A Private Headmaster's Culture Shock: School Swap Episode 1 | Up Close

[00:00:00][music] Warminster in Wiltshire, an exclusive [music] 300-year-old boarding school with 400 pupils and a 9 million budget.

[00:00:13]>> I have no doubt that Miss Ward and her pupils will be made welcome. We have two education [music] systems in this country, state and independent, and there's an element of never the twain shall meet. the Benrose School in Derby, [music] a state-run comprehensive for over 700 pupils and a5 million pound budget. I can't recall ever having any connection with any [music] private education at all.

[00:00:42]>> Private and state for generations, the educational gulf dividing Britain's school system.

[00:00:51]>> Hello. Now in a unique experiment, these two head teachers have agreed [music] to swap sides.

[00:00:58]>> Hello. Very nice to meet you.

[00:01:00]>> What we deliver at this school is rightly regarded as [music] just about the best education in the world.

[00:01:06]>> They could pay me £500,000 a week.

[00:01:09][music] I would never be the head mistress of Warinster.

[00:01:12]>> Joining them will be three teenage pupils from each school.

[00:01:17]They're likely probably to have a stereotype of me as some like posh kid who has a mansion. [music] >> Does private school really give you a first class education?

[00:01:28]>> I don't think you [music] would get the same level of help if you went to a state school.

[00:01:32]>> Why do I get everything handed to me?

[00:01:35]Got a lot of luck.

[00:01:37]>> And does a state education really mean second grade?

[00:01:41]>> No, I finished this bowl. The bottle is Gish. Well, I'm after the sheets being finished.

[00:01:46]>> This might sound crazy. I want to go to Oxford or like [music] Cambridge, somewhere big.

[00:01:51]>> If I don't get my head down at school, I'll probably end up doing nothing with my life. [music] >> This building is very important. This is the original school building. [music] Started work on it in 1705, finished in 1707. And the doorway was designed by Sir Christopher Ren.

[00:02:12][music] >> Mark Mortimer is headmaster of Warminster School in Wiltshire.

[00:02:18]He's been a teacher for 15 years [music] and took on his first headship at the school in 2014.

[00:02:25]Lord Weimoth founded the school in 1707 with the purpose of educating for free the sons of his estate workers.

[00:02:34]Obviously in the intervening [music] 300 years we've moved away from that purpose particularly we are a fee paying school. [music] Warminster school is a boarding and day school set on a 60 acre site costing more than [music] £27,000 a year to board. The school has 64 teachers, a dozen tennis courts and a tuda chair.

[00:03:00]The chair has been with us at least 200 years. And we know that because on the back is some graffiti that dates from 1826, 1827. Lots of my predecessors had their portrait painted sitting in this chair.

[00:03:17]>> Private school educated himself.

[00:03:19]Teaching isn't Mark's first career.

[00:03:23]He went to Sandhurst and then spent eight years [music] as an army officer.

[00:03:33]Have you looked at the website?

[00:03:36]>> So, what are your thoughts having looked at it?

[00:03:38]>> Now, Mark is heading 150 mi north to Benrose Comprehensive in Derby on the first leg of the school swap.

[00:03:46]>> And any of you been to Derby?

[00:03:48]>> No. with him are borders John and Katie and day boy Xander who has never experienced [music] state school.

[00:03:58]>> It's only one week and I've got thick skin so I don't I don't need to worry about all that uh sort of [music] teasing. They're likely probably to have a stereotype of me as some like posh kid who has a mansion and 50 cars or something. But hey, let's break a few um stereotypes.

[00:04:17]I think I will get to see a new sort of culture effectively, [music] a new setup, a new environment.

[00:04:25]I'll probably therefore realize how fortunate [music] I am.

[00:04:30]>> I generally feel like I've always been in this bubble of private school. And so I'm hoping to get out of the swap a deeper understanding of what state school is actually like cuz it's such a mystery to me.

[00:04:47]Like I don't want to just go there and be like, "Oh, hi. I'm Katie. Okay, I'm judging your school. Okay, goodbye." Um, I want to be able to like at least get on there.

[00:04:59]>> Joining Katie and Xander on the weeklong swap is John.

[00:05:05]>> Morning, sir.

[00:05:06]>> Morning, John. How's it going?

[00:05:07]>> He went to a state [music] primary, >> but his parents felt Warminster would be the best senior school for him.

[00:05:15]I'm not particularly good at maths, so I have a math learning support lesson.

[00:05:20]When I first came to Wster, they did a test.

[00:05:24]>> As soon as it becomes five, it's close to the 4,000.

[00:05:26]>> They found out that it would probably be a good idea if I got a little extra help. I don't think you [music] would get the same level of help if you went to a state school.

[00:05:37]I don't think it takes >> Waiting to meet their private school guests are Bero's head teacher Joe Ward and three of her students Naz, >> Cassim, and Brett.

[00:05:48]>> Naz, how are you feeling?

[00:05:49]>> I'm feeling nervous.

