The Bishop's School, India Extreme School

Today on Extreme School:

Two Bristol lads who love breaking rules...

..agree to enrol at an elite boys' school in India.

No-one sleeps in our classes. You have to sit up straight.

Can they stay out of trouble?

I don't want to do it.

Mr Freese is going to mental, but I don't care.

And wise up to their education.

Calm down!

It's going to be a challenge. A real tough challenge.

I'm not talking to you.

Look in the mirror and talk to yourself, then.

Do you think you know better than your teachers?

Do you spend more time in detention than you do in the classroom?

If the answer's yes, then a spell at one of the world's strictest schools

could get you back on track.

Calman!

Today, I'm at a school in Bristol.

I'm about to meet a couple of lads in need of a wake-up call.

13-year-old Charlie back-chats his teachers,

always wants the last word and makes up his own rules.

The teachers describe me as rude, arrogant.

I think I'm cleverer than the teachers.

13-year-old Aiden is frustrated by school

and gets told off for winding up his mates

and chanting football songs in class.

I get in trouble mainly because I muck about

and I answer back to the teachers

and I don't do my work.

Their school careers are going off track.

Which is why they've agreed to enrol at an Extreme School.

Before I meet Charlie and Aiden,

I need to gather some evidence for my Extreme School dossier.

What's Charlie like at school?

He thinks he's better than his teachers.

He never backs down.

He doesn't have any respect for teachers

and he always thinks he's right.

Aiden's in detention weekly,

which isn't great.

He's a fantastic athlete and loves PE

but his main problem is focusing in lessons.

He could either really go off the rails

or make a real success of his life at this point.

This is an open-and-shut case.

Charlie and Aiden definitely need an Extreme School experience.

Hello, everyone. I'm Susan Calman from Extreme School!

CHEERING

I'm looking for Aiden and Charlie.

Can you join me at the front of the class, please?

Charlie, is it true you think you're more intelligent than your teachers?

Well, I am.

The evidence speaks for itself.

You're both in need of an Extreme School experience.

I'm going to give you a few facts about the school you're going to.

At this school, you'll be sharing each class

with 50 super-elite students.

At this school, you'll have completed seven lessons

before lunch.

Is that a problem?

Yeah.

If you misbehave in any way,

you'll be made to pick up stones and weed the school grounds.

No. No! No!

Well, Aiden and Charlie,

you are going to the Bishop's School in India!

In India?!

ON TANNOY: Stand at ease! Attention!

The motto of the Bishop's School is just one word - thorough.

Everything has to be thoroughly done.

-Good luck!

-Good luck!

-STUDENTS:

-Bye!

Charlie and Aiden will be touching down in Pune, India,

around 4,500 miles from home.

Known as "the Oxford of the East",

the city has hundreds of schools and universities

and attracts students from across the country.

It's here you can find The Bishop's Boys' School.

The English-speaking school was established in 1864

and is ranked number one in the city.

-Good morning, school.

-Morning, sir.

It's run by the straight-talking Mr Freese.

Good discipline in a school like ours,

especially a boys' school in India, is very, very important.

Bishop's students are the cream of the crop.

We study a lot, we love our school a lot.

Very respectful to our teachers.

For many, a place at The Bishop's School is their ticket

to a better life in India.

If you're not educated in India,

then you're nothing. No girl marries you.

A week at The Bishop's School could be a real eye-opener

for serial rule-breakers Charlie and Aiden.

But first, they have to make it through the traffic!

It is crazy.

You can't go down any street without hearing about 20 beeps!

CARS BEEP

It is a bit of a shock.

It's too much, really.

Makes you pretty nervous about going to school, to be honest.

For the next five days,

Charlie and Aiden will be pupils at The Bishop's School.

To graduate successfully, they must:

WHISTLE BLOWS

Bishop's students savour every moment at their school.

Their enthusiastic morning arrival

has already put Charlie and Aiden on the back foot!

The school is very big. The traffic outside is mayhem.

All the kids are looking at me.

And they haven't even met school principal Mr Freese yet!

Charlie, Aiden. Come in, please.

-Very good. Good morning.

-Morning.

The boys in this school usually address me as sir.

If you look at the school banner, you'll find the word "thorough".

That is the school motto.

Everything we do here, we believe we're going to do it thoroughly.

What is your school motto?

I don't think we have one, but if I was going to explain it,

it would be "laid back. Chilled."

Say a teacher shouted at me,

I'd be laid back, like, "Whatever."

That word, "whatever", is almost banned in our school.

In your school, do you have rules?

-Mm.

-Do you break most of them?

-Yeah!

Here, we don't encourage that.

