Lads Growing up Poor

Modern Britain in 2012.

In the midst of a recession, we are all in it together,

but some are in it deeper than others.

It's a tricky time to be coming of age on a council estate.

This film follows three lads over a summer, trying to

make their way in an austere world.

Without money, it's a struggle to keep a roof over your head,

find a job and aspire to a future.

'One thing has happened after another since my mum lost her job.

'Lost her job, lost her house.'

Piece of shit.

My mum does want me, but she just can't afford to support me

anymore, so I got to go and do my own thing.

I'm a teenager, ain't it? I'm a bit stuck at times.

'Times get hard, things get on top of me.'

'If I don't act up and stop acting like a kid,

'how am I going to bring up a kid?'

Now I'm here trying to be a man.

'I ain't always been a determined, focused person.'

It's got me into trouble in the past and I have to change.

'I have to do something about this.

'My aim is not just to educate myself,

'it's to actually one day be working in a successful industry.'

18-year-old Craig has grown up on an estate on the outskirts of town.

Most people around here comes into drugs when they are young

and most people fight when they are younger.

It's just how kids grow up around here. It's just the thing.

Chav? Council housing and violent.

I just don't want to be like the rest of them.

I want to have a job and that. Have a good life.

Craig still lives at home, supported by his mum.

This is my house.

This is my room. It's a bit of a mess.

It's not very big, but this is where me

and my mates hang out if it's cold on the street.

I used to have another door

and it fell off, but I don't like not having a door to my room.

-INTERVIEWER:

-Have you been doing a bit of boxing training on the wall?

I punched it one day. I was mad with something and punched it.

In an industrial town like Rotherham, jobs are scarce.

For Craig's mum, it's a particularly hard time.

She recently lost her job and is pregnant.

She owns the house.

The house is ours, it's not actually a council house. She bought it.

12 years on, I'm still here.

Without a job, it's increasingly hard to make the mortgage payments

and Craig's mum is now being forced to sell his childhood home.

She had a job since she was 16, but now,

for the first time in 18 years, she's been put out of work.

She's having to sell the house here for some money, so she can live.

Craig. We need to start organising what's happening.

My mum's struggling for money at the minute, cos she's been out of work.

Can't live here any more.

For Craig, it's not just leaving this house.

It will mean leaving home

and fending for himself for the first time.

In Birmingham, 19-year-old Wes is also struggling with his home life.

Although he does sometimes stay at his mum's, life is difficult there.

'Me and my mum have good and bad days.

'We can be all right for one minute

'and the next minute can be completely different.'

'I just want to get my own place, ain't it?

'Cos there is no space in my house anymore, it's just overcrowding.

'There's no income coming in.'

See, I share my room with my brother for 19 years,

in this cramped room.

Wes has decided his only option is to try

and get a place in a young person's hostel.

I just want to do things for myself now.

I've done college, school and I ain't got a job.

So getting a hostel is the first step of me really doing anything.

'I've been stopping at my cousins' for a couple of days.'

Yeah, man.

I'm just sick of being stuck in other people's houses

and not having a place of my own.

'It's one step of being a child, ain't it?

'Going into the adulthood and getting my own place.'

Although it may gain him independence,

getting his own room will come at a cost,

financially, and to his job prospects.

For 19-year-old Frankie, home is a cramped three-bedroom council flat

where five people are dependent on his mum's benefits.

Mum!

It's a lovely day.

-MUM:

-Stop it!

SHOUTING

Two of my sisters sleep in this room here, one of my sisters

sleep in that room there and my mum sleeps in that room there.

And, obviously, this is my room here.

-INTERVIEWER:

-Where's the front room?

-There's no front room.

Get out.

That's that sister.

My two younger sisters sleep in this room here.

When someone's in the shower, obviously, if I'm in a rush,

I just bang on the door and tell them to come out.

-INTERVIEWER:

-Is it a lot living with four women?

It's all right. I don't know. I've always...

Cos, obviously, it's the norm to me,

so I don't really know what it's like to not live with just women.

I was always in the streets when I was growing up.

I was never really at home, so I was always around males, anyway,

so this is just where I slept when I was growing up, I guess.

Frankie has just finished his first year at college,

where he is studying games design.

People who create the software, they provide it to students for free,

so I don't have to actually pay for the software.

This project is just a dream home.

That would be on the beach, with a swimming pool in the roof.

You know, it's a dream home. It's a dream. It's a fantasy, it's not real.

-Frankie, your trousers are in the tumble dryer.

-See you later, girls.

See you later, Gran.

This ain't my dream home,

cos if I create a dream home that's just appealing to me,

it would probably be in the woods or somewhere secluded like that.

