

Who was your secret Santa gift for?

I got Billy. Here you go, mate.

-Merry Christmas.

-Oh, wonderful.

Emily, whose secret Santa are you?

I...got Billy too.

Oops. OK.

I've clearly made a little mistake there, but that's fine.

Emily, I hope you can give me the gift of forgiveness.

I got you too, Billy.

-Me too.

-And me.

-And me.

-And me.

-Yeah.

Oh, well done, Joy.

You've messed up Secret Santa.

You've ruined Christmas.

It isn't ruined, miss.

Best one yet for me.

Don't look at me. I need to be alone, children.

And don't bring me any turkey.

I don't deserve it.

Santa won't be visiting me this Christmas.

Do you want one of my presents, miss? I've got loads.

It's empty.

They're all empty.

We decided to give you the gift of friendship and respect.

Vouchers would've been fine.

Meanwhile, Mr Potter has some important news about the snow

-for head Hillary Head.

-Soon...

Why is this of any interest to me?

Because the snow is getting heavier and heavier.

Oh, stop panicking, Potter.

Those weather reports are always wrong.

Yes, only the snow IS getting heavier and heavier.

Nonsense.

Mrs Head, listen.

If we don't do something, and fast, we are going to be trapped in here.

With...the children.

What? Trapped?

With the ch...

-Children?

-For all Christmas.

SHE SCREAMS

BELL RINGS

The snow may be causing issues for many of the Dockbridge staff,

but in maths, Mr Konnundrum has problems of his own.

So, if a man, or a woman, but in this case, probably a man,

agrees to play the front end of a cow in a local production

of Jack And The Beanstalk...

..but finds that when removing the costume,

the trouser zip gets caught in the fur

due to the poor quality of the fabric,

should the man, A,

explain the situation to the fancy dress shop and then hope

that someone will cut him out of the cow trousers

or, B, remain in the cow trousers,

potentially forever?

-Yes, Tahj?

-A, sir,

someone should get him out of the trousers and quite soon.

He wouldn't want to spend the whole of Christmas looking like the lower

-half of a cow.

-You're right.

Thank you, Tahj.

Come on, Janice.

We can make it if we take the bus.

Quiet reading.

Oh, and happy Christmas everyo...

Oh! All right, Janice!

SCHOOL BELL RINGS

It's lunchtime,

and Mrs Tucker has prepared a special Christmas meal.

-What'll it be, my love?

-Turkey dinner, please.

Ah, we seem to have run clean out of turkey.

Oh, no. I'm the first in the queue.

Yes, but trouble is,

turkey is famously very hard to get hold of this time of year.

Turkeys are hard to get hold of at Christmas?

Very. Now, anything else you'd like, treacle?

-I could do you a good deal.

-Pigs in blankets, then, with stuffing.

I've got none of them either, I'm afraid.

Roast potatoes?

-No.

-Carrots?

-No.

-Well, what do you have?

-Gravy.

-That's Christmas dinner?

-Gravy?

-I'm 70% sure it's gravy.

-What do you say?

-Why not?

That's the spirit.

As the pupils all enjoy their Christmas feast,

Hillary Head selflessly skips lunch

in order to deal with the increasingly bad weather.

Maintenance people,

you need to do something about the snow and fast.

Worry not, your headship, I have phoned my friend Derek,

who owns a snowplough.

Snowplough Derek, we call him.

He'll be here soon.

Thank goodness.

PHONE RINGS

Derek, my man.

Oh, right.

OK, fine.

What did he say? Is he here?

Unfortunately, he can't get to his snowplough,

because of all the snow.

Oh, well. Shall I put the kettle on?

Give me that shovel. I'm going to brave the cold all by myself

and clear the snow so I don't have to spend a moment longer

with the children.

Back in the canteen,

Billy and Emily are hoping that the cold gravy will put off

-even Mr Spittle.

-Hello, you lot.

Room for one more?

Oh, we were just leaving.

Nonsense. You haven't even finished your gravy yet.

I wouldn't bother. It's cold and horrible.

Oh, really?

What a shame.

Oh, I know. How about I just bin this for you now?

That's awfully kind of you, Billy, but I should try it at least.

Wait, sir, I think it might have...

..cabbage in it.

Oh, yuck, imagine that.

Cabbage gravy.

Splendid. I love a bit of roughage at Christmas.

Let's try this cold, cabbage gravy.

Peculiar flavour.

My palate finds the parsnip perfume particularly playful.

All in all, perfection.

I might get seconds.

SCHOOL BELL RINGS

After lunch, head Hillary Head heads out to go head-to-head

with the snow...

This is it, Hillary. Don't be scared.

It's just a light frost.

Whoa!

..while Mr Potter is forced to call another emergency assembly.

Quiet, everyone. Settle down.

I have a very important announcement to make.

There's no way to sugar-coat this, so I won't.

We're snowed in, and we can't get out,

which means that nobody will be going home.

How long are we going to be here for, sir?

We don't know. It could be a few hours, it could be a few days.

A few days?

It's Christmas on Monday.

What are we going to do for food?

We'll starve.

No, you won't. I've spoken to Mrs Tucker,

who informs me that she has enough gravy to last until New Year.

Sir, if we're staying here for Christmas,

can we at least start having a little fun?

Well, I have taken it upon myself to organise a full itinerary of classes

and extracurricular activities

to last until the end of the day.

Merry Christmas.