The key rules here. One is respect.

The other is obedience.

The third rule is get down to thorough work

where your studies are concerned.

But Charlie's got other ideas.

I reckon there's room for a bit of leeway.

There's leeway. He sounds like a forgiving person.

So I could get away with a bit.

The Bishop's day begins with a full assembly in the courtyard.

And headmaster Mr Edwin wants them to fit in properly.

Aiden, this is your set of uniform.

Charlie, that's yours. Right? OK?

I am not wearing a tie.

Not wearing a jumper.

Do we have to wear it, though?

Well, I'm refusing. I don't care what you say.

This is a stark contrast to their uniform back home

which consists of a polo shirt and no tie.

You look like a nerd!

Mr Freese is going to go mental, but I don't care.

I'm not wearing it, so...

Bishop's boys always wear their uniform with pride.

Charlie and Aiden must do the same if they want to stay out of trouble.

But Charlie doesn't take kindly to school rules.

What about you, my friend?

-I'm not wearing it.

-Why?

-Cos it's horrible.

The boys are waiting for you. They all came to see what you're like.

Are you going to waste your time just being here alone?

I'm not going to get embarrassed.

You won't be embarrassed! They're all dressed the same way!

-How will you be embarrassed?

-It just is.

-Then we'll have to pack you up and send you home.

-Fine.

-Talk to me. Tell me the reasons.

-I'm not talking to you!

Look in the mirror and talk to yourself, then.

I can't keep the school waiting. So we'll carry on.

'There's a tremendous amount of stubbornness.'

If he doesn't put on the uniform, he can't join the school.

With Charlie temporarily suspended,

Aiden must now face his first school assembly alone.

We have a boy from England. Actually, we've got two.

One has not come to assembly.

The other boy, I want to introduce you to Aiden.

Aiden, come up here.

This is Aiden. He's all the way from England.

Please tell us about yourself.

Hello. I'm Aiden. I'm 13 years old

and I like football, cricket.

Thank you.

Can we give him a big round of applause and welcome him to school?

When I walked out and saw the students waiting for me,

I felt happy cos they were all there for me.

It was nice.

We thank you for Charlie and Aiden. We pray especially for Charlie,

and we ask that you touch his heart

and help him to co-operate and enjoy the rest of this week.

All he wants is rules and respect and rubbish like that.

They're wearing it cos they're scared of him.

I'm not scared of him, so I'm not going to wear it.

Charlie is on the verge of being excluded from this Extreme School.

I'm going to talk to Charlie to try and get him into his uniform.

Cos I can't do it all alone. I need some support from him.

-All right?

-You should get changed.

-No!

Trust me, it's actually really fun.

I'll put up with the tie, but not with the short-sleeved shirt.

Won't you put the jumper on?

I just don't like the jumper.

Go on, Charlie, please do it. I can't do it all on my own.

It's ugly!

You obviously don't want to do it.

-All right.

-You're going to do it?

-Yeah.

You're a star!

Good. Good. Very good.

Possibly it was his last chance.

I don't think he'll need another chance. He'll be successful.

Come on. Let's go to class.

-He's looking pretty smart, actually.

-Shut up!

Bishop's boys are some of the highest achieving in the country.

They're keen to find out if their new British classmates

have the same passion for school.

OK, class, these are our two visitors, Aiden and Charlie.

Is there anything you'd like to ask them?

Aiden and Charlie, what do you think of school?

Boring.

I'd rather sit at home and relax.

Did you ever get into trouble at school, and for what?

All the time. Talking, you know. Shouting.

I would like to ask you how important is school

to English students?

Not very important.

We don't worship it as much as you guys.

I think it's pretty shocking.

Education is a must in India.

You have to be a doctor or an engineer.

They're the only two options you've got.

Either of these, or you're disowned by your family.

Back in the UK, Charlie and Aiden rarely listened to their teachers.

So the school have planned a rather apt end of week challenge for them.

Class 5A are one of the school's liveliest and busiest.

With 52 Year 5 pupils.

-ALL:

-Good morning, sir.

Morning, boys. Sit.

Aiden and Charlie, this is your challenge.

You're going to prepare a lesson for these kids.

At the end of the week, you're going to teach them a lesson.

Rebellious student turned teacher,

the shoe really is on the other foot now.

Hopefully, they don't run riot. There is 52 of them.

'I always think I'm smarter than the teachers,'

so this is my chance to prove it.

I think Charlie is a bit over confident on this one, yeah.

This show needs to keep us under control

because we're a very troublesome class!

It's a new day at Bishop's and a fresh start for Charlie.

He needs to be on his best behaviour

if he wants to make up for his disastrous start at the school.