My dream has always just being independent,

having my own house, being happy somewhere.

Location-wise, it would probably still be in the 'hood, like.

There is nothing actually wrong with the area, it's just the environment.

You know, mentally, I can't be here.

'I have to get myself away from that and I get out of that bubble.'

Frankie's hope is to be the very first person from his family

to get to university.

'Cos, obviously, living round here my whole life, I've seen people grow up

'but they haven't really moved on anywhere.

'I've just seen them grow up and be in the same place.

'One day, I said to myself, "I have to change."

'Nobody ain't going to change for me.

'I do need that determination, you know, and that focus

'because without that, then how I going to get where I want to be?'

But with fees now hitting nine grand a year and no access

to The Bank of Mum and Dad, the odds are stacked against him.

'Education is the way out.

'You know, rich people don't need to really care about education,

'because it's given to them on a plate, whereas people like me

'or whoever else is in my state, you are born into nothing,

'so you have to make something of yourself.'

In Rotherham, a town dominated by steelworks,

Craig had trained as a welder.

I'm not a trained mechanic, I'm an engineering welder.

I know basic car mechanics, but he knows more about bikes.

But these days, there is not much call for welders.

Been taught quite heavy machinery and that,

but there is just no jobs out there for young people.

No-one wants to take young kids on from school.

Despite their skills,

Craig and his old schoolmate Chink have never had jobs.

Although Chink still has his paper round.

The lads scratch a bit of money by fixing bikes.

Around here, there is lots of people who've got bike parts what

they'll swap or trade for another bike part or engine

or brakes or whatever. Clutch.

I only got this because I swapped my scooter for it.

There's three mechanics on this street and one welder on this

street that are out of work, so that's an empty trade.

They can help me in life.

If I ever need any welding done, I can do it myself.

Although he has no future in the industry he trained for,

Craig has refused to sign on and claim benefits.

Instead, he enrolled in a local sports course, which gets him

£10 a week and a free bus pass.

But £10 won't support him when he has to stand on his own two feet.

Wes didn't manage to get a place in the hostel

and he's back on his old circuit.

We are in different places all the time, always travelling,

'always going round and round.'

But there is one constant in his life.

A year ago, Wes became a dad.

BABY CRIES

It's on now. Look.

Oh, don't do that.

When I found out, I was 17, I was in my college class

and I was just sitting there and she has pinged me on my Blackberry.

She said, "Guess what, you're going to be a dad."

It was a good feeling but a scary feeling.

Thinking, "OK, I've got to step up now.

"I've got to be a dad, I've got to grow up."

Not knowing who my real dad is,

he left my mum when she fell pregnant, so I thought,

"I can't do that to anyone."

I need to be there for him, you know what I'm saying?

When he is here with Rowen,

he is good, I'm not going to fault him on that.

He does do the proper dad job, but he's still a little boy inside.

I don't know. I didn't expect it to be as hard as it is.

It's their child, as well.

They helped make it, so they should pay their way as well. It's not easy.

A tin of milk is near enough £12 now.

That don't get you nowhere.

But on £53 a week Jobseekers Allowance,

it's a struggle to contribute.

Financially, yeah,

it was hard, cos there's stuff that you just can't do all the time.

The main arguments are about he's not supporting us and whatever else.

You know, I'm struggling money-wise, cos

I have to buy everything for Rowen.

It's not that easy.

I've been doing a bit of voluntary work but, I don't know,

I don't want to be doing voluntary work.

Who wants to work for free?

If he got a job, it would be so much easier.

For Craig, events at home are moving faster than he'd expected.

Unable to sell the house

and going further under with the mortgage, Craig's mum is moving out.

Desperate to sell, she is planning to have it redecorated.

There is no boxes up there.

Reluctant to leave the place he grew up and with his relationship

with his mum strained, Craig is staying on, temporarily.

-Right, we're done.

-Is everything left mine?

Apart from the telly and the pictures.

-When are you taking the telly?

-In about five minutes.

-I'm taking it in Dave's car.

-Can I have some money?

-I ain't got any.

Thanks a lot.

I'll phone you in a couple of days, when I get myself organised.

Thanks for all your help.

With nothing left in the house,

Craig looks at retrieving sofas his mum had lent a neighbour.

Oh, for fuck's sake.

Fuck's sake. Everything is fucking ruined. I tell the stupid bitch.

Fucking bitch.

I said to my mum two week ago, "Keep them settees."

I remember when I were young,

when I first ever come here and I were four year old.

I remember that was the last time I seen this room empty.

Everything I know was around here but now I'm on my own

so it's not going to be as easy.

Wes isn't the only teen dad on the estate.

