That'll Teach 'Em


That'll Teach 'Em is a British historical reality documentary series produced by Twenty Twenty Television for the Channel 4 network in the United Kingdom.

Concept

Each series follows around 30 teenage students who have recently completed their GCSEs as they are taken back to a 1950s/1960s style British boarding school. The show sets out to analyse whether the standards that were integral to the school life of the time helped to produce better exam results, to the current GCSE results and to compare certain contemporary educational methods with modern ones.
As part of the experience, the participants are expected to board at a traditional school house, abiding by strict discipline, adopting to 1950s/1960s diet and following a strict uniform dress code. Throughout the series, a number of students have either been expelled for misconduct, or have chosen to leave the school voluntarily.
After four weeks, the students then take their final exams, produced to the same standard as contemporary GCE O Levels and CSEs.
There were three series of the show, the first airing in August 2003, the second in August 2004 and the third and final series in April 2006.
For the third series, a spin-off series, That'll Test 'Em, aired on More4 after the main programme. It saw pupils featured in the That'll Teach 'Em episode just aired being quizzed in competition with their parents on topics that they should have known well after their time in 1950s education.

International versions

The format has been adapted in France, Spain, Norway, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands. The international rights are distributed by DRG.
CountryTitleTV channelSeasons
Le PensionnatM63
Internatet TV Norge2
De Jeugd van TegenwoordigSBS
VT4		3
Dat zal ze leren!RTL 51
Curso del 63
Curso del 73		Antena 3
neox		2
Die harte Schule der 50er JahreZDF1
Il collegioRai 24

Series 1

The first series of the show was filmed over 4 weeks in June, 2003, at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe. It featured 15 boys and 15 girls who had just sat their GCSEs.
BoysGirls
Harry ElgoodClare Dery
Nic HallSeraphina Evans
Colum HughesNichola Greenhalgh
Freddie HutchinsHenrietta Haines
Tom JewellVictoria Julien
Richard MyllesHina Khan
Rajay NaikKathryn McGeough
Blaine PikeHolly McGuire
Ryan SmithsonEmma Pinchbeck
Andrew StrattonHarriet Rykens
Matthew SweeneyHannah Smith
Ali UnwinFrances Weaver
Simon WallerTarot Wells
Andy WalneRebecca Woodward
Joe McCreadyNadia Freeman

Joe McCready was expelled during the series and Nadia Freeman chose to leave the school voluntarily.

Series 2

The second series of the show was also filmed at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe.

Series 3

Series 3 was filmed during August 2005 at St Joseph's College in Ipswich, and broadcast during the following April. The series returned to the setting of a 1950s grammar school, only this time, with an emphasis on practical sciences and boys and girls being taught separately. The languages teacher in series 1, Simon Warr, took on the additional role of headmaster in Series 3.
BoysGirls
Rob Hudson Meng-Yuan Sun
Hugh GilroyVictoria Buxton
William HoAshleigh Walters
Sebastian JeffordCorrine Stewart
Simon TaylorJessica Boulton
Qadeer RazaqueJenny Ritzman
James IngramKayleigh Durman
Philip DonaldHollie Dearman
John KempleAnna Clift
Luke MillsSally Rushton
Scott PetersAmy Jampa-Ngoen
Chris HedleySamantha Wyvill
Nathan AnidugbeRuby Lally
Michael PetkovEmily Williams
Brennon GunstonRosie Morton
Joe SeathFrancesca Bruce

Scott Peters was expelled during the series and Brennon Gunston, Rosie Morton and Amy Jampa-Ngoen chose to leave the school voluntarily. After failing to stop some girls from using the telephone in the laundry room, Victoria Buxton was forced to step down from her position as Head Girl. In addition, Brennon Gunston and Rosie Morton were replaced with Joe Seath and Francesca Bruce respectively.

Production

The first and second series of the programme were filmed at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe. The third series was filmed at St Joseph's College in Ipswich.