-Aiden.

-Charlie.

-What do you like more, football or cricket?

-Football.

But as the boys gather for morning assembly,

they draw a bit of a crowd.

Can we just go now? Can't stand in there.

-Everyone just looks at you.

-It's really weird.

Let's just go. Let's go now.

Charlie is once again refusing to join assembly

and this time, he's taken Aiden with him.

Almighty God, whose blessed son

did show wisdom and stature...

We only walked out cos we felt like everybody was crowding us.

I don't mind if there's a few people around me,

-but...

-Not the whole school.

I'll just explain to the head teacher, Mr Edwin,

and can he understand?

And if he doesn't, then I guess whatever happens happens.

It seems Charlie will find any excuse to break a rule.

We expected you to be at assembly this morning. What happened?

The reason we didn't come was like...

We were stood there

and everybody started crowding us.

-There was a few people crowding...

-It was intimidating.

Now, this is what it is. It's not acceptable to miss assembly tomorrow.

I hope I've made myself clear. Charlie, especially you.

That's the last warning you're going to get, both of you.

I don't know why Charlie felt intimidated.

Our kids are nice. They were trying to make them comfortable.

He feels that he can do what he wants and get away with it.

We've got to clamp down on that and be strict with him now.

"I saw pale kings and princes, too..."

With the boys on their final warning,

they need to knuckle down to have any chance of graduating

from Extreme School.

I'm going to try my hardest to reach my goal.

And the teachers at Bishop's are now watching them even closer.

Charlie, sit up. No-one sleeps in our classes. Sit up straight.

-Good afternoon, class.

-Yo.

Did someone say "Yo"?!

-I didn't say yo.

-Please be seated.

My worry with Charlie is a matter of over-confidence.

He thinks he knows it all.

To add to the pressure, they're competing with some of India's

most intelligent students.

Very good observation. Well done.

The students in the class know everything.

They've been catapulted out of their comfort zone.

I'm confused.

But the boys are starting to enjoy some of the more diverse lessons.

-Amaste.

-Amaste.

TEACHER SPEAKS IN HINDI

-Ne England...

-Me.

-Me.

What?

Learning Hindi is quite fun. It's my favourite lesson yet.

One, two, three, four.

One, two, three, four.

One, two, three, four.

Back, six, seven, eight.

One, two, three, five, six, seven.

Sweaty, hot, tiring.

But fun.

As well as getting stuck in to the Bishop's schedule,

the boys also have to prepare for their end-of-week challenge.

Planning a lesson to teach to a class of 52 juniors.

Henry VIII had six wives.

The subject - kings and queens of England.

We've got a plan to make ourselves kings

and we've got crowns.

We're going to make sure it's fun for them

cos I'm always moaning in class that it's not fun.

Charlie is convinced that fun is the key to controlling the young class,

but Aiden isn't so sure.

I'm worried about, like, obviously,

speaking in front of them all.

Be confident. Don't, like, crumble under pressure.

You'll be fine. Trust me.

In a well-earned study break,

one of the school's star students is taking the boys to see a bit more of the city.

Woo-hoo!

Wooo!

Oh, my God!

Pupils at Bishop's come from some of the most privileged families in the city.

But for many children in Pune,

school is a luxury they cannot afford.

I've brought you here to show you the real India.

-Busy.

-I really hate busy places.

In fact, almost 40% of the population live in slums.

Why are there so many kids on the streets?

Like most of the kids, they've got no schools.

How much money do people earn around here?

In pounds, if you ask me, it's something like 70 to £80 a month.

-A month?

-A month.

-So it's like two... Two pounds...

-Two pounds a day.

-Yeah.

I think they were shocked by the small amount of wages

that people earn here, yet still survive.

They earn about £2 a day to feed their whole family,

which is nothing in England.

It's a shock to see so many little kids with nothing.

They've got a really hard life out here.

Back home in England, we take stuff for granted.

There's only 24 hours until Aiden and Charlie's final teaching challenge.

Good morning, boys. Be seated.

Back in class, they're both staying out of trouble.

Their trip to the city has given them a new perspective

on their enthusiastic classmates.

"After a long time of thinking,

"I decided to study hard."

The students treasure education a lot more than us.

They need to work hard to get their education

otherwise they won't get a well-paid job.

They really get their head down and get the work done.

They need to learn in order to survive, basically.

The boys final lesson of the day is debate.

It's all about confidence and speaking in public.

Each student must take turn to argue their point

in front of the class.

We have to face certain tests and obstacles in life.

SHE RINGS BELL

Thank you.

I call Aiden to speak for the topic.