Almost all his mates are dads and out of work.

Yeah, man.

His close mate Aaron has asked him to come round.

With no money and a hungry baby, he is desperate.

-We have to cough up £10, ain't it?

-It has to be 10?

-Yeah.

No, but I'm saying, if you put in five,

you can still use the emergency again.

But that's going to be gone by tomorrow, you know what I mean?

You know what you need to do, Aaron?

Ask someone to lend you some money.

Simple as.

Simple.

I went to my dad before yesterday to borrow money, ain't it?

I can't do that now. Oh, you've been sick. Oh, bless.

I can't go to no family member

and there's not many people out there that will borrow me things.

My dad's just a waste, man.

I don't want to say what I've got to go do,

but I've got to do what I've got to do, ain't it?

Just know if you come back here tomorrow, this child's

going to have electric, food and he's going to have some nappies.

Yeah.

-Some milk.

-What milk does he take?

-For hungrier babies.

-SMA?

-No, the other one. Cow & Gate.

-Cow & Gate, the hungrier baby one?

-So, what, if I got him some SMA ones, not good?

-Not good.

They fuck with his stomach.

They both know what the options

for making money on an estate can involve.

If I've got a bit of change in my pocket, I can go out there,

grab a little set and I'll call flip it and make a little bit of money.

You don't even want to be getting yourself

-sucked into all this stupidness.

-I know.

I could ask to borrow money,

but it's not like I need to borrow a little bit, you know, I need stuff.

-Can I use your phone?

-Yes.

-MOCKING:

-Hi, this is Jobcentre.

-Please press one.

-I hate this.

Wes has decided to try and lend Aaron the money himself,

but his Jobseeker's Allowance payment hasn't come through

and the Jobcentre aren't much help.

'..please continue to hold.'

OK, then. Thanks. Bye.

She said get a crisis loan for now. She said it ain't been processed.

The last time they offered me a crisis loan - £14. Take the piss.

I'm not even going to get mad about it.

Now I'll just have to see what else I can do.

For now, he is as skint as Aaron.

JSA money - £59 a week?

I don't know how they expect adults, people who have kids,

to live off £59 a week.

The streets is a safety net. The streets is always there for you.

There's always opportunities within the streets to, you know, make money.

But it's easy. It's like the easy route out.

Whereas going to get a job and that, that's kind of the hard route

and you need that determination and ambition to get you there.

If you're coming from an estate like this and you go and apply for a job,

they get knocked back down then,

so they kind of lose that determination after they try,

so they come back to the streets and the streets provide,

so that's why you can't blame people for coming back to the streets.

But Frankie knows from experience

what the price of the streets can be.

Every few weeks, he makes a two-hour journey across London

and gets a stark reminder.

METAL DETECTOR BEEPS

-Nothing else in your pockets?

-No.

'When I visit my friends, I know what they are thinking.

'That's why it's good to be on the other side of the table

'cos I know what goes through their heads.'

Before, when I was here,

I was sitting on the other side of the visiting table.

I was the person being visited.

Frankie was sentenced to two years in prison for

the street robbery of a mobile phone that ended in violence.

I hit one of the boys and he suffered a fractured jaw,

so that's why I come to prison so, yeah.

I've done two years for seriously injuring him.

However, you look at it, you know, I was in prison for something.

I wasn't in prison for no reason. No-one is in prison for no reason.

Bed, toilet, sink,

amazing view.

I was thinking about it just now when I was in here,

what did I do to kill time?

I used to just think all the time.

Try to come up with a plan, you know, try to structure my life.

I've woken up and realised what my life is like and, you know,

what everyone else's life is like and I kind of had to think,

you know, how can I better this? And, no,

I don't regret it, cos it allowed me to come to prison.

You know, it gave me

that time to think what I want to do with my life, you know.

'I always keep that negative safety net, if that makes sense,

'like, say for example, you think,

'when I get out there, if this don't work,

'I can go and sell drugs or something.

'I, kind of, had to take that negative aspect of my life away,

'so my safety net is my plan, you know, so I can't let it fail.'

In Rotherham, Craig has been on his own for a week.

With no money to feed himself, his only option has been to swallow

his pride and seek benefits - something he is bitterly opposed to.

Piece of shit.

He has just come back from the Jobcentre.

This is against everything, against what I wanted to do,

but I've got no choice.

I never wanted to go on Jobseeker's, I didn't want to move out yet,

but it's all come right quick so I've just got to. I don't want to do it.

My dad does it and he's a bum. I don't want to be like him.

Army's easiest job these days. If you can get in, you're all right.

They'll look after me for the next ten years.

Craig has toyed with the idea of joining the Army since school.

