The BAFTA-winning hit Channel 4 show Educating Greater Manchester is returning to screens for a brand new series tonight, but it’s been a bumpy ride to get here.
Harrop Fold School in Little Hulton is once again opening its doors to the British public.
The first series of the Greater Manchester instalment of the fly-on-the-wall documentary show aired back in 2017, which makes this new series the first time the Educating… programme has returned to the same facility more than once.
Despite the late-2020 air date, filming for this new series actually took place in the school back in 2018, but the episodes were put on hold from hitting screens during what was a tumultuous time for the institution and senior leadership staff.
The school was placed into ‘special measures’ by education standards board Ofsted, and was then being investigated over ‘off-rolling’ allegations suggesting children were removed from the register to make the institution appear like it was achieving better results than it was in reality.
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Four members of senior staff were subsequently suspended amid investigations, with Headmaster and show figure-head Drew Povey eventually tendering his resignation shortly after.
Announcing his stepping down from the role formally via Twitter in 2018, Mr Povey said at the time: “It is with a very heavy heart that I am writing to tender my resignation as executive head of Harrop Fold School with immediate effect.
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“As you are aware, there is an investigation under way.
Harrop Fold School
He continued: “Despite the alleged need for swift action to be taken earlier in the year, the investigation process itself has been allowed to drag on, causing damage to the reputation of the school and to me personally. Parents and pupils are unsettled, and the media are speculating as to what has gone on that is so serious to warrant my suspension and that of three other members of staff.
“I am at a loss to understand the ‘heavy handed’ approach adopted by the council, which appears to have completely ignored the best interests of the students, staff and school.”
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Harrop Fold School has since been taken under the wing of the United Learning Academy Trust.
The prospect of the pre-filmed episodes ever making it to screens was all very up in the air, but now, just over two years after the situation unfolded, Channel 4 has given the green light to begin showing the series from this evening.
So, what can viewers expect from the first episode hitting screens this evening?
According to the official Channel 4 preview, the series offers “a real but warm snapshot of life in a British school”.
“There is also a catch-up with some of the much-loved pupils from the previous series: cheeky Vincent, who’s now going into Year 10 and claims he’s a reformed character; and Katelyn, who struggled to focus last time but now wants to get her head down.
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“The series also explore the ups and downs through the eyes of some of the teachers.”
Channel 4
“The school’s Year 7s already have a reputation among staff for being the naughtiest yet. There’s Jacob who opens up about his struggles with dyslexia [and] the school is on high alert after a member of the public calls in claiming to have seen a Harrop Fold pupil with a knife, forcing Mr Povey and his staff to instigate bag searches to find the culprit.
“Year 9 Katelyn is desperate to become a midwife but keeps bunking off lessons [and] Mr Povey worries that if she doesn’t knuckle down she will end up missing out on her dream.
“And the staff crack down on pupils at the centre of a lucrative black market at the school, selling chocolate sweets and drinks to their classmates.”
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Educating Greater Manchester is airing on Channel 4 tonight at 9:15pm.
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Sir Ian McKellen pays emotional tribute to long-time friend and fellow northern actor Sir Patrick Stewart
Emily Sergeant
Sir Ian McKellen has paid an emotional tribute to his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Patrick Stewart, following his death.
Sir Patrick Stewart – who was born and bred in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, and is best-known for his theatre work alongside an illustrious 60-year screen career, taking on prominent roles in franchises such as Star Trek and X-Men – sadly passed away at the age of 86, with his death being announced publicly yesterday evening (29 October).
And now, his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Ian McKellen, has paid tribute.
Sir Patrick and Sir Ian shared the stage together countless times over their decades-long careers, but also famously starred alongside each other in the X-Men franchise, and subsequent Marvel movies, as Charles Xavier/Professor X and Magneto.
The tribute, shared across Sir Ian’s social media platforms, reads: “Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt. Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.
“We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions.
“My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in ‘Star Trek’. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”
“Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did, for not just his devoted Trekkies, but film and theatre audiences who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes (‘X-Men’ of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway.
“America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin.
“But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire.”
Sir Patrick Stewart’s farewell performance will be in Avengers: Doomsday, which is being released in UK cinemas on 18 December 2026
Featured Image – Gage Skidmore (via Flickr)
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Classic FM will be back playing calming music for anxious pets this Bonfire Night
Emily Sergeant
Classic FM will be back playing calming music for anxious pets during this year’s fireworks season.
Bonfire Night may be loved by us humans for the spectacular firework displays and all the festive-themed activities that come along with it… but sadly, the November holiday isn’t quite so fun for our four-legged friends.
Loud bangs, flashing lights, and unpleasant strong smell of spent explosives are just some of the reasons why fireworks are frightening to pets.
Not only that, but with multiple bangs occurring from numerous displays across this time of year, pets are rarely able to pinpoint when and where the booming explosions are coming from, therefore creating even more anxiety around this time of year.
Classic FM will play calming music for anxious pets during this year’s fireworks / Credit: DESIGNECOLOGIST (via Unsplash)
Which is why, for the ninth year running now, Classic FM is once again teaming up with the RSPCA for two Pet Classics programmes packed with ‘the most soothing and comforting classical music’.
The music has been handpicked to help calm and settle any anxious pets.
A survey by the RSPCA revealed that almost two-thirds (63%) of animal owners reported their pet was distressed during fireworks season, and that playing relaxing music was the most common way (36%) to help calm or prepare their animal.
Presenters Dan Walker, Aled Jones, and Dawn O’Porter will each host a night of the specially created programme to help keep the nation’s pets calm through the whizzes and bangs.
Dan will present the first programme on Bonfire Night itself (Thursday 5 November), and then as celebrations continue throughout the weekend, Aled will be on hand to bring some peace to Friday 6 November, and Dawn picks up the baton on Saturday 7 November.
Emily Sergeant -
4th November 2020 