I'm not going up.

Aiden, just your views on what you think about the examination.

-Do you think it's correct?

-I don't want to go up!

Meantime, I would like Charlie to speak against the motion.

APPLAUSE

This is going to blow your minds!

Charlie is in his element.

But the lesson has hit a raw nerve for Aiden.

I never speak in front of people.

I'm not that type of person.

All right?

In the morning, the boys face their final challenge.

But with Aiden's confidence rocked,

will Charlie be teaching the class alone?

I felt a bit sorry for Aiden

because he doesn't really like a crowd.

If he gets it wrong, he'll be embarrassed. It's not his type of thing.

It's the final day in India.

And time for the boys' biggest challenge.

Waiting for them is the infamous 5A,

one of the school's liveliest junior classes.

Charlie and Aiden, known back home for their unruly behaviour in lessons,

are their new teachers!

They will have to keep an eye out

for the ones that are really naughty.

It's not just a couple, there are many.

It's going to be a challenge, a real tough challenge.

Teaching a big class of about 50, it's very easy to lose control.

If the challenge was all a disaster,

I owe a lot of teachers an apology.

I'm a bit nervous about it all.

It will be a really big challenge for me to get through it.

Aiden's not shy

when it comes to chanting football songs in class back home.

But he was unusually lost for words in yesterday's debate lesson.

-Morning, Aiden. How are you feeling?

-Fine, thanks. And you?

Ready for the day today? Confident?

I'm not the type of person that stands up in front of a class.

Confidence you develop.

See this thing I've got in my hand?

This is known as the ashocapula.

This was a symbol of courage, confidence,

and I want to present this to you today.

Whenever you feel discouraged, or feel down,

whenever you feel, "Am I going to be able to do that?"

look at this and use it as symbol of confidence.

He gave me a statue that was built a long time ago.

And it's about courage.

And I'm going to take it into the lesson

just to guide me through the lesson.

'I'm ready to go to the challenge now.'

To succeed in their final challenge,

Charlie and Aiden must provide an engaging lesson

and keep control of the class.

But what the boys don't know

is that some of the pupils are working undercover!

Their secret mission is to behave as Charlie and Aiden often do

in class back in Bristol!

LIVELY CHATTER

-Hello. I'm King Charlie.

-And I'm King Aiden.

Today we're going to teach you about kings and queens of England.

If you are naughty, you're going to have to wear the queen's crown.

This king here is Richard III.

He was the last English king to die in battle.

Queen Elizabeth I.

It's a solid start from Charlie and Aiden.

But how will they deal with a class disturbance from an undercover kid?

Out the front!

Bow to your king!

Stand in that corner over there!

The lesson's back on track.

But you never know when another naughty kid might strike.

You! Front!

I knew you would be trouble!

It's a calm response from Charlie and Aiden.

So far, so good.

You have got to match the facts with the kings.

But as the class divides for their group activity,

things start to get slightly out of hand.

CHATTERING AND LAUGHTER

Calm down!

Calm down now, everybody!

Silence!

Sit down, class!

Three, two, one, silence!

Everybody sit down!

The boys are beginning to realise how tough being a teacher really is.

Time to call in back-up.

Sit down!

We need your help in controlling the class.

Sit down!

Please settle down now. Enough.

Fold your arms. Backs straight.

Do you want to take part in the activity that comes up next?

-ALL:

-Yes, ma'am.

Then please settle down.

I said, "Are you ready?"

Yes!

With a bit of a helping hand,

Charlie and Aiden have their fun-packed lesson back on course.

5A, have you enjoyed yourself today?

Yes, ma'am!

You were a wonderful class and we had fun having you.

To handle a large number of students

was probably a bit of a bigger challenge for them.

But they did do a good job.

Bye!

I'm very proud of Aiden, how he conquered his fear basically

by standing and talking in front of everybody.

Charlie and Aiden's time at Extreme School

has come to an end.

I'm going to take home how people in India behave in their class

and how much they worship education

and how much people in England take it for granted.

I'll take that back with me

and definitely try harder in school.

I've had my taste of being a teacher.

It's not what I expected.

It's harder than what I expected.

So, to be fair, I've got to give some of my teachers at home some credit.

Join us in our final show

to discover if they've done enough to graduate from Extreme School.

Next time, two boys from Swansea who don't take school seriously...

School's a boring waste of time.

..are off to a strict school in South Korea.

You must follow our rules.

-We have to do 13 hours of school.

-I'm gutted, to be honest!

They'll face a clash of cultures.

Will they manage to clean up their act?

I cannot believe we're cleaning.

-I'd never do this in my school.

-Nor me.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd