Our School is a British documentary reality television programme on CBBC which first aired on 3 September 2014 and has run for eight series. It uses a fly-on-the-wall format to show the everyday lives of the staff and pupils in secondary schools and follows children as they move from Year 6 into Year 7. From series 5 onwards, the series featured pupils in both Year 7 and Year 8.
In 2019, a spin-off called Our School Summer Camp was made, featuring students from series 1, 2 and 3, and some new students, joined by headteacher Shirley Ballas.
Series overview
SeriesEpisodesOriginally airedFirst airedLast aired 1 16 2 15 3 15 4 20 5 20 6 22 7 20 8 20
Development and production Our School was commissioned in September 2013 by the production company TwoFour and CBBC (the children's television brand owned by the BBC and primarily aimed at children aged between the ages of 7 and 16). Each series of programmes follows the day-to-day school life of 11-year-olds as they transition from different primary schools to embark on their first year at a secondary school and the commencement of their Key Stage 3 education. The programme uses a fly-on-the-wall camera approach to record the trials and tribulations, the joys and the sorrows, and the successes and surprises, of eleven Year 7 pupils throughout the whole academic year. Each series is filmed in a different school.
Our School was publicly announced in early 2014. The series follows the same overall format as Educating..., another documentary reality television programme on Channel 4 from the same production company which was first broadcast in September 2011 and which also uses fly-on-the-wall cameras.
Our School has run for eight series on CBBC and BBC iPlayer to date, with each series having between 15 and 20 episodes, and with each episode focusing on a particular event, group of students or storyline. In addition, there have been multiple specials in which students and schools from previous series are revisited.
Episodes Series 1 (2014–15) The first series was filmed at Conyers School in the town of Yarm near Middlesbrough. It showed the Year 7 classes experiencing secondary school for the first time and featured some of the challenges they may face in later life.
The first series was made up of 15x30 minute episodes and began to be broadcast on 3 September 2014. The final episode of the series was aired on 10 December 2014.
In 2015, it was announced that a special episode would be added to the first series. This aired on 7 September 2015 and was a catch-up episode that saw the cameras return to see what had happened to the Year 7 pupils, who were now in Year 8.
Series 2 (2016) The second series of Our School was filmed at Greenwood Academy in Castle Vale near Birmingham.
This series began airing on 5 January 2016 and ran for 15 weeks, with the final episode being broadcast on 12 April 2016. It was retitled Our School 2 and followed the same format as Series 1.
Series 3 (2017) Before the launch of the third series there was a one-off special, which saw two students, one from Series 1 and one from Series 2, swap schools for a day and get to know and interact with the other students. The special aired in August 2017.
The first episode of Series 3 of Our School was broadcast on 5 September 2017. It was filmed at Firth Park Academy in the Shiregreen area of Sheffield.
Special: When Conyers Met Greenwood
Series 4 (2018) The fourth series was filmed in Scotland, at Shawlands Academy in the Shawlands area of Glasgow.
+EpisodesEpisode NumberEpisode NameOriginal Air Date1The New Boy11 August 20182Laugh Out Loud18 August 20183Give Us a Try25 August 20184I'm Not Your Dude1 September 20185It's Great Outdoors8 September 20186A Piece of Cake15 September 20187Something New22 September 20188Frenemies29 September 20189Try Being Me6 October 201810Express Yourself13 October 201811You Can't Win 'Em All20 October 2018 12We're All Scottish27 October 201813Deaducation3 November 201814Back in the Day10 November 201815Paws for Thought13 November 201816And Then They Were Eight17 November 201817Eyes on the Prize24 November 2018 18In at the Deep End1 December 201819Passion for Fashion8 December 201820Edinburgh - Here We Come!15 December 201821So This Is Christmas18 December 2018
SPECIALS:
One Last Term Moving Day Return to Firth Park
Our School Summer Camp (2019) +EpisodesEpisode NumberEpisode NameOriginal Air Date1Say hello to your new home19 August 2019 2It's only a game20 August 20193Dance as though no-one's watching21 August 2019 4I'm clearly a pumpkin22 August 2019 5'It's easier to be bad, but it's better to be good23 August 2019 6Clay has feelings too26 August 2019 7I can do it if I try 27 August 20198Three cheers for Tyrese28 August 20199Friends for life29 August 201910No time to be sad30 August 2019
Series 5 (2019) The fifth series was filmed in south Wales, at Hawthorn High School (Ysgol Uwchradd Y Hawthorn) in the village of Hawthorn, Rhondda Cynon Taf near Pontypridd. In a new feature, for the first time year 8 pupils were also featured alongside the year 7 pupils in the show.