-This is the one.

-We are in the bastard.

Machine-gun turrets all over this bit. They filled all that in.

That would have been a place for snipers or something to hide.

This were all a pit, a massive mining pit.

Cos they were mining all the coal,

-they tried invading this all the time.

-They shut the steel mills down.

And then they had about 20 soldiers here waiting to go boom, boom, boom.

Like when you were a kid, you made machine-gun noises.

Eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh.

That's what you'll be doing, if you become a sniper.

-It's not a sniper, it's a marksman.

-A marksman, then.

-Try it.

-You can do your marksman training in the Army, anyway.

-Go for it. Try it.

-I will.

Joining up is a well-trodden path out of the estate -

one already taken by Chink's older brother.

Your brother loves it, though, doesn't he?

He likes being in the Army, but he don't want to go back to Afghanistan

cos he's seen bad things there.

As soon as he got his first pay cheque, though, he were loving it.

For Craig, it's still a schoolboy dream,

but he may soon be forced to make a decision.

It's worth it, though, isn't it?

Not really, if you knew what they did, it's not very nice.

-It's easy on patrol in Afghanistan, walking around with a gun.

-It ain't.

Thanks.

In North London, Frankie's college is about to break up for the summer

and he is already planning on how to fund himself through the holidays.

Obviously, once I finish my course, getting a job will be vital.

I will have to get a job.

I've got work experience in BT, conservation work,

horticultural work experience.

All of them are voluntary.

Frankie has built up a great CV, through working for free,

but getting a paid job is trickier.

He has to disclose his criminal conviction.

Applying online for jobs ain't really working, so I'm going to kind of get

proactive and go down to Wood Green and go to the stores directly.

I'll go to the local internet cafe and print it off there.

I'm checking the history of the previous person who was using

this computer and whoever was using it was looking for adult work.

She was editing her profile.

Mandy Mandy, she is 22 and she's a bi-curious female escort

and she's from Finchley.

'I'm looking for a retail job in the area of games

'because I know a lot about the product

'so anything to do with games, really, I want to work there.'

'You know, ideally, McDonald's ain't where I would apply.

'McDonald's is almost a last resort.'

Can I hand in my CV here?

-You can leave it.

-Thank you very much.

'That's a family-run business, so the only people they would employ'

is family members or friends.

-Can I speak to the manager, please?

-Yeah, you're speaking to her.

-How can I help?

-Would it be possible to apply for a job here, please?

Yes, do you want to give me your CV?

I can give you our e-mail address for our HR.

-We forward it to them, it's easier.

-OK, thank you very much.

-Thank you very much. Have a lovely day.

-You, too.

Ironically, Cash Converters may hold the most promise of a job.

Surviving on his own, Craig has been dealing with more basic problems.

He is still waiting for his first benefits to come through.

I ran out of food the other day.

I didn't have nothing yesterday or the day before or the day

before that or the day before that. Nothing... Nothing.

Nothing... Nothing... Nothing in there.

Sometimes, Chink's mum cooks me a bit of food. Sometimes I go to my nan's.

My mates have been looking after me.

I've got no money, so I've had to claim Jobseeker's

so because I'm claiming Jobseeker's,

I might have to get kicked out of my college course, so leave education.

-INTERVIEWER:

-How is your mum getting on with selling the house?

She's selling it in a couple of weeks and that's when I got to go.

About two week left.

That's two weeks to find a place to live and decide his future.

Birmingham has one of the highest levels

of long-term youth unemployment in the country.

# Before I ride out, I kiss my mum and say, "I've got to go"

# Now I've walked out, my head's spinning like a stripper's pole

# Call me John Terry cos I rarely ever meet my goals

# Because of that my belly starts to ache, like I've eaten loads

# I know what it's like to be young... #

As the summer wears on, Wes has fallen into a routine -

being a dad in the mornings

and then drifting down to the corner with his mates in the afternoon.

# I've got love for tons of chicks growing up in the area

# Our roads never sleep Everybody scrapes a peak

# Trust me, nothing's ever free Everybody has a dream

# But a favourite few will see

# How it feels to be able to make it reality

# And I hope that's me and I'm never gonna sleep till I know... #

'I'm saying the community is everyone is like no jobs.

'Day-to-day, you see the same faces

'so you just know they ain't got jobs.'

'It's council estate.'

# Who don't get twisted Chilling with the man, dem?

# The 'hood life has its good times. #

'I've got friends that have jobs,

'but not necessarily. My closest friends ain't got jobs.'

When you going to drop, then, Animal?

# Hustle, hustle, hustle, hustle Hard... #

'It's hard to focus being around them, cos they ain't focused.

