That school episode in Adolescence

[JillAndJenTheFlowerpotMen]

Really? Is that what schools are actually like, or did they make it more disrupted and chaotic for dramatic effect? Is what we saw in Episode 2 realistic?

Yes my son has the same tutor group throughout the time in secondary, they do different activities in tutor time every day and his tutor clearly knows him really well (and for instance, spotted when he wasn't well but was putting on a brave face)

@LewishamTeacheryour PRU is in direct contrast to mine!

I got anxiety watching that episode because it reminded me so much of my secondary school and I left school over 20 years ago ! My eldest child had to leave their secondary school because it was so violent… and now I’m going to have to homeschool their sibling because I refuse to send another child to what is essentially a holding pen - exactly like the officer in the show referred to it as.

I know the school they used in the film.. it's not far from where l live.. yes high schools are very much like that.. that's why we home educated / educate Grandsons..
I also took my daughters out of high school after first year.. l used to go into high schools to teach sex education.

Me too I'm so suprised by how shocked everyone is

I wish people realised this isn't just a state school thing. The situation in some independents is a lot worse than in states schools as they can't afford to exclude kids, they need the money, and they're having to really grapple with budgets so are running on skeleton staff and can't afford the most up to date training etc. Things like social workers/ school police officers/ family support workers also don't go to them so they're left to deal with so much on their own. So many cant afford to have non-teaching pastoral staff. Most staff have multiple roles. It's so different to what people imagine, most independent schools don't have the endowment of Eton or Marlborough.

Plus the worst, most misogynistic men I came across in life were all public school/private school educated. Always.
Admittedly I guess I largely mixed with middle /upper class people as I went to a very naice state school then top university, but the idea misogyny isn't a problem in the private sector is wild.

And there are troubled teens in even the nicest schools. It's like people blank those news stories from the memories sometimes.

Should we all have safeguard Training on Andrew Tate?

😱

I'm amazed that not every school is using the locking phone pouches for during school hours yet. It seems ridiculous to allow them phones during the school day, I can't see any reason for it.

my school wasn't like this at all - but you did have a few that were like that. Causing chaos, rude to teachers, bullying etc. I think schools are actually softer now than they ever have been. My best friend has three children at high school and it's our local state - it isn't far of adolescence, apparently the children treat all staff horrendously and have no respect whatsoever. It's also rated outstanding by Ofsted which surprised me even more.

I feel like public schools are quite famous for misogyny and troubled kids, no? My comment re private schools was more in reply to some of the posters on here saying that this is why their kids are in private schools- I don't think they, like most parents, realise private doesn't shield you from this stuff. It's also uncomfortable to admit, when you're spending £30k+ a year. A lot of independent schools are more understaffed and under resourced than state schools but money is pumped into keeping up the façade.
I just think the show needed to be as relatable as possible, it's just a normal family and a 'normal' school. But I do agree with you, there's troubled kids everywhere.

They're really expensive and ineffective when the child doesn't give their real phone in.

Totally agree, yes sorry I realised what you were replying to it was probably my comment that wasn't very clear.

Both myself and DP have promised that we will do everything we can to ensure we can put our children though a private school, saving as much as we can because of this and reasons mentioned above. All my friends with children at state secondary school have stated and witnessed a lot of what was portrayed in the programme, and a lot of parents are in denial about it

I mean my brother went to private school all the way through and encountered way worse drug problems and behaviour problems than I ever did in state. And I have heard similar about local private schools now. Girls filming inappropriate tiktoks, heavy drug use,.bullying.

You can't buy your way out of this. If you want a child who isn't a violent misogynistic you are the one that needs to do most of the work

They're not that expensive, after the initial outgoing parents have to pay the replacement cost if lost, and they are reused for new students.

It's definitely worth a few grand initial outgoing for the impact phones in lessons have.
Even if some are putting a fake phone in the pouch it still means they're not in use as one even being seen will mean the phone is taken until a parent comes to collect it.

Yes my DS is at a London comp and he said similar. He said there can be low level
disruption (especially if it’s a sub) but pupils would not speak to teachers like that and certainly wouldn’t swear at them.

It’s very common for schools to have safeguarding training on misogyny, if you work in a school and you haven’t I’d be asking SLT about this.

Two friends are secondary school teachers and it’s is definitley like the scenes portrayed unfortunately. It’s one of the main reason teachers are leaving in droves.

I remember being at secondary school in the 90s, a very popular and highly regarded school, yet a lot of the time, there was trouble. Only the very strict or strong teachers had any luck in controlling classes. I absolutely hated secondary school. It’s definitely a UK culture problem. British kids act up a lot more than international kids.

Bless you, you think a parent will pay for a replacement? I'm not saying they cost the same as a building or a member of staff but a few grand initial outlay is an insane amount. I really think the general public doesn't realise how bad schools finances are.

A majority do, they're only £10 and they get lunchtime detention each day they don't have one so I would imagine even the less interested parents would have the teenager complaining about it. They're used in my DDs school and they will generally try to squeeze 2 phones into one pouch if they forget their own to try and avoid detention.

I went to a selective grammar, in a ‘leafy’ area and it was just as bad as the school in episode 2, just without the smart phones (25 years + ago). We all thought we were better than the teachers, and the disrespect was outrageous looking back. Children were doing drugs in class (class As obtained from their privately educated neighbours) and the amount of kids who would just up and leave during the school day was madness - I include myself in this, I used to disappear for hours and my parents were never informed. There was definitely less of the misogyny though, if I can remember rightly we were all very outspoken feminists and the boys were generally supportive - although misogynistic/homophobic words were generally used as insults, curse words etc. as they were probably everywhere during that time. I think we’ve all tried to block out a lot of the horrors of high school to simply allow us to send our own children there without daily crippling anxiety!

Ex supply teacher.

Some are like that, some are worse, some are better.