[00:05:51]>> Nervous?

[00:05:52]>> Are you act anxious? I want them to come quickly as possible.

[00:05:55]>> I can't really.

[00:05:56]>> Yeah, I just want to meet them.

[00:05:58][music] >> Benrose was built in 1930 and was originally a grammar school. It's been a comprehensive for 40 years.

[00:06:09]Joe Ward has been head here for over a decade.

[00:06:15]I think this is probably my favorite [music] part of the school.

[00:06:21]One of the things which I've always been struck by is [music] how the building creates an atmosphere and a sense of presence but also a warmth so that the place feels as though it's um friendly [music] and inclusive and and people will want to be here.

[00:06:40]I went [music] to a girls grammar school in Derby and my first time standing in this school hall was as a 12-year-old singing my heart out the songs from the >> Marta.

[00:06:55][music and singing] >> Joe took over at Benrose after it was classed as failing in 2003.

[00:07:05]>> All right then. If my home often feels that somebody is not engaging the reading that they need to engage with, >> the longer that I have been in education, the more convinced I've been that education is the key to unlocking the inequalities in society.

[00:07:23]>> Right.

[00:07:24]>> Okay, guys. Have we got any questions so far about what's going on? If we are going to make society a fairer place um for future citizens, then the place in which you can begin to make those changes is in a school.

[00:07:42]>> I'm interested to have the discussion with my opposite number at [music] the school about what they regard as an excellent education.

[00:07:51]I think [music] that if every school in the country focused on what the independent sector focuses on, then I think we frankly [music] we we'd be sorted.

[00:08:04]>> Just 7% of us have been educated at a private school. But those who have disproportionately dominate the country's top jobs.

[00:08:14]I'm really interested in what it is in the private school which is leading to [music] those more high prestige careers because if it's something that I can replicate here, I'd like to do that. And if it isn't, then at least we know, don't we?

[00:08:37]I've got this horrible sinking feeling that it's not what you know, it's who [music] you know. But we'll see.

[00:08:45][music] >> Here we are.

[00:08:50]>> There you go.

[00:08:54]>> Hello.

[00:08:56]>> Mark Mortimer, headmaster of Warminster Private School, [music] is spending a week at Benrose Comprehensive in Derby.

[00:09:04]>> I'm Miss Ward to you. Joining him in a school swap are three of his pupils.

[00:09:10]>> Katie, John, and Xander.

[00:09:13]>> And it's a lovely morning.

[00:09:14]>> Thank goodness. I see you've all got your white shirts and your black trousers on ready. Excellent. You'll soon look just like we do. [music] >> Mro's head teacher Joe Ward and three of her pupils.

[00:09:26]>> Do you want to show the way?

[00:09:27]>> Are their guides for the week. gone after you.

[00:09:35]>> How many children have you got here?

[00:09:37]>> About 700 and something, >> right?

[00:09:40]>> I can't tell you exactly because we do get extras most every two or three weeks, we'll get another batch of children arriving and then maybe a couple will drift off. So over the last year, we've probably gone up about 100 150 children >> arriving from where? Slovakia, Syria, Iran, >> right?

[00:10:00]>> Uh, Doncaster.

[00:10:03][laughter] >> Yeah, we we get we get our new arrivals are usually direct from overseas >> and usually don't speak English or don't speak English very much at all.

[00:10:17]>> Okay. Good morning. My name is Mr. Wilkinson. Welcome to you today. This morning, you're going to do some tests.

[00:10:24]We all don't like tests, the worst things in the world. But we use these tests to be able to put you in the correct groups. Okay? And we look at your ability in English, maths, and science.

[00:10:37]>> This morning, 13 new pupils are being admitted to Benrose, >> and our private school students are joining the latest intake.

[00:10:47]>> The school is a very old school, has a lot of history to it. It's a school we are all very proud of. Okay, we are our school.

[00:10:55]>> What struck me about the admissions process is children arriving at odd times of the school year.

[00:11:01]>> Different parts of the world.

[00:11:02]>> I try to meet every set of parents of pupils before they come to the school. I I think it's very difficult for Joe and her team to meet the parents here before the children have started.

[00:11:14]>> In the tests, the private pupils score average reading ages of over 18.

[00:11:20]The new Berose children score an average reading age of a seven-year-old.

[00:11:26]All of them have English as a second language.

[00:11:32]In fact, that's the case for over half of Benro students and a third have special educational needs like dyslexia and autism.

[00:11:45]Once [music] they're in, every pupil is assigned to one of four school houses, each with its own distinctive colored tie.

[00:11:53]>> Just going for three sweatshirts with um [music] badges.

[00:11:56]>> Yeah.

[00:11:57]>> And uh we need three ties. Um we need one green, one red, and one blue.

[00:12:05]>> Wearing their new uniforms, the Warminster pupils are shown to class by the Bero students.

[00:12:12]Just a gap of light.

[00:12:15]>> Sander joins Brett in art class.

[00:12:17]>> Do you think we actually going to do work or we just sit in chat?

