Where the Heart Is Our School

Meet Year Seven.

What's up?!

It's the most important year of school so far...

You're not here to having a laugh and a good time,

-you're here to learn.

-With so many changes...

..new friends...

-Boom!

-Miss, have you got a cloth?

..and new teachers...

You are a Greenwood boy.

It's an exciting world to discover.

Wow!

It can be fun. But, sometimes, it can be tough.

There are different challenges for everybody.

We're in year seven, we're acting like three-year-olds.

We've rigged another secondary school with loads of cameras...

Is this what you see when you look through a camera?

Cos this is awesome.

..so you can find out exactly what happens.

You're on report, by my request.

I'm Trev.

I used to go school here,

but now I'm one of the teachers.

Last question, cos you're going to run out of time.

Welcome to Our School.

I need a wee.

Moving into year seven is a bit like moving house.

There's a lot of different emotions and plenty of upheaval.

But it's also exciting to tackle something new.

This time, we're getting to know three year sevens

who are turning massive corners in their lives.

Meet new girl Sam...

I've got nothing in there.

..and identical twins, Josh and Dan.

I'm going to make a noise this time.

Their stories may seem very different at first,

but they're a lot more connected than you'd think.

Put your finger on that hole there, put your thumb on that hole there...

It's break and, not for the first time, Sam is trying out

-something new.

-..there on that hole, and then blow it.

SHE SQUEAKS

Sam moved into the area a few months ago. Most of our Year Seven

pupils know each other from primary school,

but she didn't know anyone.

I can't do it!

When I had my first day here, I felt quite nervous,

cos I didn't know anyone.

Everyone was a stranger to me.

It was a new area, a new environment, basically.

Blow harder!

Yay!

But this isn't the first time Sam has moved house.

My dad's part of the army, so you can move around a lot.

I've lived in Belfast,

London, Germany,

Peterborough,

Cyprus and here.

See ya.

Sam's mum and dad have recently split up, so mother and

daughters have temporarily had to move in with the grandparents.

-Hi, Samantha!

-Hi, Samantha!

At the moment, I'm living with my mum...

Did you have a good day?

..my sister, Joanna...

Neh-neh-neh-neh-neh!

..my other sister, Stephanie,

my nan...

and my grandad, and there's me...

THEY SHOUT

..all in this squished house.

THEY SHOUT

At the moment, there just aren't enough beds to go round.

-Samantha, where are you sleeping tonight?

-With...Mummy!

Joanna's got the bed, Stephanie's got the floor,

me and my mum in the double bed, and my nan's on the sofa,

and my grandad's on the floor.

Can you keep your legs to yourself

-and not in the middle of my back, please?

-I'll try.

When the crowd at home gets too much,

Sam comes to after-school club, The Sanctuary.

What kind of house would you live in, if you could live in any house?

A three bedroom house.

A three bedroom? Why?

Cos then I get my own room, my sisters have to share,

and then my mum can have her own room.

All my life it's been feeling like you're living in a box,

because you have to pack up, unpack,

pack up, pack up, unpack, and pack up,

and unpack again.

It's a year of big dreams for Sam.

Her mum's on a waiting list to move into a new house,

but that could take ages.

I would like, this year, to actually find a house this time.

It will feel really good

because, like, you know you're not going to do any more moving.

You're staying here. And that's it.

Will Sam be able to make this town and this school her home?

The twins are...well, you can see, they're pretty identical, right?

If you're wondering which one is which, then...

let's just say,

that's Daniel, I'm Josh.

Getting ready for school tends to be...

HE FARTS

Dan, was that you?!

THEY GIGGLE

Was that you, Daniel? Having a poop?

No.

Aw, it stinks!

That is disgusting!

It's very easy to get the twins mixed up.

Even my mum gets confused by it, cos like, sometimes,

she don't care which one goes upstairs to help her with

something, she just shouts a random name.

At school, teaching assistant Laura works with the boys

all the time, and she still gets it wrong.

What we're going to do is...Dan. Right, guys,

you're going to have to help me out. I can still, at this point,

I'm going for, you're Daniel, you're Josh.

