Grange Hill

Today's first post is from probably the most famous school in the UK, Grange Hill! This show has been requested by a fan of the BCC, so I dug through the history of the show and picked out one of the most well remembered and hard hitting episodes in it's 30 year history!

The drama was centred on the fictional comprehensive school of Grange Hill in the (equally fictitious) borough of North London called "Northam", and follows the lives of the students as they progress through school.

The programme has covered many controversial storylines, ranging from students throwing benches into the swimming pool (1978; as a result of which, following letters of complaint from teachers and parents, the episode was withdrawn from the repeat season), rape (2001), heroin addiction (1986), Asperger Syndrome (2001), knife crime (1998) and attempted suicide (2005), prompting many complaints from viewers. Grange Hill broke new ground by the inclusion of a gay teacher, Mr Brisley, who was in the cast from 1992 to 1999.

The show began in 1978 and was one of the longest-running programmes on British TV when it ended its run in 2008. It was created by Phil Redmond who is also responsible for the dramas Brookside and Hollyoaks. (Text taken from Wikipedia)