[00:12:21]>> I'm doing this bottle.

[00:12:22]>> Yeah, you're just chat.

[00:12:23]>> No, I finished this bottle. The bottle is finished.

[00:12:26]>> Well, I'm after the sheets being finished.

[00:12:30]>> So, less chatter.

[00:12:32]>> That was that was an improvement.

[00:12:33]>> Every time we are talking, we are not working.

[00:12:37]>> If we can do both, great. Until then, >> shut up. That's >> why do you think it's fun to like mess about?

[00:12:45]>> It's just a laugh, isn't it? It's just laughed.

[00:12:47]>> It's freedom.

[00:12:49]>> But you have to know when to stop and like do your work as well, though. You can't just keep like going all the way through the lesson or else you're not going to get any work done and get in trouble.

[00:12:56]>> Do you think that affect you in the future by like messing around lessons?

[00:12:59]>> Well, yeah. If you if you mess around, you're not going to get the grades you need, are you?

[00:13:02]>> So, why are you messing around then?

[00:13:05]>> For fun. So, I only I do like a little bit, then I stop and then carry on like all the way through the lesson. Right.

[00:13:12]Put away.

[00:13:12]>> I think my behavior is good most of the time, but then it can go a little bit dodgy.

[00:13:19]>> I think education is important because if you don't have it, you've got less of [music] a chance of getting a job.

[00:13:26]>> If you don't get a job, you're not going to be able to [music] pay for a house, pay for your food, pay for your family.

[00:13:33]And like personally, I wouldn't really want that. If I don't get my head down at school, I'll probably end up doing nothing with my life.

[00:13:42][music] >> I'm sorry, man.

[00:13:44]>> Something that private schools I find are very good at are giving people's confidence. Confidence in who they are and confidence in that in that who they are is a good thing.

[00:13:54]>> Find your foot into the back >> and to be proud of it >> and not to be shy or worried about what other people think.

[00:14:05]I really love engineering and so I decided that engineering will be the thing that I'll go into.

[00:14:16]>> What time do you start?

[00:14:17]>> Well, I wake up at 6:30 in the morning.

[00:14:19]>> I can't do that.

[00:14:21]>> The the actual day starts at 20 to 9ish.

[00:14:24]>> That's registration.

[00:14:26]>> I got up at 8 this morning.

[00:14:27]>> I miss breakfast every day. And then you go home at 5.

[00:14:33]>> Five.

[00:14:34]>> Five.

[00:14:35]>> Holy Wow.

[00:14:38]>> I don't know. He's like It's like >> It's kind of alienish.

[00:14:41]>> Yeah. Alienated.

[00:14:44]>> That's a word.

[00:14:47]>> Yeah.

[00:14:48]>> Yeah.

[00:14:49]>> It doesn't suit your look, mate.

[00:14:53]>> What do you think of this school? What is it?

[00:14:55]>> Oh, I think they teach you reasonably well.

[00:14:58]>> The lessons are good.

[00:15:02]I found it quite difficult sen Brett. I think it's difficult for actually quite a lot of kids to pick which side of the fence they go, whether they join in with silliness or whether to go against that and say, "Look, this is my future. This is my learning."

[00:15:18]>> You're only in this school for 5 years and you're out in the world for 60 years. So, I know which way I'm going.

[00:15:29][music] >> Nearly all private school pupils pass five GCES, including English and [music] maths.

[00:15:36]For state school pupils, it's just over half. [music] Benrose has the same number of teachers as Warminster, but double the number of pupils.

[00:15:47][music] So, is teaching at private schools superior to the state sector?

[00:15:53][music] The private school headmaster, Mark Mortimer, agreed to teach a lesson.

[00:15:59]Mark is a history teacher and took on a [music] first year GCSE group from a Benrose teacher.

[00:16:06]>> They clearly got a fantastic history teacher anyway. Uh I guess I'm slightly nervous of not measuring up to to her high standards and obviously I'm hoping I get some interaction because otherwise it's going to be a long hour.

[00:16:20]>> Has anybody got any questions about what's happening today?

[00:16:23]>> No. Okay, I'll leave it over to you.

[00:16:26]>> Okay. As Mrs. Scalding said what we're going to look at is the Vietnam War.

[00:16:29]We're going to watch a video clip and it's from a film called Apocalypse Now, which some of you may have seen. This is a scene of American helicopters coming into attack.

[00:16:42]>> In terms of the quality of private education, I have mixed feelings.

[00:16:47]Some of the weakest teachers I've ever known have been recruited into the private sector to teach.

[00:16:56]And therefore, I'm thinking, do they teach to the quality that that my teachers teach? Or is it the case that because the children perhaps are more compliant, you can be more lazy?

[00:17:11]Imagine you came into this classroom and I was lying on the floor in a pool of blood and there was a great big knife sticking out of my chest.

[00:17:20]What are you going to deduct? What are you going to think?

[00:17:24]>> What did you just say? Nina was a murder.

[00:17:26]>> It was a murder. But there's no sign saying murder.

[00:17:30]You have made a deduction based on the evidence.

[00:17:33]>> Right. Okay. Charal, can you give me the rules of connect four, please?

[00:17:37]While Mark is teaching Beerro students, >> you need two players. That's a good start. Yeah, two players.

[00:17:42]>> Private school pupil John is getting his first taste of maths in the state sector.

[00:17:49]>> Right. Um, >> just give me a minute of your time, please.

[00:17:54]>> One of the questions is there's a lighthouse. Now, guys, I'm going to tell you something random. I'm scared of lighouses. I actually have a phobia about lighouses and it's called bataphobia. All right.

[00:18:07]>> Mr. Thomas has been teaching at Benrose for eight years.

[00:18:12]>> He's constantly um helping you. He's walking around. He's being interactive.

[00:18:17]>> It's maths, which is one of my less enjoyable lessons, but I really enjoy maths when I'm being taught by Mr. Thomas, which is a really good thing.

[00:18:25]>> What about if we look outside and the CL and the clouds are really black?

[00:18:29]>> What do you think's going to happen?

[00:18:31]>> Sorry, Lucas.

[00:18:33]>> Good lad. It's going to rain. That's a deduction.

[00:18:35]>> He doesn't leave other people out. So like let's say if I sit all lesson quiet and I don't want to give feedback, he still invites you to the lesson.

[00:18:44]>> Right boys, what have you got so far?

[00:18:46]>> I think the self-esteem of the student goes up as well when he actually talks to you personally and gives you his open opinion and ask for yours as well.

[00:18:55]>> 15.5 over 24.7. Can we just do that one please? Can we?

[00:19:00]>> They had over 30 pupils in that lesson.

[00:19:02]So they actually had to move a couple to another classroom.

[00:19:06]>> If you have a class full of lots of other students, then there's more people to talk to. I think that's the thing that most people get distracted by.

[00:19:16]If I was there for a long time, then yeah, I might not work as hard.

[00:19:22]>> And I want your books.

[00:19:24]>> If he wants it, he can have it.

[00:19:26]>> At Warminster, John has been entered for foundation level maths. That means the top grade he can get is a C.

[00:19:35]>> I haven't done trigonometry before, but I did it today. It's pretty easy. Um, had a bit of fun. Yeah, it was good.

[00:19:40]It's nice.

[00:19:42]>> At Benrose, there's a different assessment of his potential.

[00:19:46]>> Without being too contentious to me, if John was in this school, he would be in a set one. We'd be looking for a grade eight at least.

[00:19:55]>> When someone like that says something like that, it it makes you feel so good.

[00:20:00]just help yourself to see.

[00:20:02]>> It's great. It's It's a really nice feeling inside.

[00:20:06]>> It just shows that state education doesn't necessarily mean worse education, just means different and different sound can sometimes be good, which is obviously in the case of Mr. Thomas.

[00:20:16]>> Has anybody got any questions that they'd like to answer before we go about?

[00:20:21]>> Okay, stand behind chairs, please.

[00:20:23]>> I was struck by some of the children in the history class that taught this morning. who were good, you know, but they lacked confidence. But I could see that they surprised themselves when they answered the questions.

[00:20:33]>> All right, girls. Bye-bye.

[00:20:36]>> Work on you. Good stuff.

[00:20:38]>> It's clear that there are a lot of socioeconomic factors that that clearly have an impact on the the children's well-being and how they perform at school.

[00:20:58]>> [music] >> Benrose's catchment area includes some of the most deprived parts of Derby with more than half of all students receiving free school meals.

[00:21:12]But some thrive despite [music] extreme adversity.

[00:21:18]I'm from Syria. I lived in a city called Aleppo and I'm originally Kurdish.

[00:21:25]My dad had to leave Syria in 2004 for political reasons and [music] our family was split for seven really long sad years.

[00:21:39]In 2011, we got the chance to reunite with my dad in the UK, which was a dream come true.

[00:21:46]Since then, we've been trying to adjust to the life in the UK.

[00:21:54]>> Naz lives in the Normington area [music] of Derby.

[00:21:59]This week, she's partnered with private school pupil Katie and has invited her home for dinner.

[00:22:05]>> It's a bit garicky. Our food. That's good. Thank you. All right. Yeah. My parents tried the hardest to find me the best school and the best place for me to live. So for my future and I want to prove them right. I don't want like all that hard work going for nothing. I came here the only words I spoke was like thank you very much and then yeah I would like I would get laughed out much >> you like >> yeah um more your parents pay for education you feel like if you don't do well then >> yeah it's like a waste of money >> or you're disappointing them like in my case I want to finish uni I don't want to be just like some random person working in an office like that's not something for me so you want to be like, what do you want to be?

[00:22:54]>> So, I enjoy baking. I enjoy music and I enjoy messing around. So, I was sort of thinking if like a primary school teacher might be quite cool.

[00:23:06]>> So, that's like your dream job. That'd be like a really cool job. Yeah.

[00:23:10]>> Oh, are you going to like work in private school or like state school?

[00:23:13]>> I actually I never thought about it actually. You want a big job when you're older?

[00:23:17]>> Yeah, maybe. must be prime minister.

[00:23:23][bell] >> You can borrow from that. When you see people like Naz like really determined like she knows what she wants to do whilst I'm sort of more drifting around like oh seems like a nice possibility.

[00:23:40]Oh that might be quite nice >> pizza.

[00:23:43]>> I feel like having warmster >> it sort of gives you a chance to try everything.

[00:23:49]If you have memos and you have a clear idea of what you want to be, then that's fine.

[00:23:53]>> But if you don't, I feel like you can sort of get washed away with the rest of the other pupils there, >> right? You all need to have a book and we all need to read. So, if you've not done so already, please. There's some students who don't really care what they do and how they succeed and if they're going to be successful or not because there's that one switch in their [music] head that's turned off and that's basically because they have they've given up. They've given up on being successful.

[00:24:23]They don't believe in themselves.

[00:24:27]The [music] headmaster of Warminster Private School and three of his pupils are spending a week at Benrose, [music] a comprehensive state school in Derby.

[00:24:39]>> An alert for room 34.

[00:24:41]>> Thank you.

[00:24:42]>> This morning, [music] the private head, Mark Mortimer, is on duty with state headteer Joe Ward.

[00:24:49][music] They are responding to a call for assistance from a teacher in a classroom.

[00:24:54]Every teacher has got a computer and they've got a link to the central uh system. So they will press a button on their computer and that will alert us to which room it is and there's always a senior member of staff on duty [music] and at the moment it's us.

[00:25:10]>> Yeah.

[00:25:12]>> The system enables intervention to stop disruptive behavior by students.

[00:25:20]>> Right. Have they got books that they need to get out?

[00:25:23]>> Yes, we're in the process of >> Right. We need organizers in front of you. We need books in front of you. Get your pens out on the desk so that you are ready to learn.

[00:25:36]Some children had been playing up in a lesson taken by a supply teacher, but Joe quickly resolves the situation.

[00:25:45]If pupils need to be removed from class, they are taken to a designated room [music] where they are permanently monitored.

[00:25:52]>> Hello.

[00:25:54]>> Nice to meet you.

[00:25:56]>> What sort of numbers do you get in here in a typical day?

[00:25:58]>> Well, it can vary. I think over the the 11 years I've been here, I've probably had about four days when there hasn't been any students in here at all.

[00:26:05]>> Right.

[00:26:05]>> Normally isolations, you're looking a figure of about 10 10 to 12 a day.

[00:26:11]>> Right. Sometimes I can be absolutely rammed.

[00:26:14]>> And what sort of things typically are children in here for?

[00:26:17]>> Low level disruption, uniform issues, uh fighting in the classroom, you name it.

[00:26:23]Lots of things.

[00:26:24]>> Lots and lots of things. Yeah.

[00:26:26]>> A lot of it comes from family backgrounds, uh irrespective of where they're from, but some of some of the students don't know how to behave, so they have no boundaries at home.

[00:26:37]>> I would suspect your numbers are a lot lower than ours.

[00:26:39]>> The numbers are a lot lower. Uh we have something similar to seclusion. We call it internal suspension.

[00:26:46]>> Internal suspension gets used once twice a year at at most.

[00:26:52]>> Is your room is it staffed by a person?

[00:26:54]>> We don't actually have a room.

[00:26:55]>> So it's just senior management.

[00:26:57]>> It would probably be that the I I don't know to be honest. [laughter] We'd have to find Do you want me down there?

[00:27:05]>> The comparison with WMster is pretty stark. You know, it's very difficult for children just like adults to do well and to thrive if they've got problems, if they're unhappy, if there are things distracting them. We're extremely lucky at warmer that the children are getting the same messages at home that they are at school. And that to me is very, very important.

[00:27:25][bell] >> Finishes at like 5:00.

[00:27:31]>> Yeah.

[00:27:32]>> And so to me, that's normal. Performance finish at like 3:00. I just have more time to mess around, watch TV.

[00:27:40]>> I expect to right now to walk into my next lesson or something or or go somewhere where I need to be, but I don't really need to be anywhere right now. So, it is strange.

[00:27:50]>> It's not just the longest [music] school day, which is different for Katie and John.

[00:27:55]Like half of all pupils at Warminster, they both bored, spending weeks at a time away from their parents.

[00:28:04]One of the advantages we have at WMster is time. We are a 7-day a week school.

[00:28:07]So, Saturday is all about sport, but there's often things in the evening.

[00:28:11]Sunday [music] we have chapel for the borders and there's plenty of activities there. It is a wraparound care.

[00:28:17]>> While after school clubs are on offer at Benrose, most children leave the school by 3:00.

[00:28:26]>> So, what are you doing in cricket today?