I'm still getting to grips with who's who, and some days,

they wind me up terribly about which boy's which.

I'm Daniel, he's Josh.

-No, no.

-Stop it.

Was I right the first time?

-Yeah.

-Oh, you terrors!

So, how am I going to tell these two apart?

Josh has got a slightly more rounder face than me.

Thanks for your input there, Josh.

So, this one's Dan, and this one's Josh. Any other differences?

We've got these different bags, the same bag, but a different colour.

Yeah.

Does that help you, Laura?

I still can't tell 'em apart.

-What?

-Please.

-No.

Just go...

But there's a flip-side to the twins. They're dealing with

bigger issues than people getting them mixed up.

We have autism. We've got this thing called "ass-burger".

No, it's...

-BOTH:

-Asperger's.

Asperger's, and it's basically,

when we get mad, or anxiety.

Stop blaming me!

Autism affects people in different ways but, for the twins,

it's all about their emotions.

Sometimes we can't control our anger.

And then it gets out of hand.

I'll get that.

When their emotions flare up, it can lead to some very bad behaviour.

-What's the problem today?

-Nothing.

-Why don't you want to do the lesson?

-I don't know.

We can't control it. It's like, you don't want to do it,

but then you just...you, like, go for it, and you can't, like, stop.

And it can be just normal, everyday things that set them off.

Like this...

Your homework was to get that done for this lesson.

In history, Josh has forgotten to do his homework,

and he's told off for it.

You need to do the homework, simple as.

Josh gets himself really upset and, at the end of the lesson,

he storms out.

Can I have a little word? Can you come with me?

This is where Laura comes in. It's her job to support the twins

and try to calm them down.

How are you feeling now? Are you OK?

When you're in trouble, or, like, upset, she'll help you,

and then she'll help you get back to lesson.

So, are you all right now to go to your lesson?

One day, one might be fine. The other day, the other might be fine.

It just depends on the day - and the weather.

The boys are hard work, but Laura really cares about them.

Josh and Dan are absolutely amazing young men.

Is it Miss, or Mrs?

I'm definitely a Miss. Do I seem old enough to be a Mrs?!

We have lots of laughs.

We've had tears, but we have a lot more laughs.

Success! I managed to get one more in!

This year, with Laura's help, perhaps the twins will take

more control of their emotions.

So, I have some forms I need to give you.

These need to go into one of the pockets of your folder.

In Tutor Time, the class has to write down a list

of everywhere they've lived.

That's a big task for Sam.

-Where I was born, all the way down to how old I am now.

-Yep.

How many lines is there?

I think she may need a bigger piece of paper.

I'm going to only go up to 11.

Who are the people next to us?

Sam's getting on well with classmate Ameera.

I've got this friend called Ameera.

If you're new in town, making a friend can mean everything.

Once you've made a friend, unless they don't move,

you're not going to move,

you can stay with them through the school year.

Is that what we're doing?

Ameera's helping Sam get to grips with the Birmingham accent.

To me, Birmingham's weird.

You've got people speaking like, weird accents.

-Nort-ee.

-Nort-ee.

Birmingham people always go, "wart-ah."

No, say like, all the stuff that they say!

They go, "baaath."

-Nort-ee.

-Nort-ee.

They call people "bab."

-Bab!

-I dare you to go home tonight and say "nort-ee"!

-Nort-ee!

That's all good, but Sam still hasn't heard anything

about a new house.

Little girl! Stop crying!

Sometimes, all the upheaval of her home life can be upsetting.

Can you stop crying?

It's not good to feel that you don't have a home of your own.

Sam's due a bit of good luck. Let's hope she gets some soon.

I'm going to give you some paper.

You need to write everything you know about reggae.

It's music, and Sam is sitting next to Josh.

Is our compu... Is ours on?

Now, what's he rummaging for?

Josh has brought in one of those little electronic fart machines.

WET FARTING

Diarrhoea? That's one way of trying to make new friends.

HIGH-PITCHED FART

I'm not sure if that's going to impress Sam, Josh.

