\n<\/p>\n
\u201cB<\/span>asically, there\u2019s summat wrong with me. I\u2019m like \u2026 a psychopath. Genuinely!\u201d A teenage girl with the face of an angel is confiding in Mr Wilson, one of the student managers. He listens solemnly, but his mouth twitches with the beginnings of a smile.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to start by disagreeing with you,\u201d he says with all the seriousness he can muster. \u201cYou\u2019re not a psychopath.\u201d The girl in the sky-blue hoodie relaxes and rewards him with a broad smile.<\/p>\n Welcome back to Thornhill Community academy on the outskirts of Dewsbury for Educating Yorkshire Part 2, where once again the 900 pupils \u2013 witty, sensitive, smart, vulnerable and endlessly engaging \u2013 are the standout stars of the series.<\/p>\n Much has changed in schools since Channel 4 last filmed at Thornhill more than a decade ago. TikTok, vapes, Andrew Tate, gender-questioning, anxiety, mobile phones and high levels of school absence are now everyday issues across the sector. And of course there was Covid \u2013 the biggest disruptor to education since the second world war.<\/p>\n <\/span>Headteacher Mr Burton and deputy head Mrs Ali meet the challenges of school with warmth and humour.<\/span> Photograph: Tom Martin\/Channel 4<\/p>\n Negotiating these challenges is Matthew Burton, 42, the inspirational English teacher from the last series who moved the entire nation with his efforts to help Musharaf, a year 11 student, overcome his stammer. He is now headteacher.<\/p>\n A decade on he strides around Thornhill in his new hi-vis gilet, with the words \u201cWork hard, be nice\u201d emblazoned on his back, his warmth, humour and enthusiasm undimmed.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody goes into teaching for life to be easy, because schools aren\u2019t,\u201d he said in an interview with the Guardian. \u201cThere\u2019s lots of complexities to being in schools and being a teacher, but also, it\u2019s such a unique profession.<\/p>\n \u201cYou genuinely get the chance 99 times out of a 100 to go home at the end of the day having done something positive for somebody, and there aren\u2019t that many professions where you get that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Burton has allowed the cameras back into his now-famous secondary school because there\u2019s a teacher recruitment crisis in education and he wants to help. He wants everyone to know what a great profession it is and how brilliant it is to work with young people.<\/p>\n <\/span>Riley in year 8 wants to know why he can\u2019t sit still.<\/span> Photograph: Tom Martin \/ Channel 4<\/p>\n \u201cSome of the stuff around schools and education can be really challenging as a teacher to read and it doesn\u2019t always align with my thinking,\u201d he says. \u201cIt is a fantastic, fantastic profession.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are the remarkable and amazing young people who you\u2019re working with. This is what it\u2019s about \u2013 speaking on behalf of the profession, demonstrating some of the challenges but also some of the absolutely fantastic things that happen in schools.\u201d<\/p>\n So what has changed since the first series was broadcast in 2013? \u201cOne of the biggest changes has been how much technology has advanced,\u201d he says promptly. \u201cChildren are going round with mobile phones in their pockets which are incredibly powerful computers that can effectively do pretty much anything you want them to.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/span>Amy in year 8 feels deeply about her friendship group.<\/span> Photograph: Tom Martin\/Channel 4<\/p>\n In one episode, where pupils are discussing screen time, it emerges that some children are on their mobile phone for more than 15 hours a day, despite a school-wide ban. \u201cIf it\u2019s seen, heard or used it\u2019s confiscated, and that\u2019s the bottom line,\u201d says Burton.<\/p>\n In other scenes a boy is found hiding a vape down his trousers, AI proves a growing challenge and teachers find themselves dealing with the long tail of Covid, supporting growing numbers of pupils with mental health issues and special educational needs.<\/p>\n Episode one features Riley in year 8, who\u2019s blond, bright and getting in trouble. \u201cWhat happens in my head, it\u2019s just a mess,\u201d he says, wide-eyed. His mum thinks he has attention deficit hyperactive disorder; the school wonders if it\u2019s his diet and experiments with reducing his sugar. Riley just wants to know why he can\u2019t sit still.<\/p>\n <\/span>Mr Geary teaching a class.<\/span> Photograph: Tom Martin\/Channel 4<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s Amy, also year 8, who goes to school only for the hash browns (\u201csent from the heavens above\u201d) and her friends. But the stresses and strains of teenage friendship sometimes prove too much for her. She has developed tics and often wanders into the student manager\u2019s office. \u201cIn my friendship group I want everyone to be happy,\u201d she says sadly after being blanked by one of her mates.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things that always impresses me about students is how aware of their emotions they are and how emotionally literate they are and vulnerable when they need that support,\u201d said 42-year-old Burton, now a father to three children. \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ve ever had a generation of young people who will be as open about wanting and needing that support and that help.\u201d<\/p>\n But it\u2019s hard. Times have changed, even since the last series and life for many children has become more challenging. \u201cThe world\u2019s different, isn\u2019t it?\u201d says Burton. \u201cIt\u2019s a very complex place to be in, a very complex time to live.\u201d<\/p>\n Educating Yorkshire Part 2 is on Channel 4 on Sunday at 8pm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cBasically, there\u2019s summat wrong with me. I\u2019m like \u2026 a psychopath. Genuinely!\u201d A teenage girl with the face of an angel is confiding in Mr Wilson, one of the student managers. He listens solemnly, but his mouth twitches with the beginnings of a smile. \u201cI\u2019m going to start by disagreeing with you,\u201d he says with<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[1794,11219,11220,583,1266,11221,3895,1779,3247],"class_list":{"0":"post-18379","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education","8":"tag-academy","9":"tag-aware","10":"tag-emotions","11":"tag-pupils","12":"tag-series","13":"tag-standout","14":"tag-stars","15":"tag-television","16":"tag-yorkshire"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}