# Hustle, hustle, hustle Hard

# Hustle, hustle, hustle, hustle Hustle, hard

# Stretch like a piece of elastic That's why I'm moving drastic... #

I don't remember the rest but I swear to God, I've got it on my Blackberry.

'It's just stupid, isn't it? It's like a circle.

'A circle where you're just stuck.'

You going after them?

This tasted way finer than it did yesterday?

-You tried hard to do it.

-Like this old man...

-I'm red.

-I'm red, as well, though.

-I'm more red than you.

I don't care, I'm red.

BIKES DROWN OUT SPEECH

-Morning.

-You all right?

-Yeah, you?

Craig's mates have been rallying round.

Chink has been buying him food with his paper round money

and waking him up for his course.

You're not going to be happy, are you?

THEY LAUGH He agrees, dude.

But this is the very last time.

Craig's two weeks are up.

It's time to get up.

His mum has got together enough money for the redecorating,

and she needs the house clear.

-SHE SHOUTS

-Craig?

Erm, I've got a plasterer coming. I went to arrange...

Well, see this room we're in, I want him to patch some stuff up.

Craig? We're all waiting for you!

It has been 15 minutes!

She didn't fucking tell me I had to move all my stuff out on Friday.

She said you've just got to fucking be sorted...

Well, be ready for Friday...

so now I've got to fucking fuck about. I'm not doing it.

His mum has found him a room he might be able to rent,

so he's not homeless,

but he'll have to claim housing benefit to pay for it.

Craig? Come on!

-INTERVIEWER: Why can't you do it today?

-Just don't want to.

12:20, in the bus station at the cash machines.

Make sure you're there. I'm not messing this man about.

It sounds perfect, this room, for you.

-So you can't let me down.

-I won't let you down!

Cos I don't want a houseful of Romanians,

and I've got to rent rooms out, cos I'm broke.

-This house has got to go, whatever happens.

-Yeah, I know it has!

My fucking home, though, isn't it?

I'm going to join the Army, anyway.

Well, I just want you to deal with it.

-Well, I will fucking deal with it!

-What are you going in as?

-Same as last time.

-Infantry?

-Yeah.

-I don't want you to go in as infantry.

Well, I'm fucking 18 years old,

and if I want to go and shoot a fucking Taliban,

I'll fucking go and do it.

-I don't care.

-All right. Shut up. Are you going to leave it?

It's your fucking fault I'm in this fucking mess!

-Can I have some money for some fags?

-No, I've got no money.

-So? I haven't!

-I haven't got three quid - you owe me £140!

I ain't got three quid.

-I've just washed all them.

-Have you got £1?

Fuck's sake. You can't do owt with that.

-You're not going to let me down, are you?

-No!

I can't trust you to do what you say you're going to do,

-cos you never do.

-Fuck off! You're pissing me off!

I'll never sleep again, if he goes into the Army.

Waiting for the dreaded phone call.

But...kids are getting killed all the time, aren't they?

And then, in the infantry? Cannon fodder.

PHONE RINGS

Hello?

Is it? Do you remember all those things?

Frankie's CV didn't get him any offers,

but he may have another chance.

Out of the blue, a voluntary work contact has recommended him

for an interview in the West End.

Where is the job interview?

-Charing Cross.

-Where?

Charing Cross. Central London.

-How long will it take you to get there?

-I don't know.

About 40 minutes.

Cans of Coke cost 90p around there!

I don't go into Central London, you know,

because there's never really been reason for me to go there.

I know Trafalgar Square, and that's it.

It's not exactly a poor city, you know?

There's loads of businesses and that,

so it's not like I'm in the middle of nowhere.

As much as there is going on, there's a lot of competition,

The odds are stacked against you, really.

Frankie has never been to a nightclub before

and doesn't know the area,

but he might have some of the right skills.

It's street work, handing out flyers.

They said, "Have you been to a club before?" And I was like, "No."

And she thought, "Wow, wow, wow!

"How are you going to work in a nightclub environment,

"if you haven't been to a club before?"

She never said that, but maybe that's how I think she thought.

It's really important for me to get to that interview stage

when it comes to getting a job,

because I have a criminal record, so...

..when you do apply online, like, say, for example,

if you apply online, as soon as you enter you have a criminal record,

your application automatically gets turned down.

I almost feel like I'm blacklisted.

Like, I feel like I can't get jobs

because of what I've done when I was a kid.

You know, obviously regret it. Every day, I regret it.

But there's nothing I can do. I can't turn back time.

Craig has finally accepted he has to move.

He's come to clear his stuff out.

-INTERVIEWER: This is your old room?

-Yeah, this is my old room. Yeah.

Looks boring, empty.

Looks smaller.

Even t'walls. I remember them being green.

And I remember them being blue before that.

Yep, it's gone.

But...it can only get better.

I hope, anyway.

There's loads here, Chink! Don't pack, just whack!

'One thing's happened after another

'since my mum lost her job, lost her house.

'Could be due to the recession,

'but it's not just happening to me or my mum,

'it's happening to everybody in the country.'

I am bothered about it, but I just don't show that I'm bothered.

So I just keep it all inside me.

When I lay in bed at night, I'll think of my problems, then.

So...

..I'm going to see what it's all about.

Last few years, there's been about three or four lads I know

have gone into the Army.

They give you a place to live, they feed you,

they give you all the stuff you need.

You get a lot of money out of it.

Craig hasn't sorted anywhere to stay,

so he's using Chink's shed as a base to stash his gear,

and he's going to crash on mates' floors.

For Wes, one of the problems of being a teen dad

is that his £53-a-week JSA makes no allowance for his son.

As the mum, the extra benefits go to Laura.

Today, she's going to the market with her mate, Sophie.

Any four cheeses, £1!

'With my benefits, my money is every fortnight.

'So I have a good week, and I have a shit week.'

Thank you.

-Are these 60p?

-Those are 60p.

'When you're on benefits and you're a young parent,

'it's absolutely rubbish.

'You can't do what you want. You can't buy what you want.'

I spend my other shopping in Asda, with my milk tokens,

which I get... I get £3.10 on each milk token.

And then down here, I get my fruit and veg.

I just got three mixed bowls of veg for £2.

'Young girls think, "Yeah, I'm going to have a baby.

'"I'll get this money, I don't have to work," and whatever.

'It's not like that. It's way harder.'

Wes often hangs out at his mate, Anton's.

That's me done for the week now!

Next door, Anton's neighbour

usually cooks for more than just her four children,

and looks out for many of the local kids.

At the moment, how things are going,

there's not a lot of jobs going.

So even if they could do something, it's limited, really.

So by the time he gets to about 18, 19, what is going to be like?

Is it just going to get worse in the future?

Last chance for a plate of beef. No, I'm doing some more.

-That's just tasters.

-Oh, yeah, yeah.

I mean, I think the boys around us need to grow up,

and they need to understand that becoming a father

isn't just being the sperm donor

or being the guy that comes around every weekend

and spends a few hours with his child.

-Treat him tonight, love!

-He don't deserve it!

-He does, love!

-He don't!

He's a nice bloke! I know him!

-Do you?

-No!

-No, I'm all right.

I'm saying, if you're there for your son, you see him a lot,

you ain't got to worry about financial stuff

until you can afford it. That's how I see it.

-As long as you're there.

-Mmm.

'It doesn't take a baby to grow up, does it? We've learnt that.

'But I think with boys, it takes longer to mature, doesn't it?'

I mean, basically, if you was to walk down their road right now,

you'd probably find them all sitting on the wall, doing what?

-Smoking, playing football with little kids.

-Yeah.

Bantering with the little kids, you know.

Singing to each other.

They've been mollycoddled, haven't they?

They've not had to go out and fend for themselves.

I don't think they understand

how good it feels to achieve something,

and that's what they need to feel.

That's the good thing about Wes.

He does more than what the other lads do.

Wes has gone out and done courses, and it's a slow process,

but he is trying, isn't he?

He's trying to go out there and do things.

RAP MUSIC PLAYS

In London, Frankie is waiting for a call.

Who's "Lady for job?" This is her now.

-HE CLEARS HIS THROAT

-Hello?

'Hi there. How are you, Frankie?'

I'm fine, thank you. How are you?

'I'm good, thanks. I'm sorry about the delay to back to you.'

-Yeah, that's fine. Don't worry about it.

-'OK.'

CONVERSATION INAUDIBLE

-'OK, well done.'

-All right, then.

-Thank you.

-'Bye.'

All right. Bye.

Yeah, I got the job. I told you.

I beat 16 people to the job.

Can we go to Nando's to celebrate?

THEY LAUGH

It's been weeks since Craig moved out.

Do you want some sauce?

Although his JSA is now coming through,

he's still sofa surfing at mates' on the estate.

These bring back funny memories, these! We damaged him!

The only reminders of his old home life

are the clips of him, Jake, and Chink,

messing around in his old room.

-That's when it was my turn shooting you.

-Oh, right, yeah.

-Snorting that chilli powder!

-HE GIGGLES

-What?

-Vindaloo chilli powder!

He said he couldn't breathe through his nose for, like, three days!

-HE LAUGHS

-That were very good!

That were very good!

That'll be fucking ice cold, you idiot!

But Craig's mates know all is not well.

'With him moving and everything,

'because he's not really got much to do,'

he's basically just building up and building up and getting more angry.

I can see every day when he's just sat there not doing nowt,

he's just sat there getting angrier and angrier.

And I can see it, literally, building up to a point where

he's just going to either go down a path where he's not going to like,

he's going to do something with his life, because of him being angry.

The summer's drawing to a close.

He's still talking about the Army, but hasn't done anything yet.

That's most of the reason he wants to go into the Army,

because he's got nowhere...

well, he has got places to go, but...

but...he probably does look at it as a way out.

Like how I did at first.

-INTERVIEWER:

-And for you?

Well, I want to get a job and that first.

Get a car and that. Live some of my life.

You never know, you could spend, like,

three weeks in war and get killed,

so I'd rather have some life before going into combat.

Frankie, though, is thinking ahead.

He's travelled down from London to the South Coast.

It's really quiet around here. It's very different here.

It's full of crackheads.

Crackheads old people and...posh people.

And, like, surfer people.

He's come down for an open day,

to check out a degree course in games design.

Right, hi. I'm Peter.

I'm one of the professors here

at the National Centre for Computer Animation. Welcome.

So, all these guys already have their degrees,

and they're doing a Masters here.

All the courses we do are both academically challenging,

so they're difficult courses, but at the same time,

they prepare you for work.

Oh, animators are crazy!

They do all sorts of weird things,

like they dance with hula hoops,

they do motorcycles, they juggle a lot.

They even play with a Christmas tree!

What's the possibility of me earning money,

or part-time work, while I'm here?

Um, it's probably going to be difficult,

because unlike other colleges, we have a very full timetable.

If you wanted work in a shop or a supermarket,

you can, but you'd be exhausted.

He expects you to put in 44 hours a week.

Yeah, I mean, that's more than a full-time job.

Yeah, that's what he said.

He said it would possibly be too much pressure on you

to have a part-time job, as well.

Yeah, well, that's why in my talk, I'm saying lots of people do...

..first of all, give you a bit of an insight into student finance,

how much could you supplement your income

through student finance and support...

..and who's going to pick up the cost?

Is it mum and dad, or is it going to be you?

There is no need to panic.

Yes, the costs that you may pay, may be more

than people on the current system...

tuition fee of, in this case, £9,000 a year.

You pay that annually, but there is a tuition fee loan

from Student Finance England to cover that full amount.

And think about like an investment.

So that's your tuition fees, OK?

Do you see how it balances?

So where the loan goes up, the grant goes down.

University is not meant to disadvantage you,

and the finance system isn't.

The amount you're paying is more, and I'm not going to deny that.

This is the reality of the situation.

You will have more of a loan than I have.

So what are going to do now is move onto your budgeting challenge.

'It will be a three-year course, so that will be...'

£27,000 that I'll be in debt.

-INTERVIEWER: What?

-£27,000.

That's not even including living finance or nothing like that.

That's just £27,000, just to do my course.

So, obviously, there'll be other costs on top of that, as well.

So it'll be a lot of money.

I'm going to live in a flat, yeah,

with certain rich people, and I'll live off them.

That's how I'm going to do it.

That's my plan. Live off rich people, innit?

I'll be a cool friend, because most of these people

that come to this university are nerds and geeks and stuff,

so to have me as their friend,

all you have to do is feed me and I'll be their friend.

You've got to have your compulsory uni hoodie.

What, you have to wear them?

You don't HAVE TO wear them.

But if you want to, you can get your merchandise.

Everyone has to have a uni hoodie.

-No, I wouldn't wear that.

-You wouldn't?

-No.

-Never?

-Never, never.

Oh, you'll be surprised.

When you roll out at five to nine in the morning

for your first lecture...

Don't feel to mingle.

INTERVIEWER: Are they not your kind of people?

Erm, no. Not at all.

-Why not?

-They're weirdoes, innit?

They're all, like, country people.

If you listen to what they're talking about, they're talking posh.

"Oh, my Mercedes broke down!"

And stuff like that.

She's 16 and she's got a Mercedes.

Things like that.

Today has given Frankie plenty to think about.

I need some rocks.

Like, rock stick. The sweet.

It was a good eye-opener.

All it highlighted, really, is how expensive it's going to be.

They don't say it's going to be cheap at all.

The only thing they tell you is, it's going to be so expensive.

It's like the only thing highlighted is everything's going to cost.

More and more, the more they go on, the more...

it's like, the more in debt you're going to get.

But university isn't really an option. It's vital.

Like, I have to do it.

So we're going to be doing the kick-up competition.