PROLONGED FART SAM GIGGLES

Oh, actually, she seems to find it quite funny.

Sam has made quite an impression on Josh.

Well, she's in all my classes, she's very nice...

and...

technically, that's all I can say.

Josh playing it pretty cool there.

Let's see how that pans out.

Macbeth is a play written by William Shakespeare.

It is considered one of his darkest and most powerful tragedies.

This afternoon, Josh has English.

60 seconds to discuss it.

If you know, tell the people on your table.

Don't tell me, tell them.

LONG FART

Oh, here we go again.

He's still messing about with that fart machine.

Three, two, one.

WET FART

The rest of the class think that it's something you ate, Josh.

-LONG FART

-In future, there will be.

Oops, the game's up.

I'm asking you politely.

Josh, don't do it.

It's not a good idea.

HIGH-PITCHED FART Oh, dear.

Could you just stand outside, please?

Or will I need to send a red card downstairs?

I don't want a red card, I'm not doing it any more.

-I know you don't want a red card...

-I'm not doing it any more.

Final chance, then.

So.

Thank you. Stop talking.

Josh has had enough and storms out of class.

DOOR SLAMS

Thank you.

Josh's emotions can get him into trouble like this.

Laura's heard about him leaving the class and isn't happy.

It's not nice for the teacher to hear, like, those noises,

is it, the rudey noises?

It's fun for at home or at break time or of a lunch time...

Through her classroom window, Sam spots what's going on.

If you give it to me now, it won't happen in your last lesson,

cos you would hate for the same thing to happen in your last lesson.

Right, no, no, no, no, no.

Right, Josh, we can't have you picking and choosing

what lessons you go to, sweetheart.

Well, you won't make another incident.

I will help you all day long.

I will always, always help you.

But when you're not helping yourself, Josh,

that's not on, is it?

Do you want me to have the little gadget that makes the funny noises?

It's up to you, mate.

You want me to take care of it. Good call.

Well done, Josh. Maybe this could be a real breakthrough for him.

Laura's keen to help the twins overcome their difficulties

and has scheduled a weekly Social Skills class with them.

Oi, we're sitting here. We're sitting here.

These sessions let the twins practice different day-to-day

situations to help them keep their cool, inside and outside of school.

Today, I was playing a board game.

Laura just wanted to help us with our social skills,

and we was playing What Would You Do?

-Right, what colour would you like, boys?

-Red.

You want red.

'Sometimes, people do get upset by their actions,

'but we're here to help them deal with that and help them'

learn social situations and how to overcome those problems.

Let the games begin.

Five. Where am I? One, two, three, four, five.

"You forget your lunch."

Well, what do you think?

What would you do, if you forgot your lunch?

-I would get mad.

-Would you...?

I've actually got into a situation...

Would you come and see one of the staff, to see if we could

-sort something for you?

-That's what I did, I've asked Natalie,

-and she's gave me a sandwich and a drink.

-See, there you go,

so we can normally sort it for you in something like that.

The board game helps the twins to figure out how to react

to other people, to make the right decisions, and not get carried away.

Yeah, I'm going to make a noise this time.

TAPS THE DICE

Six. Three, four, five, six.

"You see your teacher in the street."

Right, if you were to see them...?

I would wave, I would wave to her and say hello.

Perfect, there you go.

If you see me in the street, I would expect you to wave and say,

"Hi, miss, you all right?" You know.

It's hoped that these lessons will help the twins take more

control of their behaviour.

Boys, these answers that you're giving are really,

really good answers.

Cos I'm in a good mood.

Fantastic, yeah, I like good mood boys.

OK, it's time to put those new social skills to good use.

Josh has decided to ask Sam out on a date.

I felt nervous and embarrassed,

because...

there was loads of other people around.

-Oh, he's coming.

-GIRLS GIGGLE

But I did get my confidence and asked.

Good luck, Josh.

Hi.

Any chance you want to go out?

Where?

To Star City and crazy golf.

When?

I don't know, but my mum will arrange it.

Yes, please.

Success! Well done, Josh.