[00:28:27]>> Cassim heads home with his buddy for the week, John. So, what would you want to do as a job?

[00:28:34]>> Earn millions for doing absolutely nothing.

[00:28:36]>> That would be a brilliant job.

[00:28:38]>> I know, >> but I'm afraid one like that doesn't exist.

[00:28:42]>> It does.

[00:28:43]>> What?

[00:28:46]>> Growing up, inheriting your parents' money, making someone else run your business, just get the money.

[00:28:53]>> That sounds like a good job. I would love that. I would think anyone would About 3:15 I arrive home and then eat upstairs, get changed, play Xbox until dinner.

[00:29:08]>> Char, >> I've never had an Xbox One controller.

[00:29:12]>> It's pretty cool.

[00:29:13]>> Only 360s isn't nice. I'm a bit jealous because like you guys end school so early and you don't have any prep, so you got so much free time.

[00:29:22]>> If you have detentions, would you be in school time? Cuz like you're in school time, not all the time. So there's not really detention. It's like lunch times like >> detentions which kind of sucks.

[00:29:35]>> I think I've had like all one detention this year.

[00:29:38]>> Really?

[00:29:39]>> I get away with it.

[00:29:42]>> In Wster, you've always got something occupying you, which means [music] it's less time for you to mess around. I think that maybe I wouldn't have the same amount of discipline here.

[00:29:56]>> [music] >> Despite its shorter day, Berose invests heavily in pastoral care.

[00:30:02]>> Come through. This is Cherry Street.

[00:30:04]>> Deputy Head Neil Wilkinson shows Mark around the school's dedicated unit.

[00:30:09]>> Students will come in through the main entrance here. They'll they'll come to the window and they'll liaz ideally with the head of house. If they're upset about something or something's happened to them or they want to disclose or you know, we'll bring them in.

[00:30:23]I always believe that school is the most stable thing for many of them in their day. Um, so when they come to school, if they know that they're cared for, they're wanted, we will provide for their need as much as we possibly can.

[00:30:35][music] >> The office is staffed by four full-time heads of house whose job is to offer support to pupils.

[00:30:45]When children arrive unhappy or [music] when something goes wrong for them, they need help on that day and not to the second but very quickly [music] after the need arises. So if your support mechanism is a teacher, then they're going to say to you, "Oh, I'm ever so sorry, but I'm teaching, so I can't actually help you until 4 hours time."

[00:31:10]One of the [music] ways Cherry Tree helps pupils is restorative justice.

[00:31:16]>> Hi girls. Hi.

[00:31:18]>> Mark joins head of house and Dacon as she oversees a session.

[00:31:23]>> Join us in the circle. Right now um you want to start Chanel. Can you tell me what happened then Chanel please?

[00:31:30]>> We were walking out from the DTE block.

[00:31:35]>> Yeah. And as I was coming out, >> Victoria >> Yeah.

[00:31:41]>> slapped me around the face.

[00:31:43]>> Okay. Thank you for that. You heard what she had to say. Now can I hear what you have to say? What happened?

[00:31:48]>> When we coming out, I came with my friend and they are some Yeah. They are small space and a lot of people. Yeah.

[00:31:55]>> And then I'm scared. Yeah. And they are pushing each other. Yeah. And I push and sorry. And they send me two teeth and a phone. Okay. So, you felt like that you'd been pushed and shoved and that you then so you slapped her back.

[00:32:10]>> Yeah.

[00:32:11]>> Okay. How do we sort this out between the two of you? What do you think needs to happen?

[00:32:16]>> Like she don't tell me like fat breach or two.

[00:32:19]>> So, you want her to stop saying making comments to you in lesson. Okay, fair enough. And what about you Chanel? Maybe you could think about what you're saying.

[00:32:28]>> Yeah.

[00:32:28]>> Yeah. Is that fair from what Victoria said to you?

[00:32:32]>> Yeah. Is that okay? Yeah.

[00:32:35]>> Yeah. Chanel, you ready?

[00:32:36]>> Good. Thank you, Chanel.

[00:32:40]>> So, what's the threshold for coming to you for >> anything? Um, this just happened.

[00:32:46]>> Yeah.

[00:32:46]>> If there's an instant in a lesson and this and the teachers want to get us involved in that, they'll let us know and then we will do it later.

[00:32:54]>> Yeah.

[00:32:55]It is dealing with conflict and it's teaching them the skills of how to do that and it's actually re-educating them in certain areas how you can empathize with somebody and not have to talk in that way to somebody else.

[00:33:08]>> It has had a massive effect and it spread throughout the school. So behavior is calmer everywhere's calmer.

[00:33:14]You're more likely to learn.

[00:33:17]>> I think it's a great idea. I I think it's a great idea that you're not always sanctioning children and punishing them and that they understand the consequences of their action. It's definitely something that that we can take from from here and and implement at Warmerston.

[00:33:33]>> The school spends almost a million pounds a year on additional support for its pupils, a fifth of its annual budget.

