Class Apart, A (BBC-1 2007, Jessie Wallace, Nathaniel Parker)

A Class Apart was a one-off drama written by the Bafta-nominated Tony Grounds (When I’m 64, Births, Marriages And Deaths).

Wallace plays single mum Candy, who is trying to keep her 11-year-old son, Kyle, on the straight and narrow with help from her grandad, George (George Cole), who isn’t the best role model himself. When Kyle is offered a place at the local failing school, Candy is having none of it. She knows only too well the grass is greener at nearby Park View and doesn’t see why her boy can’t go there. Feeling frustrated and disenfranchised, Candy decides to mount a one-woman protest, chaining herself to the Park View gates until her only son is granted a place.

However, fate intervenes. The conceited Headmaster (Nathaniel Parker) of a nearby, prestigious, private school sees Candy on the local news. He jokes to his deputy, Charles, that if Kyle attended Haltham, he’d turn him from chav-rude-boy to respectable public school boy. Charles doesn’t believe he can do it and they make a bet.

The Headmaster’s first task is to find a way to get Kyle into the school. Can he win his bet and get one over on his scheming deputy, and how will Candy and Kyle cope with the culture shock as two worlds collide?

production details
UK / BBC One – Paloma Productions / 1×90 minute episode / Broadcast 29 March 2007

Writer: Tony Grounds / Music: Rupert Gregson-Williams / Executive Producers: Jadie Montgomery, John Yorke, Tony Grounds, Damien Timmer / Producer and Director: Nick Hurran

cast
Jessie Wallace as Candy Jerome
Nathaniel Parker as Anthony Troth
George Cole as George
Sanchez Adams as Kyle Jerome
Roger Allam as Charles
Juliet Aubrey as Olivia Troth
Paul Brooke as Godfrey
Ruth Sheen as Ruth
Carol Moses as Lin
Mary Tamm as Mrs Fills
Harriet Eastcott as Angela
Ross Tomlinson as Dom Robertson
Natasha Joseph as Mrs Collins
Tony Grounds as Mr Evans
Lorraine Stanley as Mandy
Chris Larner as Head Teacher
Jessica McConkey as Eileen
Jay Brown as Trevor
Edward Prentice as Geography Teacher
Rodney Leech as Latin Teacher
Julian Brammer as Maths Teacher
Shyam Chudasama as Milan
Jeff Mirza as Mr Patel
Alex Gaskell as Thomas
Garry Tubbs as Customer
Oscar Grounds as Young Fills