Josh asked me out on a date...

It's official - Josh and Sam are going out.

Oh, my God, he's got a girlfriend.

So how does that feel, Josh? Excited about what comes next?

I'd like the future to be...

SINGS WEDDING SONG

I'd like the future to be...

I'll probably have a few arguments one time.

I'll probably get married, if it's possible to stay with her that long.

And that's pretty much it.

Yeah, maybe don't mention all that to Sam just yet.

It's the day of Josh and Sam's date.

Time to get ready.

So, Josh, what are you going to wear?

Dan's trying to be helpful... sort of.

Do you reckon any of them you'll be able to kiss Samantha in?

Oh, shut up.

All it is, is a date.

I've made my choice, I think I'm going to go with this one.

Good luck. I hope you kiss Samantha.

Shut up.

Meanwhile, back in the crowded house, Sam is having to deal

with annoying little sisters.

Samantha, I think you look pretty nice and pretty ugly.

Why ugly?

Cos...you do.

The first dates checklist.

Number one - make sure you smell good.

It don't really make me feel like Superman,

but I'd love to have powers.

Two - get your hair sorted.

I don't like that bit.

Oh, I think I'm looking good.

Three - get on with it!

Thank you, Joanna.

And don't forget the flowers.

Bye, Josh. Have a lovely date!

See you later.

And now, the waiting game.

I hope she doesn't stand you up, Josh.

Oh, here she is.

-Hello.

-Thank you.

Thank you.

First stop...

Can I have one round of golf, please?

Flipping heck!

I was absolutely rubbish at the mini golf.

-Where is it?

-It's went...!

When I whacked it, it landed on the stairs.

Excuse me? Can I have my ball?

I had to get someone to throw it back up.

Try and put it over. Yeah.

Four.

-How much?

-Five.

I thought Samantha was pretty good at it, but I won.

Oh, that was so much fun.

That's plenty of excitement for now. Time for lunch.

Here's your chicken and chips.

And a chance to get to know each other a bit better.

Where was you living before?

-Basically, I've lived in Belfast...

-Yeah?

-Germany.

I lived in Peterborough.

Northern Ireland...

-I can't remember where else.

-Oh.

So have you moved or not?

You're a lucky one then, aren't you?

And what better way to let lunch go down...

-It looks awesome.

-Awesome.

Than hopping around on this thing?

Right then, I'm ready.

This is awesome!

I love this!

I like floating, it's just floating in the air.

And people just have to look up.

That was amazing.

-This is the best date ever, even though it's our first.

-Yeah.

Time to go home.

And one last goodbye.

-Have you enjoyed it?

-Yeah, you?

-Yeah.

-Would you like to do this again?

-Yes.

-Bye.

-Bye.

-Love you.

-Love you, too.

I'm exhausted - great date, you two.

Things seem to be looking up for Josh, but for his twin,

it's a different story.

-Right, morning, Year 7.

-ALL: Morning, Miss.

So we're going to do a little project about getting to know you,

getting to know me, getting to know each other.

Dan has art, and the class are having their photos taken for

a project called This Is Me.

Oh, that's lovely.

To help the class learn about themselves, they have to draw

a self-portrait, but Dan is struggling.

Come on, I want you to try this task, Daniel.

-Why?!

-Ah, ah, ah. Sh, sh.

OK, that's it, let's calm it down.

He's finding it really hard to put his personality on paper.

He didn't want to reflect on himself at all.

Sometimes he does find this difficult, as does Josh, also.

Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, stop, stop.

Give me that. Give me that. What's the matter?

It's all got too much and Dan's taken out of class for a time-out.

He was very upset, didn't really want to speak to anyone.

So what would you prefer to do?

Would you prefer to do artwork,

or play a game that's a board game for literacy?

But the brothers are in this together.

Josh is out of lessons, too, and can see that Dan's upset.

All right there?

He tries to calm him down.

Scrabble, cos you've got selection of games...

Josh, do you want to play against Josh, Scrabble?

With help from his brother and Laura, Dan settles down.

Oh, there you go, Dan's going to go first.