As the pupils face up to the fact that Christmas might be ruined,

Mark finds a silver lining.

What on earth is that?

Mistletoe, innit?

When two people are under the mistletoe, they, like, have to kiss.

It's the Christmas rule.

So you think Marcella's finally going to kiss you

just because of some Christmas rule?

Yeah, man, it's, like, the actual law or something, I swear.

Yeah, and if you break it,

the Christmas police arrest you and take you to the North Pole.

Exactly! You hear that, Billy?

Right, let's do this.

Like, Marcella.

What you want, Mark?

Can I have, like, a kiss, please?

Innit?

Come on, he made that stupid hat and everything.

You'll make his Christmas.

You'll make his year.

Fine, but literally only cos it's Christmas.

Sweet.

Oh, mistletoe. Don't mind if I do.

Mum!

Hi, Marky.

Dude, you just totally kissed your mum.

She's not my mum.

In that case, you just kissed your teacher,

which for my money is much worse.

What is my life? Why does this keep happening to me?

I can't believe I kissed my mum.

I mean, she's not my mum, but I can't believe I kissed her.

I still can't believe we're trapped in school at Christmas.

It's like having your exam on your birthday.

Or going on holiday, and it raining the whole time.

With the entire school angry at the prospect of spending Christmas at

Dockbridge High, Mr Potter is finding it hard to feel festive.

You all right, Alan?

Do you ever wonder why we do this?

Oh, yes. That's easy.

To see little Marky's face when he opens up his stocking.

Not Christmas, Mrs Mark, teaching.

All I seem to do is shout, tell people off,

deliver bad news and make the kids unhappy.

Oh, now, now, Alan, you make the kids very happy.

No, it just seems that to them, I'm a grumpy old teacher.

The bringer of doom and gloom.

Whoop!

Maybe you just need to think of something that you can do for them.

-Like what?

-What did you used to love about Christmas

when you were a child?

A sense of order.

I'd draw up a strict rota with everyone's specific jobs on it,

and I'd ensure that everything got done swiftly and diligently and to a

high standard.

OK.

Let's keep thinking, shall we? Yes.

Later that day, to keep the pupils entertained,

Miss Davis shows year ten how to make mince pies.

You start by putting your flour,

sugar and butter and make it into a nice dough.

Take your dough out of the bowl,

-and squeeze!

-PARP!

-And squeeze!

-PARP!

And squeeze!

PARRRRP!

Now, when your mince pies come out of the oven,

they should look like this.

And then later on, we can leave them out for the big,

bubbly visitor that comes but once a year.

PARRP!

I wish that only came once a year.

Everyone! Mr Potter wants us all immediately!

For an emergency assembly!

Again.

This is all set to be the worst Christmas

in the history of Christmases.

I've had worse. I once spent Christmas stuck in a turkey.

What's it going to be this time?

Let me guess? We're going to be locked in until Easter.

All right, all right - pipe down, everyone.

Now, I'm aware today hasn't gone as we expected.

I know you wanted a day of fun, but school is school.

However, I also know that Christmas is Christmas, which is why I,

and a good friend, have done this.

Merry Christmas, Dockbridge High.

Yes, Mr Potter has created this winter wonderland just for you.

That's right. After rummaging through the lost property box,

Mr Rhomb's art office, Dave and Kev's workshop,

and a secret cupboard marked "emergency Christmas things",

we salvaged just enough stuff to give Dockbridge a Christmas

-it'll never forget.

-Yes.

As difficult as that is to believe...

..that's what happened.

Well, come on then. Come in.

Merry Christmas.

CHEERING

Look at me, Alan. I'm Santa Claus.

-Mr Potter.

-Yes?

I just want to say thanks for all this, yeah?

-It's amazing.

-You're all right, you, sir.

Thank you, that's very kind.

You know, I'm sure we would all rather be with our family

for Christmas,

but if I can't be with them,

then the only place I really want to be is here with you lot.

Merry Christmas, sir.

Merry Christmas, Jasmine.

It's...

-It's...

-What is it?

The snow's gone.

It's all gone.

So we can all go home?

Yes, you can go!

CHEERING

Wait a second. Don't go.

It's Christmas.

A time of goodwill to all.

So, let's come together and raise a cup of human kindness.

United, not as teachers and pupils, but as one.

One school.

One Dockbridge.

No, sorry, sir.

As school finally comes to an end, Christmas can truly begin.

Oh, Janice.

Left and right.

Left and right. Come on, Janice, keep up.

But Mrs Mark and Mr Potter have some last-minute business

to attend to.

Oh, well, they may have all gone, but I think we made them very happy.

Mrs Mark, would you be so kind as to

join me in a dance?

Oh, Mr Potter.

Why not?

It is Christmas.

# Snow is falling

# All around me

# Children playing, having fun

# It's the season for love and understanding

# Merry Christmas, everyone

# Merry Christmas, everyone! #

That was a close one.

I thought we were going to be stuck in there forever.

I just want to know one thing. Where did all the snow go?

I've never shovelled snow so hard, but by gosh, it was worth it.

All the children gone!

It really is the most wonderful time of the year!

SNOW RUMBLES AND SHE SCREAMS

-I don't know.

-Who knows?

-Come on, it's Christmas! Come on. Come on.

-Come on.

-Merry Christmas!

# It's the season of love and understanding

# Merry Christmas, everyone

# Merry Christmas, everyone! #