[00:33:42]There are clearly a number of children here who face significant challenges just in terms of coming to school, understanding how to learn, speaking English, having enough clothes to keep warm, enough food to thrive.

[00:33:57]When I'm back at Warminster getting worked up about whether I'm going to have asparagus or beans for lunch, remembering back to some of the challenges that Benrose [music] faces will be helpful in me and putting some of the the problems we deal with at Warmster into perspective.

[00:34:12]I hope I don't forget that.

[00:34:24]Come on, move now.

[00:34:28]>> [music] >> Private school headmaster Mark Mortimer is spending a week at Benrose Comprehensive School in Derby.

[00:34:46]>> I think there's a misconception that success or achievement in independent [music] schools it's about who you know.

[00:34:52]Well, that's nonsense. That might have been relevant years ago. I don't think that's relevant anymore. I think that the answer is that many pupils leave independent schools genuinely believing that they can achieve anything they like if they set their mind to it. They have high self-esteem and they have self-confidence. [music] >> At Benrose, that [music] very self-esteem and self-confidence are lacking for some students.

[00:35:20]Of particular [music] concern are white British boys.

[00:35:26]>> [music] >> Every Wednesday, Brett Riley gets up early to attend a breakfast club targeting this group.

[00:35:35][music] In 2012, the Benrose School received a good Offstead rating, but the need to improve the achievement of white British boys was highlighted.

[00:35:48]>> Mr. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you.

[00:35:50]>> All right. Can we sit here?

[00:35:51]>> Yes, that's fine. Teacher Mustan Khn has been running these weekly meetings before school for the last year.

[00:36:00]>> Okay, we'll make a start cuz uh time's not really with us. Today we're going to be talking about investing in yourselves. So >> joining Brett is private school pupil Xander.

[00:36:11]>> Oh, anybody heard of that kind of phrase, investing in yourself, >> make sure we go to after school lessons and stuff like that. Make sure we get basically that make sure we push ourselves.

[00:36:22]>> Okay, I'm talking about in a general level. So there there's different areas.

[00:36:26]Eating the right food. [snorts] Cheap tasty food. Okay, which is unhealthy.

[00:36:33]What kind of foods am I talking about?

[00:36:34]>> Kebab.

[00:36:35]>> Okay, kebab. You can get a burger and chips for 1 pound50. What happens if we eat this type of food once a month? Is it a big deal?

[00:36:44]>> Not as much as having it every day. Can we all agree that it's not good for us?

[00:36:49]Okay. In the long run, >> these are your own decisions that you need to be making. Okay.

[00:36:54]>> Underachievement by white workingclass pupils is a national issue.

[00:36:59]>> Maybe >> they are consistently the lowest performing group of pupils in the country.

[00:37:04]>> There's millions of people out there who have conditioned themselves that it's not worth it. You've gone a lesson, you've tried, the teachers, I don't know, said it's not very good and you actually believe that you're not very good as well. So, you condition yourself to say, "You know what? I'm not very good."

[00:37:18]>> We'll carry on with this uh next week.

[00:37:21]>> Okay. Make sure you finish this. Take this food. L. We're going to be making our way to the canteen.

[00:37:27]>> I don't do my homework cuz school's for work. Home's for my time.

[00:37:34]I like I've just never done it. It just [music] doesn't really appeal to me.

[00:37:38]Some of the reasons I don't do it is cuz I kind of share room, never have time to myself to do it, won't be able to concentrate properly.

[00:37:45]and that kind of stuff. But it's actually saving the teachers time. They have to go home and mark it. So the kids are quite truthful. They say themselves, you know, some of them don't like coming to school >> because they don't enjoy it or because they don't see the point.

[00:38:00]>> Both I've said to them again and again.

[00:38:03]I said, "Lads, you physically come to school, but you're not present."

[00:38:05]>> Yeah.

[00:38:06]>> They find it hard to kind of understand that.

[00:38:08]>> You know, I've got the uniform on time.

[00:38:10]You know, what do you mean? And you know, it's like switching the on switch on.

[00:38:13]>> Yeah. That's it, isn't it? I mean, they're going through the motions.

[00:38:15]>> They're going through the motions. So, it's just trying to give them take a little bit of ownership.

[00:38:19]>> Yeah. What we're trying to do at my school is really very similar to what you're trying to do, but it's this idea that you can get there. Look, there will be knocks along the way. There will be obstacles, but don't worry about that.

[00:38:30]And it needs to be, I think, a sort of relentless focus on this across the school. So, at every opportunity, those standards are reinforced. [music] Mark's a big believer in developing character building qualities outside the classroom.

[00:38:50]>> You enjoy boxing? Good stuff. I'm looking forward to it.

[00:38:53]>> Nice.

[00:38:54]>> Nice to meet you.

[00:38:55]>> You, too. Can you tell me what this is?

[00:38:57]What this is about?

[00:38:58]>> Just teaches a bit of discipline and it gets them out of school for an hour.

[00:39:01]>> It's open to everyone.