Wonderful.

Daniel v Josh, the battle of the twins.

How many was it, sorry, sweetheart, did you add it?

-Four.

-Four, yeah.

By the end of the game, he's a much happier boy.

Proper teamwork. Well done, lads.

OK, then, guys. In you go, then.

Year 7 have Hair and Beauty.

Josh is one of only two boys to have signed up.

Right, you're going to be doing nail painting and nail art. OK?

It feels like loads of girls are saying, "Why are you in here?"

But I said, "Boys can do this, too, as well, you know."

One side is to shape the nails, which is the lighter side.

I felt proud of him, because not many boys do it,

and there's a lot of teasing going around.

You can do me first, because I'm no good at it.

But Josh may have had a special reason for putting his name down.

It was nice that Samantha was there.

You're shaking, you can tell.

Careful there, Josh.

That one's good, I like purple the best.

Flipping heck. You've got really long nails.

And now, Josh's first manicure.

Can you lift that up a little bit? Thank you.

Sorry about your skin, Josh.

For Sam,

dealing with Josh's emotions has been a bit of a learning curve.

Well, it's made me understand a bit more about autism.

Sometimes I try to calm him down.

Make sure you get every bit of the nail.

He don't get angry around me, does he?

-Is that all right?

-Yep, cool.

And Samantha did this.

Josh did this.

We haven't got nail art on the list, actually.

Manicure, we've got on the list.

I think you was a bit good.

I was rubbish. I was rubbish.

-Was I good?

-Yeah.

Good.

And breaking news - Sam's heard something very exciting.

I've got a house.

That's it - Sam's mum has finally found a new house for the family.

My reaction was, I just like, screamed. I was like, "Aaahhh!"

And this is their first visit.

-Are we ready?

-GIRLS: Yes.

-Who's excited?

-GIRLS: Me!

It looks great. Lots more space than with Nana and Grandad.

What do you think of the front room? Is it nice and big?

This is going to be our dining room where we're going to have

our dinner. It's a bit...

This is the kitchen.

Samantha? Who wants their own bed?

Meeeee!

There we go.

This is going to be Sam's room.

Samantha's room!

How big is this room?!

I'm putting my bed here.

I'm really, really excited, cos I've got my own room

and no smelly sisters.

-Is this bigger than your last room?

-A lot.

-Are you happy with it?

-Yeah.

I'm going to see if I can get a sign, like, saying,

"Keep Out, Samantha's Room".

You can have a cupboard here and you can have some toys,

all your stuff there.

Finally, Sam has a home.

Go on, then.

It's got a big garden.

It's big, isn't it? What do you think?

I won't have to move again, like, I'm staying there.

Are you just... Samantha!

Wow, really chuffed for you, Sam.

Group hug! And Stephanie!

Yay!

Whoa!

Sam is finally settled in and Josh has been a big part of that.

We're going to The Sanctuary.

Today, she's saying thank-you by taking the twins to her

youth club for the first time.

What do I have to do?

How do you spell your surname?

A few months ago, this kind of social situation could have

easily upset the boys, but they've come a long way.

Oh, I can write it, I can write it.

Yeah, and then put your brother.

Diagon Alley.

What?

Why did I say that? Cos I watched Harry Potter the other day.

Connect 4!

Josh won, like, six times.

One, two, three, four.

I give in!

But I didn't even know I was a master at it,

honestly, I just beat them all.

The twins are enjoying themselves.

They both seem far more relaxed these days.

I've noticed lots of changes in the twins recently.

I burst with pride when I think about where they started

and where they are now.

When you move up to secondary school, you never know who

you might meet, and how your new friends can help change your life.

And next time on Our School...

emotions run high, as we prepare for the Year 7 talent show.

SHE SINGS

While some have stars in their eyes...

Oh, my God, I'm really nervous.

..others have butterflies in their stomachs.

-Sing.

-I can't.

-Why?

-I can't.

Stop messing with your hair.

I just want to make sure it's sticking up.

Guess what...?

What?!

-You want to come all the way down...

-Yeah?

-Go straight.