TeleVision: Educating Essex

Apparently, Essex is ‘on trend’ and that therefore means that vajazzles and ‘shat ups’ are gospel and everything is ‘reem’. When I first heard the title ‘Educating Essex’, I had horrifying visions of a fly on the wall documentary involving Amy Childs gawping at the remains of the Bastille, as she learns about the French Revolution. Thankfully, _Educating Essex_ is something far more easy to ingest and enjoy.

Set in Passmores Secondary School in Harlow, we’re invited to observe and pass judgement on the inner workings and routine of a typical school day. However, we soon learn that no school day is typical and the mixing pot of personalities, hormones and Blackberries make for eclectic, unpredictable situations and brilliant television.

I don’t know about you, but at school, I had a tendency to not really regard teachers as real people. If you saw one outside of school, it was like seeing a cat walk on its hind legs – just plain wrong. I did always wonder what went on in the staffroom though. Sex, lies and slander? Most probably hobnobs, caffeine and spread sheets, but during the episodes there’s an abundance of touching and funny moments, which makes you realise just how much teachers must’ve had to bite their tongues to not laugh at stuff kids say and just how dedicated the majority of them are.

The stand-out character so far has been Mr Drew, a firm but fair figure who is affable and authoritative in equal measure, with a touch of David Brent about him. His belief that no child should be excluded emphasises his desire to give them the head-start and qualifications they need for later life and you believe this sentiment whole heartedly.

Teenagers get a lot of stick and what _Educating Essex_ conveys is that, yes, there are naughty kids, but there’s also a vast majority that excel and want to learn. Often the pupils that misbehave are wrestling with problems outside of school, and the programme sensitively highlights these circumstances and shows how important and influential school can be in helping pupils during these times. For example, there’s Vinni, who was previously a straight-A student, but since his parents’ divorce began to behave badly and consequently his grades suffered. You get the sense that the teachers at Passmores will never give up on a child, regardless of whether the child has given up on themselves.

With about 247921841 cameras positioned around the school, it is difficult to not label the programme intrusive, but what has been created is subtle and unassuming; it feels raw. The name of the programme is my only issue. It doesn’t need to cash in on the Essex trend; the subject sells itself and no amount of fake tan can change that. Another worry was that the programme would be sycophantic and full of caricatures. In ‘reality’, it’s warm, inspirational TV laced with nostalgia, and almost makes me want to be at school again getting told off for not wearing the right uniform.