[00:39:02]>> It's open right the way from year 7 till 9. Are you taking part?

[00:39:05]>> Yeah, I am. Brilliant.

[00:39:06]>> Over there. Tell them.

[00:39:08]>> Thank you.

[00:39:09]>> Right. Come on, guys. Let's go.

[00:39:12]Stan Khan runs boxing sessions for Bero's [music] pupils twice a week.

[00:39:18]>> This is just one of a variety of non-academic activities and curses the school pays for.

[00:39:29]>> Troy stretches, mate. Do it as you walk around. Just look at Troy.

[00:39:34]>> We're sort of 10 minutes from school.

[00:39:36]>> Yeah. And so the the school pays to hire the gym >> here. They've just got all the facilities that we haven't got at the school.

[00:39:44]>> And what what benefit do you think they get from it?

[00:39:47]>> One's that lack of self-esteem. Just builds that confidence and gives them something to do out of school.

[00:39:52]>> Stand by. Off you go.

[00:39:55]>> Research has linked social mobility to school levers confidence and selfdiscipline.

[00:40:00]hitting one of these bads for a minute on, a minute off, it's quite physically quite quite tiring. You know, you've got to stick with that. You've got a clock in the corner. Counting down. You got to keep going >> in terms of learning that actually you can do it. You can keep going is is a good is important lesson.

[00:40:21]Keep going.

[00:40:25]>> Box is popular among students.

[00:40:27]>> That's it.

[00:40:28]>> And often overs subscribed.

[00:40:29]>> Yeah, I can feel it working.

[00:40:32]>> It's about the importance of children looking at things and thinking, well, I've not done that before. So rather than therefore shy away from it, actually I'm going to engage with it and give it a give it a go. Benrose has got a lot of space, but it doesn't have all the facilities.

[00:40:47]But there just not enough hours in the day I think when your when your day finishes at 10 to 3. And I know there are after school clubs but uh it's it's more of a challenge just from a logistical point of view.

[00:41:00]The fact I think that at WMster we have the time and the resources facilities to do that puts it puts us at at an advantage >> as the week draws to a close.

[00:41:17]Private school pupil Xander visits the home of Benro student Brett. Hey, >> come on.

[00:41:26]>> I didn't clean it.

[00:41:27]>> That's fine. Don't worry. So, you share this with who?

[00:41:30]>> Troy.

[00:41:31]>> Oh, all right. Cool. It's cool.

[00:41:36]>> How much pressure is there for you to fit in with everyone else and and what they're doing?

[00:41:41]>> I just feel like if I don't fit in with people, I won't have friends and stuff like that, but I'm not sure really. It's just bit weird, you know.

[00:41:49]>> My advice to you would be like stick around with the kids who are nice. If you hang around with them a bit, I think you'll start like maybe learning like a lot more and starting to enjoy it a bit more.

[00:42:00]>> Yeah.

[00:42:01]>> You're really good at at giving advice, aren't you?

[00:42:04]So you when you the peer pressure and that sort of attitude of not wanting to learn that is definitely something which sort of starts to break down confidence because suddenly you're being being judged a lot more.

[00:42:19]>> 36 equals 6 * 6. What is the smallest? I don't know pizza.

[00:42:24]>> I found the first couple of days >> I can feel people judging me. I can feel that it's confidence sapping.

[00:42:33]If I had been at Benos for my whole school life, I think I wouldn't be so driven.

[00:42:40]Uh I wouldn't be so determined.

[00:42:45][music] >> They look amazing. I mean, some of them must have got up in the middle of the night to get themselves ready.

[00:42:51]>> Oh, yeah. With the hair.

[00:42:55]>> On the private school visitors last day, there's a party for students leaving Benrose this year.

[00:43:02]going in.

[00:43:03]>> Are you?

[00:43:04]>> Yeah, I always do. Go on, sir.

[00:43:06]>> All right.

[00:43:07]>> Back at Wister, I've outlined my views on what makes a first class education. I suppose where I was slightly naive is I'll follow you.

[00:43:16]>> How easy it might be to implement that at Benrose.

[00:43:21]It is easier in the context of Warmister.

[00:43:25]But my idea of what comprises a first class education hasn't changed [music] >> for Mark's pupils. It's been an education of a different kind this week.

[00:43:40]>> Thank you. It's been great.

[00:43:42]>> Very welcome. It's been absolutely wonderful. I think I would say I was sort of the classic quite rightwing private school boy when I sort of walked in here and I'm walking out with more understanding of the world around me.

[00:43:57][music] >> Why do my parents send me to Warster and the other kids parents can't do that?

[00:44:04]>> It's lucky that I'm part of that 7% which go to private school.

[00:44:08]>> On you get >> got a lot of luck. You got the right three. Yeah.

[00:44:12]>> I find it really fun. It's been a real eye opener.

[00:44:14]uh to what school life is like in state schools. It's also reassured me that it's actually better than I thought it was going to be in state school.

[00:44:31]>> [music]