Episode 6 Tough Young Teachers

School can be tough.

-Can we pay attention at the back, please?

-Ah!

And not just for the students.

Move from the door, please, move from the door, please...

It's exciting, it's not safe. You're not sitting behind a desk.

50% of teachers leave the job within the first five years.

Come on, get out!

But some of the country's top graduates...

Morning on this fine day.

..are determined to give teaching a go.

Welcome to GCSE business studies. I am Mr Beach, like the seaside.

How much experience do I have as a teacher? Um...

..none.

You need to sell this location to me.

'I want to do everyone proud.'

I want these kids to feel that they've had a good teacher this year.

The catch - they've only had six weeks of training

before being let loose on the kids.

Oh!

When they come into my classroom, they expect to leave with something

and if I'm not delivering, then I'm failing.

Are they up to the task?

Sorry.

I'm just finding everything really hard to deal with.

Can they change the lives of their pupils?

-Bottom set, what does that mean to you?

-Dumb. Not very smart.

I'll be Prime Minister one day, you'll see.

Hi, nice to see you.

Six teachers...

I knew he was posh, I knew it. I knew it, I knew he was posh.

..three schools...

Look at my face. You got a C.

..one unforgettable year.

High-five!

-Cheers, guys.

-Cheers, well done.

This week, the school year reaches its climax.

It's exams for the students...

Kieran, what are tectonic hazards?

..and the teachers' futures are in the spotlight.

I'd be lying if I didn't say I want to be outstanding.

I have to say, this has been the hardest decision of my life.

It's the final term before the summer holidays.

A year of hard work is coming to an end.

Get out, you should be standing behind your desks! Quietly.

Girls, hurry up, you're all late.

It's GCSEs for some.

And end-of-year exams for others.

You can feel it's like a whole school vibe that, OK,

it's a countdown, you know, you've got ten days, nine days, you know?

That exams are here and you feel it.

It's crunch time for the trainees as well.

If they don't pass the year, their dreams of being a teacher are over.

Can I have an example for what someone might think

when they hear the word victim?

'I'm not a quitter.'

If you can make it through this year,

if you can make it through Teach First,

then you can really do anything.

Some are hoping for top marks and being graded as outstanding.

'Outstanding teaching means outstanding learning.'

You guys are going to be Einstein.

That's obviously what I want to achieve.

I mean, when I was just marking earlier, I was like shouting,

"She got an A!"

Archbishop Lanfranc is a comprehensive

in Croydon, South London.

Morning, Jonathan. Morning, Kieran.

You all right, Jim?

Chloe is coming to the end of her second year,

but is having doubts about the future.

Dominic.

It's a really, really hard decision to make,

because I've really fallen in love with the school.

I love the staff, I have so many students that I really enjoy teaching

and I also sort of have a desire to go and do some travelling again,

while I'm still young.

And at the end of these two years, it feels like a natural break.

Look at him, he's going to cry - he can't take it. The emotion!

Right, Kieran, can you take out that exam paper I gave you last lesson?

Her Year 11 geography bottom set are about to go on study leave

to revise for GCSE exams.

This is our final lesson together before you go.

No, because you have got way too much work to be doing

to be doing that, OK? At ten o'clock we'll all do a case study

in timed, silent conditions, and then we'll go through it.

Off you go.

'I do worry about my Year 11s.

'I worry that... Individually, some of them are gifted.'

Bruno, that's enough.

I just hope that they realise that and they have that drive within them,

which I don't know if some of them have.

Dominic surprised many by getting an A in the first part of his exam.

Dominic, out.

No, you're outside - I'll talk to you in a minute.

-Please.

-Now you're wasting all our time.

But since then, he's lacked motivation.

I'm not having you talking over this.

Half an hour to do this.

So, trade operates in those four countries.

The people in the corridor, do you want me to do anything with them?

They're currently disturbing my Year 11 lesson.

You've opened my door and you're now in the window.

-I've said, "Stand over there."

-Stand there, stand there.

You are doing so fantastically and now you're out here

while the others are practising a question.

Dominic, look at me when I'm talking to you.

Look here, please. Look. Not laughing.

Get it right. Stop.

HE LAUGHS

'Their heads aren't in it, which is a little bit concerning

'considering they've got their GCSE in a few weeks.'

Right, you're describing the main features for it.

'They just need to be focused, determined.'

They must realise this is a time in their lives

when they can't mess around. They're going to have to just forget

about their social life for a few weeks and this has to be priority.

Upstairs, Charles is on course to get the top grade

at the end of his first year.

The teachers are graded as satisfactory, good or outstanding

trainees at the end of year one.

I want not necessarily just superficial learning,

I want depth of learning.

Charles's first year has been a steep learning curve.

My whole reason for teaching is that it's about relationships

and that it doesn't matter where you are

and what circumstance you're in, a teaching relationship can exist.

Achieving this hasn't been easy.

Particularly with 15-year-old Caleb.

How do you think you behaved in that lesson, Caleb?

You thought my lesson was boring?

Is that why you're misbehaving?

OK. What do you...?

He has no respect for me, I will never have respect for him.

'You've got to have very thick skin and, like,

'you've got to be very resilient.'

Fred, facing the front.

Today, Year 10 pupils are revising for exams and Walid

has been asked to lead the class.

So how do people experience God, guys?

Guys, come on. Be energetic, guys.

OK, come on, guys, anything else?

SEVERAL PUPILS CALL OUT

But the power seems to be going to Walid's head.

-Rasheesh.

-No, no, no.

OK. Right, quietly.

Sir, your lesson is my lesson, so you go and sit down now.

Walid, Walid...

PUPILS LAUGH

This... Funny joke, but I actually need to get people to work, OK?

Ssh, ssh. Walid, ssh.

Just like Caleb, Charles and 15-year-old Walid

have had a rocky relationship over the year.

I'm waiting for you to give me the answer so I can write it down.

Sir, my hand's swollen. It's a glove, look, it's a glove.

Make me want to teach you,

cos at the moment you're giving me very little reason to want to.

After a school trip together earlier in the year,

it looked like things were on the up.

'He's a cool teacher.

'He done a lot of work to get here'

and I should repay him by hard work at school.

-Walid...

-It's my lesson!

Walid, where do you think this is going? Positive or negative?

-BOY:

-Negative.

-Get out my class.

OK, Walid, calm down. Can you go and make sure people

are doing their debate, please, OK? Walid, this is getting

very close to you going and standing outside an office. OK?

-This is my class. This is my class.

-Walid, outside now. I want a word.

I want to have a word outside.

You're being silly, OK?

Calm down. I'll think about letting you back in the classroom.

-At the moment, you're not ready to be in my classroom.

-I am, I am!

-Walid, outside.

-Oh!

Walled, stop attracting attention.

Walid, stop being an attention seeker.

Walid, get out.

Unless you want to go and stand outside Mr Lauser's office...

WALID LAUGHS

Unacceptable.

OK.

Hands up, what would...

Hands up, please - what would a Christian say?

What was that?

What?

Sitting on the floor, having a tantrum like a three-year-old.

I wasn't having a tantrum.

Give me one good reason why I shouldn't ask you to go

and stand outside Mr Lauser's office right now.

Cos I've got a PE lesson.

Right, I've got a lesson to teach.

-We're going to go and see Mr Lauser now.

-No, no!

Walid, you're going outside Mr Lauser's office.

-I got a lesson to go to.

-No.

-I've got a lesson to go to.

-No. You're going this way.

-I'm not going to Mr Lauser's.

-Wait. Walid, if you don't...

I've got a lesson to go to!

-Do you want to make it worse for another time?

-How?

-You got a lesson to teach.

-OK, now.

-Oh...!

-Hi.

-You all right?

Nicholas and Meryl both teach at the Harefield Academy

in North-West London.

What's going on with you this time?

What do you want from the last 13 weeks?

-Um, what do I have want?

-Yes.

Specifically within the realms of teaching.

I just want to love my pupils.

THEY LAUGH

-I'm going to fall asleep today, I can feel it.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

The two trainees have grown close over their first year.

We came here together and, yeah, I do feel a sense of, you know,

like, unity with her, like we're in it together and we've, like,

done our late nights together and stuff.

I kept all my shirts and all my dresses...

Nick hopes to pass the year with an outstanding grade.

What we're going to do is something a bit different.

Today's objective is for you to all understand

all of your corrections in your tests.

You've each been assigned a question that you will...

Today, he's having his final assessment.

Off you go.

Is anyone working on 6B?

Yeah? You've done three.

This isn't even my book!

Ask somebody who got it right

and you'll have to be able to explain it...

I mean, overall, for me, it's been a wonderful experience.

I mean, just on a personal level, I went from being a student

to being a working man.

'I've grown up and become an adult.'

Coming from a background where money's not an issue,

I've always been really wary never to make choices based on that.

But I feel that I'm using the great education that I've had

to put back into the system somewhat.

His success has been helped by his willingness to bond with pupils,

especially Zach.

Does your sister care about, like, you being good in school?

-Yeah. She hates it when I'm not good.

-Really?

-Yeah, cos she wants me to, like...

-Do well?

-Yeah, do well for myself and...

-Yeah.

Put it back, there'll be a pen, a rubber

and a whiteboard that's cleaned.

This was clearly a good lesson, absolutely rock solid.

Good, adventurous lesson with some features, like the structure

and the design and the student-led learning,

those are moving into outstanding, so that was a very...

You know, that was a good lesson.

-Thanks a lot.

-Well done, well done, very good.

Choosing to become a teacher has meant some personal sacrifices

for devout Christian Nick.

He's spent the whole year living apart from his French fiancee,

Anne-Laure.

She's flown over to spend a romantic weekend with him.

I met Anne-Laure on a pilgrimage to a great big basilica in France

called Vezelay, and we were introduced by a nun,

which is something I'm very proud of.

By the end of spending a few days with her, I was just like,

"This is my wife, job done."

OK, it's fine, can you pass the pump?

This is the bit where I warm up!

Ah...

What's so special about her? Describe her.

Oh, man, you're going to ask me these sorts of questions?

Bloody hell.

Um... Oh, man, really?

OK, hold on a sec.

'I mean, she's just so cool. She's a beautiful person

'and the fact that we can share our faith on a deep level'

means that we're just going to have the funnest life ever.

-Oh, my word.

-'She's just going to be an amazing wife.'

'You know, naturally in a relationship,

'you go through emotions,

'you miss each other in different moments.'

You can't give each other a hug, which are so important moments

in relationships, that physical presence of the other.

OK, now you've got to let me teach you,

-cos you're just like, "No, no, no."

-No, OK, OK.

'I don't think it's a great context'

for you to develop a serious relationship

and to develop the love you have for each other.

Nick's future wife doesn't understand his choice of career.

For me, it's a bit strange, it's a bit like,

"Why would you do this kind of thing?

"You've done, like, an amazing university..."

and I can see his friends,

they're all, like, earn money and had, like, wow,

completely different way of life. They don't work as much as he works.

Yeah, I think the work will never go down for now.

It will only get easier in the sense that...

She's not the only one who's not convinced.

I don't think he was actively thinking of being a teacher

until the idea of Teach First came up.

The opportunity to have an accelerated entry into teaching

and to do it for two years in a really intensive way

suddenly appealed.

I think he has a sense of adventure.

If you ask him now, "What do you want to be?"

you know, I don't think he would really know how to answer that.

I think he's someone who gives life... It's all in the moment

and it's not with some long-term plan.

Nick's colleague Meryl's decision to be a teacher

was anything but impulsive.

'It's the only thing I've ever really wanted in life, is to be a teacher.'

My commitment to sort of addressing educational disadvantage

is a lifelong commitment.

We should have Star of the Week for Year 10

and all of our good course control assessments

we can put up on the Wall of Fame.

'I realise that you can make a huge impact in two years,'

but I look to the impact I can make over 10 years, 20 years.

But Meryl's had to work hard to succeed and hold on to her job.

There are days where I do feel like, yeah,

I feel like the school want to fire me.

"This is bad. Why is it bad?

"What are you doing that's making it bad?"

I'm like, "I'm trying. I'm here so late every day."

Surely everyone is bad at the beginning.

Having passed the year with a good grade,

Meryl's been set a new challenge.

WW, I'm expecting good things. Stanza four.

The sports academy has a number of talented young pupils.

Let me help you out.

Meryl is working as a mentor to one of them, 15-year-old James.

James Karageorgis is a great kid,

he's a British champion gymnast.

He faces his end-of-year exams soon

but, because of his training, he's falling behind.

He's bright, when he works hard he produces fantastic work.

-Nice - you're putting in adverbs.

-Thank you.

And yet he can be one of the most frustrating kids that I teach.

OK, James?

-Yes, Miss?

-James?

'Always ignoring me.'

I literally have to chase him down the corridor

at the end of the day, to catch up on work.

-Go and wait outside.

-For what?

-Just wait outside.

He also gets lots of detentions.

But do you have five minutes?

But finding time to do them is another matter.

When do you train for gymnastics at Heathrow?

Oh, gosh, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

Can we open a window? It's really hot in here.

Your attitude in English I find quite rude sometimes.

You're just shouting across the classroom,

so can we just adjust that, please?

Are you about to fall asleep, James?

-I'm pretty tired.

-OK, I'll bet you are.

Moved to...

..Monday.

OK, all right, have a nice evening.

Honestly, when can you grab that kid during the day

where he's not half dead?

At Crown Woods, Claudenia has cracked most of her classes,

but still struggles with her demanding Year 10 students.

Good afternoon.

OK, you may be seated.

Throughout the whole year, they've been a constant battle.

I've lost this group.

Just have them, like, laugh in your face,

like, I'm talking to a group of Year 10 girls, what are they, 14? 15?

And I'm shaking, like, what the hell?

Have you got your planner?

-Can you take out your planner, please, Rebecca?

-Yeah, in a minute.

This term, she's trying a new approach,

making the practicals clearer and more engaging.

Rebecca, in your seat for me, please.

It's a practical, so it's an opportunity for you to shine.

OK.

But, to add to the pressure, the lesson is being observed

by a course tutor and counts towards her final mark for the year.

Just to make it really clear, Year 10s.

Today, for the first five minutes, you're just doing section one,

all must do the C grade task, OK?

Zena, unplug that one for me, please. Unplug this for me.

-Yeah, it's just...

-Yeah?

OK, I think we've got it.

I think it's getting better, but it's still kind of boring,

-cos any subject's kind of boring.

-Yeah.

So what are we waiting for here?

Maybe it is the way Miss Williams is teaching,

cos she's kind of changed... I just feel like I'm learning more

in this lesson, I'm not even sure why.

Before, we just used to write stuff and she would explain it

and she wouldn't explain it properly,

but now we're doing practicals,

-having group activities and stuff, so...

-Yeah.

Year 10s, can I have your attention, please?

For your homework, Leo and Louise...

She's made huge progress.

Perhaps what I'm seeing as well is somebody

who's responding to the children a lot more.

-Are you telling me you walked from across my room with a lit flame?

-No.

I've learned.

I can't say I've confidently conquered this class,

I don't feel that way. But I feel I've made massive steps.

I think we've got somebody here who...

This will be a lifelong decision for her

and she will stay in education in some form or another, you know.

I think she's got the potential to do that and she's done really well.

Claudenia's fellow trainee at school is Oliver.

Today, it's his final observation.

Can you form a line outside?

Thank you. I've got a pocket square to match.

Here we go, this is your check list to print.

It will decide his final mark and his future career options.

Ratchet?

Yes, sir?

Fix your collar.

I'd be lying if I didn't say I want to be outstanding.

If I'm going to stay in education, then I'm going to progress

in education. I've had lessons which people have graded, you know,

good with outstanding features.

OK, can everyone please spin around

so I can see all of your beautiful, multicoloured eyes?

Cornelia, why do you think you've been given a sheet?

Oliver has his own personal reasons for wanting to succeed at school.

School, for me, was horrible. I hated going to school, you know,

I cried every day when I got home from school.

I found it just a really terrible experience.

You know, when I was 14,

I came home from school and it was the worst...

I nearly did something that...

would mean I wouldn't be standing here today.

Um...

And...

..can't even begin to imagine how my mum felt that day.

What comes before profit?

How do you link meeting customer needs to increased sales?

If you're able to meet the customer needs,

the customer's going to be more satisfied

and the demand will increase,

meaning that your sales will increase

and then, exponentially, the business could become bigger.

Fantastic. If I had a Beach bill, you'd have got one

just for saying exponentially. That's fantastic, OK?

Off we go.

Do you feel this helps?

Yeah, I know, I was very impressed. Very impressed.

-Thank you, Mr Beach.

-Thank you.

It's the week before half term

and, at Lanfranc, the Year 11s are about to finish school forever.

For some of you, this has been a day

you've been waiting for for the past five years.

In that, time David Cameron has become Prime Minister

and Arsenal still haven't won a trophy!

UPROAR

It doesn't matter where we really started.

It's where we finish.

And I think we are going to finish at the top!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Oh! I don't want to leave! I actually don't want to leave.

I'm a bit sad, to be honest, to be leaving Lanfranc.

Obviously, I'm going to miss a lot of my friends.

I'm going to college with some of them,

but, yeah, I'll miss a lot of them.

Got to be focused,

revise all the subjects I need to revise

and get it into my brain.

Obviously, I've got a lot of things in my brain,

but I need to get a bit more of that knowledge.

My heart's split in four pieces, not two.

It does really hurt the heart. When you know you're leaving five years

of the best years of your life, it hurts.

For their teacher, Chloe, there is still the dilemma

about whether to stay in teaching or go travelling.

Having received an outstanding grade last year,

the school are eager to keep her on.

This time of year, we're starting thinking about timetabling,

starting to think about responsibilities in the future.

What are you going to do? It's second year Teach First.

I definitely want to feel as though I'm progressing.

I enjoy teaching...

..but I feel like you only scratch the surface of stuff,

you can only do so much in an hour. The one massive thing

that I've learnt here is that I'd want to work with young people

and that's what this school's shown me.

And that you are good at that but, at the end of the day,

that's refreshing because, you know, you get people

coming for Teach First and there's no long-term commitment.

That's a nice, easy one. Well done.

You start off with, "I don't know what I want to do,

"but I do know I want to travel."

-We've had that conversation.

-Help me!

-"I'm going to travel," yep.

-My least favourite conversation.

-Really?

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Right, let's just... SHE LAUGHS

Um...

Was it a bit awkward? There were moments I was thinking, "Oh, God,

"what if I just want to go travelling?"

But I just, I didn't...

Yeah, it's really hard, I didn't know what to say about that,

because I have always said that if they can offer me something

awesome here, it would massively tempt me to stay.

I do really like it here. As rubbish as it can be.

I work with such lovely people here that do just want to support you.

I found it quite hard to say that I was thinking about leaving.

-What are you going to do now?

-Cry.

Get drunk.

Drown my emotions!

Whilst Chloe still hasn't decided whether to stay or not,

Charles is holding a detention for Walid

following his poor behaviour.

Charles is hoping that Walid's up-and-coming work experience

will get him to think about his future.

The reason we're here is to see people achieve

and to see people succeed and do well

and to make the most of their potential,

and he wants to go to university,

he wants to, you know, do well in his GCSEs.

But, actually, the reality is he's getting Bs at the moment,

he's getting Bs and Cs.

And, in this competitive world, it doesn't get you very far.

And I sort of suggested him to reflect on how he got from being

leading learning really well in that lesson to...

..having a tantrum on the floor in the course of 20 minutes.

Right, I'll see you soon.

I do think he's the kind of person that, one day, it will click.

One day, it'll click.

One day, it'll just be like, "Oh, I need to grow up."

Before breaking up for summer,

all Year 10 students do a week-long job placement.

It focuses the pupils on exams and life beyond school.

Walid has opted to do his at an optician's.

Hello, Specsavers Greenford. Walid speaking, how may I help you?

-If it breaks, we'll just replace it for her, for free.

-Thank you.

-Do you want these ones?

-Yes, please.

Hello? I'm sorry about that, yeah, you're booked in for ten o'clock.

Bye.

My God. She's a feisty one.

Can you see a green light there?

-Yes, I can see now.

-You can see, yeah?

-Yeah.

That's good.

Walid seems to have impressed the boss.

-Yeah.

-Made a rainbow.

And if you could just sit back, and put your left eye there?

He's a very confident young man and he's only proven to me

what you can do at such a young age with his confidence.

He's been fantastic with us and, once he turns 16,

he really will be a commodity for anyone that he works for.

You've got Armani over here.

Back at Harefield, sports protege James

has failed to turn up to his detention.

Hi, Mr Beamer, it's Miss Neurona.

OK.

Just answer with one word, OK?

Is James Karageorgis in his science catch up?

He is? Interesting.

OK. I'm going to come along

and find out why he regretted to inform me

that he has science catch up when I set him a one-hour detention.

Don't let your eyes reveal anything. I'll come and see you in a sec.

With his mock exams around the corner,

Meryl had planned a session of intensive revision.

-James. Whoa, whoa.

-I need to go.

You go that way, I'm going to go this way.

-I'm sorry, where are you going, James?

-Home!

Do you not have a one-hour detention with me, James?

James, I just want to know when you're going to come

for the one-hour detection. Tomorrow, I believe you've got maths catch up

and Wednesday IT

and Thursday IT. James, don't walk away.

Very quickly, James, I'm talking to you like a human being.

James.

Just tell me what day.

So you don't have maths tomorrow?

You don't have maths catch up? Tomorrow, James.

This kid.

Is he trying to pull a fast one?

What...?

Why are you coming in like that?

How was your day today?

Yeah, I felt more or less more like a teacher than last week.

Yeah, same. I don't know what happened over the weekend.

Last week was a bit... Well, I had quite a relaxing weekend.

That wasn't even kind of close.

Meryl, it's just so amazing to be here marking together.

-I know.

-It's so romantic.

My fiancee would be so jealous.

Oh, yeah.

There is nothing more romantic than marking.

It's half term, the final one of the year.

Hello, how are you?

The six trainees have a week off to catch up with family and friends.

If someone told me in September I'm so much in love with my job,

I would have just laughed, I think.

LAUGHING AND CHATTING

So you're not thinking about staying on after next year?

I don't know, I would like to stay,

but I wouldn't want to just stay doing exactly the same thing

that I've done this year and last year, I'd want something to change.

I said the small one without the dimples.

For Nick, his fiancee, Anne-Laure, has been over from France

to finalise wedding plans.

-I quite like this writing.

-Yeah.

The woman being in charge on weddings is just pretty normal.

I've met no man who's been sort of in the control seat.

Can we put the bags in the front? Let's put the bags in the front.

During her stay, Nick has come to a life-changing decision.

'In May, it dawned on me that perhaps I hadn't given God

'the space or time to show me'

that I should leave Teach First

and go and live with Anne-Laure in Toulouse.

-Did you have a nice little sleep?

-Sorry!

That's all right.

On course to be outstanding...

Thank you very much.

..Nick's resignation has not gone down well at the school.

I was pretty shocked and horrified, I have to say.

I talked to him about moral purpose, you know,

the moral purpose for Teach First

is to see it through for the two years.

Some sense of betrayal...

We're left in the lurch.

Here is a young person who could make a real difference

and they're not going to see it through,

so, you know, the teaching profession has lost a potentially

very, very good teacher for the future and, gosh, do we need them.

And to this day I don't want to leave.

On a professional level

and everything about what I've lived this year,

I don't want to leave.

And that's really clear, that's really clear for me.

The reason I'm leaving is entirely personal.

Like, it's only because I'm getting married and my wife wins.

I'm obviously really upset that you're going,

and I love you like a little brother.

Pfft! Whatever.

Well, cousin. Distant cousin.

I can't even come to terms with the fact that I'm getting married,

cos I'm not with Anne-Laure all the time, like,

we chat on the phone about it,

but we're just like, "This is so weird."

-(One word.)

-Be.

See you later, alligator.

Get out.

Thanks for nothing, Church.

-See you later.

-See you later.

Like, I don't want to lose, like, my best friend at the school,

but I want my friend to be happy and...

You know, I'll ring him.

And try and visit him maybe once or twice in France or something.

It's sad, it's sad, but...

I don't know.

He'll be all right.

So I guess knowing that just makes me feel like, yeah,

I can't be mad.

Despite Meryl's disappointment about Nick's news,

she is determined to go the extra mile

to see her student, James, achieve his potential.

Having crashed her car last term, she has some new wheels.

She's roped in boyfriend and curate Stefan Christostenau

to help her on her way.

Would you be able to bless my car today?

Yeah, no. There's no...

I need to get her blessed, and I know you said

you'd do it on the weekend, but while we're out, might as well.

No, I'm happy to.

I mean, maybe it's nicer to do it now that it's all clean.

-It's like a...

-Ha! Baptism.

Heavenly Father, we ask you to bless this car

and keep Meryl and all who travel in it safe from harm.

May they journey with due regards to safety and the law of the land,

but also to the greater law of charity to our neighbour,

and as you sent your angel, Raphael, to watch over Tobias on his journey,

so send your angel to watch over this car and all who use it.

-Through Christ, our Lord, amen.

-Amen.

So there you are.

One...bright, shiny, clean and now blessed car.

Thank you.

That's all right.

Oh, yeah, go ahead.

God bless and keep you. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, amen.

Amen, thank you.

Well, thank you for blessing my car.

Meryl is driving 200 miles to Stoke to see her elusive pupil

defend his title as the British acrobatic gymnastics champion.

APPLAUSE

I think one of the biggest things in your first year

is trying to develop relationships with the students.

Bottom line is you want them to realise

that you're not there to be horrible, you're not there to be their friend,

but you're there as someone who cares about their education

and is trying to help them.

I have never been to anything like this in my life.

I think the only thing I can really compare it to is...

..the final sequence of The Karate Kid, the 1984 version.

Looks good, doesn't it?

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

DRAMATIC MUSIC

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I can't get over the fact that a kid that I teach just does this.

It's just so weird.

Like, it's so technical and they're so precise,

you forget that you're watching children.

They're children, this is ridiculous.

-ANNOUNCER:

-The age group 11 to 16 years mixed pair,

British champions are James Karageorgis and Filicia Mallins!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Can't believe it. He's a British champ.

So, so proud of him.

I don't think he knows I'm here yet.

Congratulations, well done.

I'm really proud. You did really, really well.

-I didn't know you were here.

-Why are you being shy?

You did really, really well. You should be really proud of yourself.

Well, thank you very much.

All right, I'm not going to embarrass you any more.

See you in school. Don't forget your coursework's due.

-Oh, yeah, my coursework.

-Yeah, don't forget about it.

'I have high expectations of him,'

so he better watch out.

At Crown Woods, Oliver has high expectations of his own.

Hello.

He's about to discover if he has achieved

the outstanding mark he wants.

'I'm under huge pressure,'

and sometimes I think because I...

A lot of people just didn't think

anything was going to become of me at school,

I almost feel like sometimes

it's like "stick it to the man" essentially.

You know, it's been great having you

as a Teach First candidate this year and you've brought a lot

to the school in terms of your own personal experience

and your own personal style, and your approach to teaching.

And, you know, I think it's going to lead

to a very exciting career as we move forward.

I mean, the school's recommendation is that

your overall assessment for year one is outstanding,

cos we feel that's the contribution that you've made this year

and that's where we feel things should be at.

-So really well done.

-Thanks.

Shall we high-five?

-We'll shake hands.

-Shake hands?

'I'm really happy.'

Thanks, Maurice. Cheers.

'It's so interesting how my life has developed'

from hating going to school and, like, crying at home

and, like, trying to think of excuses why I didn't have to

go to school and eating my lunch in the toilet,

you know, that sort of thing,

and now I just love coming to school.

I hardly ever eat my lunch in the bathroom.

From this accidentally creativity, they created a burger...

'When I look back'

at Oliver then, I see a stranger.

I don't see the person I see now.

Remember that quote I did?

"Be yourself, everyone else is already taken."

All these quotes that I'm using, they all mean something to business.

'Can I read a quote?'

You can't, er...

You can't go to the...

You can't be at the end and start a new beginning,

but you can start a new beginning...

..and look towards a new ending.

That didn't make sense.

That's not it.

Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.

Success is liking what you do and liking how you do it.

Success isn't just about what you accomplish in your life,

it's about what you inspire...

Off to see the wizard.

Claudenia also has reason to celebrate.

I feel a bit Tina Turner.

She has received outstanding for her first year

and has been selected to attend a special reception.

So I'm going to Number 10 today to see the Prime Minister -

as you do on a Monday!

I should be teaching my Year 10s,

but I've got another teacher teaching them today for me.

So it's really exciting, we're going to celebrate ten years

of Teach First and I've been lucky enough to be selected to go.

She has chosen one of her Year 11 GCSE pupils to come with her.

Hi, miss.

Hi, Jessiah, looking very smart, well done.

My mum thought it was appropriate, and I did, as well.

Since I'm meeting the Prime Minister I had to look in good shape,

so my mum bought me a suit on Saturday to wear.

Why did you pick me, Miss?

Have a think.

Maybe I have potential that you've seen.

-Maybe you have potential that I've seen.

-Yeah.

I don't who's more excited. I'm sure I'm more excited.

I'm excited.

-I just want to get to Number 10.

-Is that the door?

(Oh, my God!)

It is the door, it is the door! Ah!

That's so cool.

POLICE OFFICER: That's all right, knock at the door.

Argh! I'm going to knock.

OK, knock it once, I want to knock, as well. OK?

-Aw, I didn't really get to knock it.

-Hello, there.

-Hello.

-Are you for the reception?

-Yes.

Across the country, it's exam season.

So there's three sections - section A, section B and section C.

At Lanfranc, it's the moment of truth

for Chloe's Year 11 bottom set.

So you answer the question on rivers or on coasts - don't do both.

Today, they are sitting their final geography exam.

The other section will be on economic development.

'I really hope some of them will pull it out of the bag.'

I don't know if they will, though, to be honest,

I don't know how much revision some of them did at the end.

Kieran, what are tectonic hazards?

Yeah.

Ten minutes after the exam starts, Dominic makes an appearance.

(Just fashionably late, isn't he?)

(Just, you know, rock in whenever.)

(Gave me a heart attack.)

(Right, got to go and teach.)

At Harefield, Meryl's Year 10 mock exam results are in.

When I went in, he was practically sleeping in the exam.

So, without naming names,

an F...

one mark off an E...

we've got an E...

It's a chance to see if her commitment to James has paid off.

Wait a minute, I'm missing one.

(I'm missing one!)

Oh my gosh, I've lost one.

No, here it is.

I'm going to start bringing around your mocks, OK?

Oh, I don't want to...

If anyone got a 20 or above, I'm happy.

20 or above? That's an E.

No-one in this class got an A, I'll tell you that much.

Ugh...!

I got an E.

Oh! Ah!

I was one mark off...

I was one mark off a B!

-Ah!

-Was that you that got the highest?

I was one mark off. Ah!

James got the highest?

-I was one mark off a B.

-Well done.

-Look at this!

Look at that, one mark off a B.

MERYL: When I marked the batch that I got,

I don't care if you're top set, if you didn't write in paragraphs,

you're not getting above 10 out of 20.

I'm going to put the mark scheme up if you want to go through it.

-Don't touch my work!

-Well done.

I'm pleased with the marks -

I'll double check some of them, all right?

One mark off a B, James Karageorgis.

Can you believe it? I was absolutely...

I was shocked, because he was the one I was most worried about,

because he'd missed a lot of lessons prior,

when we were doing all the practice papers,

but that last week just before,

and especially the lesson just before,

he kept saying, "Madam, can you check?"

I was like, "Good - write in paragraphs, add this,

"make sure you're talking about feelings", blah, blah, blah.

Last-minute stuff, but he pulled it out of the bag, 38 out of 50.

Like, I've marked some top-set papers and they weren't even getting a C,

let alone one mark off a B,

so if they can put in that kind of effort next year,

I'm confident that they'll do well.

So, I mean, I'm pleased.

I am an enormous fan of everything that you do,

of the massive achievement that you are bringing to our schools,

so it is a real privilege to welcome you here.

Here is a great lot from Crown Wood School.

Hi, nice to see you.

Hi, and so have you done your training,

going into the schools now?

A pupil?

LAUGHTER

Right, who's the teacher? You're the teacher, right.

I was going to get it the other way round.

Right, so tell me what it's like

being taught by one of the Teach First graduates.

-Oh, it's really good.

-Really good?

-Yeah. Yeah.

-Even though fresh out of university?

-She really knows her stuff.

-Knows her stuff?

-And what's your subject?

-Science.

As far as you're concerned,

-as many teachers like this, the better?

-Definitely.

That's the message - brilliant.

Sorry for getting you the wrong way round.

It's a compliment to all of you, you know -

a very mature-looking student, very young-looking teacher.

At least I got it that way round, it could have been worse.

-Right, who have we got here?

-Wembley High.

-Right - I'm guessing you are a student.

-Well done.

-Next to it.

-Right next to it?

-That was cool.

-Yeah.

-Done?

-Yeah - thank you.

-Did you have a good time?

-Yes, thank you. Really nice.

Thanks.

-MUM, ON PHONE:

-'Oh, my God!'

THEY LAUGH

All right, Mum.

-Mum, we're on camera, you know.

-'So?'

You're embarrassing me.

For Claudenia, her first year is ending

with a renewed sense of direction.

I think most for Jessiah and I, it's just the start, you know?

I'm just starting out my little career

and he's just starting out his little life.

Yeah, I'm going to call a taxi.

'Teach First is about setting high expectations,'

to know what high expectations I can set for this boy,

taking him to see the Prime Minister today.

It's an incredible feeling.

Ah, sorry.

I'd hate to live in Central London.

-Don't you think it's beautiful?

-No, I prefer the outside.

'Those tears were worth it.'

It's crazy, this job is crazy, how it makes you feel.

I'm filled with pride for...

But, yeah, definitely worth it.

It's the last day of term.

Nick has to tell some of his favourite pupils

that he's leaving the school.

OK, can I just have quiet, please? Ssh...

OK, so I am leaving, I'm afraid.

-I'm getting married this summer.

-Why?

-Miss Noronha?

-Miss Noronha?

-No, not her. No, it's not, Liam.

No, it's not Miss Noronha, but I am getting married.

'Out of all my classes,'

they're probably the ones that will be most affected by me leaving

and probably saddest...as am I, I think.

-Congratulations.

-So I'm not going to be here next year.

The person I'm marrying is in France

and so I'm going to move over to France.

-Oh, shit.

-Yeah.

Sir, I'm going to miss you.

I think like, particularly Zach,

because...it was more early on that I spent a lot of time with him.

-One-star.

-Oh, sweet.

-Sir, are you ready, yeah?

She's going to come to your door after this lesson.

It is really moving to have that reaction, I suppose.

Well, I'm actually quite sad,

because like, he was such a great maths teacher

and...yeah, I wish he wasn't going, cos, like, he's really good.

I think it's cute, cos he's moving with his wife-to-be

and they're going to be cute together.

-Liam, I'll miss you.

-I'll miss you too, sir.

-See you.

-See you.

It's going to be weird with a different teacher,

have to settle in with another one and all that.

It's going to be long.

Hello!

APPLAUSE

# Well, I think it's fine

# Building jumbo planes

# Or taking a ride on a cosmic train

# Switch on the summer

# From a slot machine... #

I just love every minute of every day of this job.

It's not going to work and helping clients meet a brief -

it's dealing with kids who,

you know, don't see themselves having a future.

If I benefit one person's life,

then I've done something useful with my life, I guess.

# ..But tell me Where do the children play? #

I got 22 on the second - what did you get for your second?

What did you get?

On Friday, he was so desperate to know his mark, he came up here

and asked me to mark it for him and sat there, and was like,

"But, sir, that's not right."

I was like, "Walid, go away, come back when I've finished."

He's so annoying, but it was nice to see that he cared.

Yeah, I was pleased with myself, because everybody doubted me,

saying that I would not get this high cos I misbehave in RE,

but I proved the haters wrong.

The biggest battle is, like...

convincing kids that they actually need

to seize the moment, and if they don't, it might be too late.

The concern is, is that, like,

they'll become disillusioned with school.

'I'd be foolish not to stay.

'As much as I would love to go away and go travelling

'and try my hands at other things,'

the school's been really generous

and they've offered me some amazing positions for next year.

I'd sort of be in charge of the curriculum

for years seven, eight and nine.

It would just be a really exciting opportunity, really.

Thought I'd keep my maths card at the Harefield Academy.

It's been worth every second of it.

To have been a teacher for a year, even if it's not two years,

coming up against obnoxious teenagers who say things

they don't mean, who love you through their anger...

I think I'll never regret it.

And, who knows, I may well come back to it one day.

This is BBC News, I'm Annita McVeigh, the headlines at eight o'clock...

Top GCSE exam grades drop.

For the second year in a row, the girls out-perform the boys...

In England and Wales, results have fallen again this year...

..the biggest fall in the exams' 25-year history.

Listening to the news...apparently, nationally, grades are lower.

Ha, got a B in science! That's a good thing.

I got an A* in B7, Miss.

Ah, well done.

Yeah, they've done really well. Really pleased for them.

It's not actually that good,

I don't want to make you think it's actually good, but it's all right.

I'm happy with it.

What, with an A(?)

I don't want to be here.

Oh, my God.

I haven't got my hopes up.

What are you thinking for next year?

No idea.

It's all I've been thinking -

"What am I doing next year? What am I doing next year?"

OK, I got to go. I'm going to cry in my car.

It's both the best and the worst -

the best because we're here to celebrate the fantastic results,

and then it's heart-wrenching

when a student you know has worked so hard just doesn't pull it off.

Feeling a bit nervous, innit?

But obviously what comes up, comes up.

Hope I done the best.

A U? Ah.

That's upsetting.

Science GCSEs have got harder,

the marking of GCSEs in English has got stricter,

and many younger children are taking exams earlier.

Three Es..

two Ds...

three Fs.

Come on. Positives.

And that's what it's about, isn't it?

Not too good, to be honest.

No. Not good at all.

Yeah, it's just what I expected.

I did terrible, but I'm not going to let that hold me back.

Everything happens for a reason.

I would do it differently if I went back to school now,

but you can't go back in time, so just got to work with it.

So what happened to this?

Oh, my God!

I got an A in biology, bruv, are you mad?

I got an A! Oh, my days, are you sick, I'm going home!

Safe, safe, safe, safe.

Are you sick?!