Jamie's Dream School- The teachers fight back

Historian David Starky revealed his true colours on the first episode of Jamie’s Dream School last night (CH4 9PM).

The intellectual, who was accosted to teach an unruly bunch of kids history used insults to discipline the pupils, calling one boy fat after he failed to gain control of the class. The boy retaliated by referring to the historian’s height, or lack of.

Not  the best start for Jamie’s new project where professionals at the top of their field are invited to teach children who have no or few GCSE’s about their subject in a fun and engaging way.

In a normal world, Starky would have been fired, but Jamie and his acting head teacher said they were torn about what to do. So much for an improved school that encourages unruly children to go back to full-time education where the use of insults is promoted?

Fortunately the rest of the lessons went to plan, with Dr Robert Winston teaching science and scaring the teens with the corpse of a pig, Rolf Harris showing the kids how to paint in art, actor Simon Callow teaching them about Shakespeare for English and Dame Ellen McArthur taking a small group sailing, just a normal school day then?

What I watched last night

Having worked as a waitress while at Uni I can sympathise with the trainees taking part in BBC2's Michel Roux's Service, which sees a group of jobless teenagers taught how to serve guests in Michellin starred restaurants.

However, unlike my pub restaurant job, its all work and no play for the recruits, who in last night's episode proved they were completely out of their depth having failed the basics. Their misdemeanours included serving cold food to customers, making diners wait 30 mins for tables to be cleared, and swearing and arguing at each other in the middle of service. Perhaps it was too early to let them loose on real customers at a branch of Italian restaurant Zizzi's, after all they only had a couple of days training and we are talking about a group of clueless teenagers.

They certainly have a lot to learn if two of them at the end of eight part series are to be awarded a scholarship to study at the Academy of Food and Wine.

Wednesday's 8pm BBC2.

What I watched last night....

BBC 3 -Sun, Sex and Suspicious parents

In the first episode of this tame BBC documentary, which encourages parents to spy on their teenagers enjoying their first holiday with friends, eighteen-year-old Joe and Millie let loose (?) on the party island of Malia, supposedly oblivious to the fact that their parents had flown to the island and were spying on them.

The teens, along with their group of friends, enjoyed late night antics, drinking and relaxing by the pool. However despite this being the first holiday without their parents, they failed to make the most of the five days, with Joe the most adventurous daring to wear pink nail varnish and dress in a skirt, attracting unwanted male attention. Millie’s holiday was even more dull, with her and her friends visiting only one club and ordering soft drinks on a night out, boring. Given the choice I would have chosen to be their parents, enjoying a free holiday and spying on their teens, much more exciting.

Surprisingly at the end of the programme when the parents sprung it on their teens they had been watching them, both Joe and Millie didn’t seem too bothered or embarrassed in front of their mates that their parents felt the need to check up on them.