+EpisodesEpisode NumberEpisode NameOriginal Air Date1A Brand New Term3 September 20192A Class Full of Chickens10 September 20193When School Sucked17 September 20194Here Comes Trouble24 September 20195Plastic Not Fantastic1 October 20196Lessons in Gunge8 October 20197A Slice of Pizza15 October 20198Face Your Fears22 October 20199Partners in Crime29 October 201910Our Scary Movie29 October 2019 (iPlayer Exclusive)11Teaching Me Tidy5 November 2019 12Leap of Faith5 November 2019 (iPlayer Exclusive)13Vote for Me12 November 201914Can't Play Will Play!12 November 2019 (iPlayer Exclusive)15And Then They Were Eight19 November 201916Would You Eat Frogs Legs19 November 2019 (iPlayer Exclusive)17 Keep Calm and Carry On26 November 2019 18 The Magic of Christmas 3 December 201919Get Your Act Together10 December 201920Our School Rocks10 December 2019 (iPlayer Exclusive)21SPECIAL: How We've ChangedSeptember 201922SPECIAL: Taking The Boys Out Of SheffieldSeptember 2019
Series 6 (2020) Series 6 was filmed at Ryburn Valley High School in the town of Sowerby Bridge in the Upper Calder Valley of West Yorkshire. The first episode was broadcast on 26 August 2020. +EpisodesEpisode NumberEpisode NameOriginal Air DateLockdown Special 1Lockdown: 1iPlayer ExclusiveLockdown Special 2Lockdown: 2iPlayer Exclusive1Every Dream Counts26 August 20202The Power Of Yet2 September 20203Twinfinity And Beyond9 September 20204Don't Touch My Crocodile16 September 20205The Appliance of ScienceiPlayer Exclusive6Teacher's Pet23 September 20207Where There's a Wheel30 September 20208Operation PrankiPlayer Exclusive9Trick Or TeachiPlayer Exclusive10Anything I Can Do We Can Do Better7 October 202011Change the World with Kindness14 October 202012Age Is Just A NumberiPlayer Exclusive13I'm With the Band21 October 202014The Forgotten Room28 October 202015Think Before You SinkiPlayer Exclusive16Set Your Fear on Fire4 November 202017If At First You Don't SucceediPlayer Exclusive18The Seeds of Change11 November 202019Less Chat More ActioniPlayer Exclusive20The Christmas Express18 November 202021The Show Must Go On25 November 202022One Last Dance2 December 2020
Series 7 (2021-2022) Series 7, filmed at Firth Park Academy, started broadcasting on CBBC on 6 September 2021. The series consists of 20 episodes aired over selected weeks of the Autumn and Spring terms of the current academic year as part of the Bitesize programming block. The first ten episodes aired during the first two weeks of the school year before taking a break. The series resumed with the remaining ten episodes from 17 January 2022. The episodes were made available on iPlayer as well. +EpisodesEpisode NumberEpisode NameOriginal Air Date1Bin Those Fears6 September 20212That’ll Teach Them7 September 20213The Pet Test 8 September 20214The Rabbit Whisperer9 September 20215Mind Games10 September 20216Viva Espana!13 September 20217There's No Planet B14 September 20218Takeover Day15 September 20219Grow Your Own Library16 September 202110From Ramadan to Eid17 September 202111You Snooze You Lose17 January 202212 Puppy Love18 January 202213Growing Pains 19 January 202214This Little Piggy20 January 202215How to Be a Winner 21 January 202216King Tim and the Big Art Scam24 January 202217Cool to Be Kind25 January 202218You're Hired26 January 202219Just Be Fierce27 January 202220Brave The Stage28 January 2022
Series 8 (2022) Our Boarding School Series 8 was filmed at Badminton School, an independent boarding and day school for girls in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol. The series was scheduled to start on 12 September 2022 but was delayed to a later date due to the death of Elizabeth II. As such, the BBC iPlayer synopsis for the episode "Pen Pals" has a notice saying that it was filmed in 2021 before her death, as she is mentioned in the present tense once. The series is narrated by Diane Morgan.
+EpisodesEpisode NumberEpisode NameOriginal Air Date1 Away from Home 26 September 20222 Around the House 27 September 20223 Year of the Tiger 28 September 20224 Watch This Space 29 September 20225 Braving the Storm 30 September 20226 All About Emily 3 October 20227 Join the Club 4 October 20228 All the Feels 5 October 20229 School of Rock 6 October 202210 Pen Pals 7 October 202211 New to the Nest 10 October 202212 Can You Cook It? 11 October 202213 House Wars 12 October 202214 What's On Your Mind? 13 October 202215 How it Started/How it's Going 14 October 202216 Take the Plunge 17 October 202217 The Staff of Destiny 18 October 202218 How to Get a Head 19 October 202219 Prom Planners 20 October 202220 School, Good Vibes Only 21 October 2022
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