''Hope and Glory'' is a BBC television drama about a

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is re ...

struggling with financial, staffing and disciplinary problems, and faced with closure. It starred Lenny Henry as maverick " Superhead" Ian George, enlisted to turn around the school's fortunes. It was created by

Lucy Gannon Lucy Gannon (born 1948) is a British playwright and television writer, and producer. She was the recipient of the 1989-90 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Life Lucy Gannon once worked as a military policewoman, a residential social worker, and a nurse, ...

, who had previously created '' Soldier Soldier'', and was inspired by a real head teacher named William Atkinson, who had turned around a secondary school in London which had been placed into special measures.

Plot

Ian George, the head of an exclusive school, is asked to take a look at Hope Park Comprehensive School, which is in special measures, and asked to confirm its closure. When he visits the school, he's greeted by disaffected students and teachers alike. The sixth form centre lies derelict after being torched a few years previously, while the music room is full of untouched expensive equipment, because the school could not attract a music teacher. The outgoing head (

Peter Davison Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor with many credits in television dramas and sitcoms. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan ...

) breaks down during his farewell speech and delivers an emotional rant against the students, telling them how worthless they are. After meeting staff and pupils, in particular pupil Keeley Porter and Deputy Head Debbie "Debs" Bryan (Redman), George believes there is some hope for the school. He is offered help by the chair of governors, Derek, whose son died young and would have been at the school. Ian turns down a government job to take over as the new Head. With the help of "Debs", George is able to fix the school's issues. He identifies the talents of rebellious students, and the music equipment is finally used. Romances developed between Ian and Debs, and Tony ( Lee Warburton) and Sally (Sara Stephens). Philip Whitchurch played the chair of governors, who was desperate to save the school. The refurbished and replenished library was subsequently dedicated to his deceased son. The Chief Education Officer was played by

Richard Griffiths Richard Thomas Griffiths (31 July 1947 – 28 March 2013) was an English actor of film, television, and stage. For his performance in the stage play '' The History Boys'', Griffiths won a Tony Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, the Drama Desk ...

Production

Bushey Hall School in

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

, Francis Coombe School in

and

Langleybury Langleybury is a country house and estate in Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire, England, about northwest of the centre of the town of Watford. The house stands on a low hill above the valley of the River Gade. Owners Raymond 1711–1756 The estate ...

School in Three Rivers,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

, were used as locations for the school. Classical music featured throughout the first series, and a compilation CD was released. An animated title sequence was introduced in series 2, with theme music composed by

Nick Bicât Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Plac ...

and performed by the London Chamber Orchestra. Gannon wrote the series with the intention that it would be transmitted at 8.00pm, before the watershed; however, the BBC instead scheduled it at 9.30pm.

Episode guide

Series 1

Series 2

The four episodes of the second season were transmitted before the summer holidays (27 June – 18 July 2000), with the third series and final six episodes transmitted in the autumn of the same year (4 October – 5 November).

Series 3

Reception

The series attracted mixed reviews. Writing in ''New Statesman'' David Jays says that Lucy Gannon's characters are sharpened by indignation, and "sorrow rounds them in the Dickensian manner". He also praises the show's use of classical music, rather than "second guessing youthful tunes and getting it cringingly wrong". ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

''s Caroline Boucher praised Gannon's "speedy character establishment" and Henry's "convincing" portrayal. Adam Sweeting in ''The Guardian'' was more critical, suggesting it is "old-fashioned melodrama", unfavorably contrasting Gannon with celebrated writers such as Jimmy McGovern and

Alan Bleasdale Alan George Bleasdale (born 23 March 1946) is an English screenwriter, best known for social realist drama serials based on the lives of ordinary people. A former teacher, he has written for radio, stage and screen, and has also written novels ...

. The use of classical music was "disorienting", and Sweeting suggests that "maybe education is too pressing and prickly an issue to be liquidised into soap opera, with its inevitable clichés and illogicalities." Writing in the ''Financial Times'', Christopher Dunkley says the drama has "moments of interest", although Joe Joseph in ''The Times'' was very critical of the first series.

Home media

All three series were released on DVD ( Region 2 and 4) on 15 May 2006.''Hope and Glory'' — The Complete Collection
''Find-DVD.co.uk'' A compilation audio CD featuring some of the classical music used in the first series was released on 1 October 1999.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0187647, title=Hope and Glory
British Film Institute Screen OnlineBBCi minisite
with cast interviews, character profiles and season three episode guide. BBC television dramas 1990s British drama television series 2000s British drama television series 1999 British television series debuts 2000 British television series endings English-language television shows