We'll also do...see if anyone can beat Wesley. OK?

Winners of the kick-up competition will do a head-to-head with Wesley.

Two laps! Everyone do two laps!

For Wes, the summer has finally got a purpose.

He has landed his dream job.

It may only be for three weeks, but it's paid work.

I've signed off jobcentre, so no more there.

Get paid, and then, hopefully, go out and find a permanent job.

I've turned into teacher.

That's how I feel. I feel like a teacher.

Pretend to go one way...

I don't know, you know, I ain't really had time to speak to them.

Probably just in bed.

Smoking bud.

Stuff like that.

When I was sitting at my house, ain't have a job,

bored out my face, I just felt like smoking a spliff,

but now that I'm actually doing something, I don't want to smoke.

I'm doing something I enjoy.

And I'm getting paid for it.

Six pounds something an hour,

which is all right for kicking round a football,

teaching kids, isn't it?

-INTERVIEWER: Is this a new start for you?

-Hopefully.

I'd say so, actually.

I can't say "hopefully." There's no going back now.

Take it, take it! Salsa, guys.

Frankie has also settled into his job.

He's enjoying the bright lights of the West End.

Salsa bar.

So where is the salsa?

Salsa bar is just up round there.

-OK. Thanks.

-You're welcome, man.

'I mean, I've got a temporary contract.'

They looked past that prison thing and stuff like that.

For every one flyer that a customer brings back,

I get 25p commission added.

Thank you, sorry. OK.

'At the moment, you know, I seem to be ahead of everyone else,'

so that's a really good look for me,

because it shows that I'm working hard.

Salsa.

'You know, considering that they printed off, what?

25,000 flyers,

25,000 x 25ps...

if everyone comes in, the potential to earn on commission is a lot.

Obviously, the likelihood is I'm not going to earn that.

Yeah, but in central London,

I would have to get about ten customers to buy a can of Coke.

It's about £2.50, so...

You know, the commission's not good.

HARE KRISHNAS SING

In Rotherham, things are also moving.

Craig's on his way to an interview.

I took loads of CVs out.

This bit wouldn't be where I were working,

it would be this side. Because it says there, Heavy Forge.

This is where they melt down all the steel and make it.

There are the electric labs where they test the metals.

Excuse me, fella.

INTERCOM BLEEPS

I've just come to see the army careers advisor, mate.

After months of putting it off, he's finally decided to enlist.

-All right, lads? How are you doing today?

-All right, pal?

Pleased to meet you. I'm Sergeant Charlton.

All right, if you'd both like to take a seat.

It's a lot cooler in here.

-Weather's horrific, isn't it?

-Aye.

Do you know anyone, then, that's in the Army?

Yeah, his mate's brother's in the Army.

-Have you talked to them about it?

-Yeah.

And has that influenced you to join up?

Well, I've always wanted to do it, but they did before me.

Have you actually thought about what you'd like to do within the Army?

I want to go into the Rifles.

-So you want a full-time job, 365 days a year?

-Yeah.

No dramas with that, mate.

We're not the sharpest at tools!

It's not easy to get in the Army, nowadays, all right?

The current climate, to do things like Afghanistan

and go on operations, you've got to be very physically fit.

'I've been thinking about joining the Army for a long time.

'I just got, kind of, put off from it for a while.'

It's a proud day. Have a photo took,

get your oath and the allegiance and everything,

and swear it to the Queen.

'Everybody knows the risks of going into the Army.

But it's the risk you've got to take if you want to do it that badly.'

We're going to start with the mandatory form that you fill out.

It's called an Army Interest form.

'That's more or less it now.

'I was just lost, but I've learned to deal with it,

'and it's made me grow up.

'Sorted my life out.'

Frankie is now back at college for his final year.

He was offered the club job permanently, but reluctantly,

he had to give it up when the late hours impacted on his studies.

He still intends to go to university.

I'd buy houses, you know, I'd buy cars.

I want to be able to just live a comfortable lifestyle.

I want to be able to not be the same as everyone else.

Craig's waiting to hear when he will be called up to the infantry.

He's still sofa surfing and surviving on benefits.

I'll just stay around doing what I'm doing, anyway.

I'll just end up being...just doing something bad eventually,

and then I'll end up getting arrested and I don't want that.

After his three-week job, Wes has had to go back onto JSA.

He still sees his son, and is looking for a permanent job.

I wouldn't mind getting into academies,

and coaching academies, cos I know I've got the level to do that.

I know I can do that. So that's what I'm going to push for.

# Deep water

# A little deeper than you thought

# Feel it going over the edge

# And just go with it

# Until it's all good, yeah... #

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd