THE head teacher of Brentwood County High School, Stephen Drew, has landed his own TV series – sending parents and children back to school.
Drew found fame in Channel 4's fly-on-the-wall series Educating Essex as deputy head of Passmores Academy in Harlow, and it was based on this that BCHS governors decided to appoint him as a replacement for Carol Mason, who stood down last spring.
Mr Drew, the head since September, will now feature in a six-parter called All Back To School, in which he will help to turn around the lives of young people with discipline problems.
Seen as a disciplinarian in Educating Essex, governors wanting to turn round the school's performance turned to him when it received a third satisfactory Ofsted rating in a row in February 2012.
All Back to School will feature children aged between 9 and 12, most of whom are on the brink of permanent exclusion from schools outside of BCHS.
Mr Drew will work with a team of specialists to help settle the kids into their own schools and allow them to benefit from the best possible education.
The children's behaviour won't be the only thing put under the microscope – their parents will also be going back to the classroom, where they will witness their child's bad behaviour first hand, as well as having to address their own parenting skills.
The six-programme series follows children and their parents as they spend time at a residential summer school run by Mr Drew. Looking at how the families function before, during and after their stay at the summer school.
Mr Drew said: "I watch very little TV so I don't know if I make good TV. I am told that is the case but I wouldn't be so presumptuous to assume that.
"One or two people have said something about my TV appearance in school but I don't make a big thing of it. I try to keep life outside school separate.
"It will be four weeks during which a whole raft of people will be brought in to support families and their children to be more successful in engaging in school life and organising themselves to give better opportunities for the future. A wide range of professionals will be used including teachers and family workers."
Channel 4 commissioning editor Katie Boyd said: "We're absolutely delighted to be working with Stephen Drew again.
"He is one of the most inspirational and generous-minded teachers in Britain, with an incredible track record."
A date for the show to air has yet to be fixed.
