Just another reality TV show peppered with B-list celebrities? Well, not exactly. Thanks to input from the teachers at Abbey Meadows, Channel Five’s ‘So You Think You Can Teach?’ takes its subject matter rather more seriously than the average celeb-in-a-trying-situation-show.
 | | Image courtesy of Channel Five |
The three celebrities in question – Janet Street-Porter, ‘It Girl’ Tamara Beckwith and Shaun Williamson (Barry from EastEnders) - were thrown in at the deep end, and expected to teach children in Years 4, 5 and 6 (9 to 11-year-olds) subjects from the entire curriculum including maths, IT and PE - as well as supervising breaks and taking part in after-school activities. But, was it all for the cameras, we wanted to know, or were they really teaching? | "When I left that staff room at 4pm, I felt like I’d been whipped with a wet towel." | | Janet Street-Porter to Radio Times |
Cliff Knight, Headteacher at Abbey Meadows Primary School was adamant in his reply: “Yes, they really did teach. When the programme was first mooted by Channel Five, the producers looked at around 1,000 schools across the country – but they kept coming back to us. “The show was going to be a trite, silly little celebrity programme,” explains Cliff, “but we changed it. My deputy, Chris Beddow and I, made it clear to the Producer that, because teaching is a profession that we both love, and that we’ve given our lives to – like all of the staff at Abbey Meadows – we weren’t prepared to have it trivialised. “We said, 'let’s do this seriously' – and Channel Five went for it. I think the celebrities thought they were just going to come in and breeze through it – and they got the shock of their lives.”
 | | Image courtesy of Channel Five |
Indeed, speaking to Radio Times, Janet Street-Porter said of the experience: “I don’t think I’ve ever done a day’s work like that. Why teachers aren’t better-paid and more respected is a mystery to me.” Cliff Knight brought three of his pupils – Shanice, Aiden and Melanie - into BBC Radio Cambridgeshire’s studios to talk about the show. Were the children starstruck by all the attention or put off by the presence of the cameras? “A bit, but not that much,” said Aiden. Janet Street-Porter, however, clearly felt that there was too much playing up to the cameras and was not necessarily best equipped to deal with that. “It’s a real skill,” she told the Radio Times, “to manage to stay in control of the class”. Aiden was taught by Tamara Beckwith. “It was good fun,” he said, “and everyone was behaving themselves.” Shanice added: “Tamara Beckwith was a really good teacher. We did a lot of things – we made t-shirts and we did a fashion show with her.” Melanie’s class was taught by Shaun Williamson. “He was fun and he made us laugh a lot,” she said. “He kept singing Robbie Williams’ ‘Let me Entertain You.’”
 | | Shanice, Aiden and Melanie |
So, did the kids think their celebrity teachers were a patch on the real thing? “I think some of my mates said Miss Beckwith was sometimes better than their normal teacher,” said Aiden. “Watch out,” cautioned his headteacher, “your own teachers are listening to this, you know!” Is Cliff Knight worried about seeing the finished series on the television? “No, not at all,” he said. “We’re in a win-win situation because, you see, our children are all very well-behaved – I don’t know where people get the idea that schoolchildren can be naughty (tongue firmly in cheek!). And, the whole point of the programme is to show how difficult and demanding teaching is and how teachers are such skilful and adaptable people. If the celebrities fail at it, it doesn’t reflect back on the children or the school.” So, if Cliff had to pick one of the three celebs as a teacher, could he make the choice? “Shaun.” He said, without a moment’s hesitation. Was Shaun Williamson good then? “No. But he had the WILL,” explained Cliff. “He was desperate to be a good teacher and he worked so hard – so I’d take Shaun because I could TURN him into a teacher." As for Tamara, she was apparently terrified by the prospect of having to teach maths – “I just can’t do it,” she told Cliff, but went on to cherry-pick the curriculum and did brilliantly. “I’d take her on because she was great fun,” he said. He added: “Janet Street-Porter was basically a self-opinionated expressive person who couldn’t work with other people. No chance of a career in teaching for her…” Finally, if we needed evidence that it’s not just children who have visions of superstardom, as a parting shot, Cliff Knight told us: “We’ve gone mega! I believe Andrew Lloyd-Webber is going to turn the show into a musical, and I’m hoping that Michael Ball will play my part…” Dream on, Mr Knight sir, dream on… You can watch ‘So You Think You Can Teach’ on Channel five on consecutive Sundays from 23rd January to 6th February at 8pm. | 
