At the end of Channel 4’s Educating The East End, Katy Sharp-Watson asks if the series has progressed the public image of East London’s young people.
Earlier this year, YouGov asked 1300 Londoners to match four adjectives to North, West, South and East London. North London came out as ‘intellectual’, West London as ‘posh’, South London as ‘rough’, and East London as ‘poor’. Other terms associated with East London included: ‘dirty’, ‘gritty’, and ‘try-hard’.
Sounds familiar?
Stereotypes seem to enjoy everlasting life, and East London has been landed with more than most – from psycho-killer Bill Sykes to Jack the Ripper via the Artful Dodger, and on to a platoon of wideboys and gangsters as represented in East Enders, The Krays, and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
But the heyday of East Enders was a quarter of a century ago; The Krays was made in 1990 and set in 1960, and even Lock, Stock (1998) was last century.
East London has changed a lot since then – years of ‘white flight’ are being reversed by the new, middle class influx in to the inner city; and the character of East London was never really fixed in the first place – successive waves of migration meant that the East has been constantly re-stocked with new characters.
But out of all this churn, will we be presented with a new set of stereotypes, e.g. the hipster? Or at long last is there now an opportunity for East London and its people to be represented in ways which are more true to life? That was the avowed intention of Channel 4’s eight-part series Educating The East End, which, following the success of Educating Essex and Educating Yorkshire, documented the trials, tribulations and successes of Fredrik Bremer comprehensive school in Walthamstow.
In order to connect with a mass audience, the programme focussed on pupils who are charming, funny and particularly engaging.
Fifteen-year-old Christopher, who suffers from autism, was the focus of the final episode. He is black-British, and shy, insecure and introverted. He finds socialising with other students difficult and gets distressed when he suspects they are talking about him behind his back. We saw the strength of his support network comprised of teachers and special assistants – how much they care for and believe in him. In particular his support worker, Mrs Austin, worries how Christopher will adapt to life after school, after his GCSEs. She convinces him to take a bus journey with her into Walthamstow and its famous market. At first he is apprehensive, but by the end of the day he is relaxed and comfortable in new surroundings. The most moving aspect of Christopher’s story is how his fellow pupils interact with him in a kind, loving and compassionate manner.
It cannot be concluded that Christopher fits into any typical East London stereotype: we don’t get to see pupils like Christopher on television very often, and the presentation of his personality is like a breath of fresh air.
In episode seven, we met two 16-year-olds: white, middle-class Oscar and black, working-class Paris. Both risk failing to meet their full potential. Oscar is considered one of the brightest students in the school. He has been tipped for Oxbridge entrance, but is struggling to remain focused on his studies, and gets distracted by his peers. By the end of the episode, we see him open his GCSE results: he gets nine A-C grades. As with Christopher, he does not possess any stereotypical East End characteristics.
Meanwhile Paris has a violent temper and frequently gets into fights. He also hopes to get into college, but needs a C in English to do so. By the end of the programme, we learn that not only has he achieved this, but he will also go on to study English at A-level. At first Paris is painted as Bill Sykes-esque character, destined for a life of crime, but by the end of the episode he seems to have changed and the image of the young gangster-in-the-making has been turned inside out.
The programme also offered pupils the chance to respond to existing stereotypes. Year Eleven pupil Lemar is featured saying he doesn’t like the image of London teenagers hanging around on street corners with hoods up. He is focused on playing football and staying out of trouble.
Educating The East End has not attempted to sugar-coat the educational system; rather it highlights the challenges it faces, balanced out with moving accounts of remarkable people and their significant achievements. The programme followed the conventions of what has fast become a recognisable TV genre. But it is remarkable that none of the pupils at this school were made to fit traditional East End stereotypes.
Typical teenagers they may be, but thankfully nobody made them play-act yer typical East End.