That'll Teach 'Em

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 (e.g. vocational vs. academic focus for the less "gifted").

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 (recreating a 1950s grammar school and featuring academically high-achieving pupils), the second in August 2004 (a 1960s secondary modern and the academically average or poor) and the third and final series in April 2006 (a 1950s grammar school again, this time focusing on practical sciences and with single-sex classes).

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.

The format has been adapted in France, Spain, Norway, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands. The international rights are distributed by DRG.

Country	Title	TV channel	Seasons
France	Le Pensionnat	M6	3
Norway	Internatet (Feriekolonien)	TV Norge	2
Belgium (Flanders)	De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig	SBS VT4	3
Netherlands	Dat zal ze leren!	RTL 5	1
Spain	Curso del 63 Curso del 73	Antena 3 neox	2
Germany	Die harte Schule der 50er Jahre	ZDF	1
Italy	Il collegio	Rai 2	4

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.

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

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

Series 3 was filmed during April 2006 at St Joseph's College in Ipswich. 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 and 2, Simon Warr, took on the additional role of headmaster in Series 3.[1][2]

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.

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.

• danielpemberton.com - Website of composer of music for the show