Back to school
CHANNEL 4, Wednesday 8pm
ACKLEY Bridge is a Yorkshire mill town, home to largely divided white and Asian populations. Like the communities, the school systems have also become segregated.
However as two formerly isolated comprehensives are merged into a brand new academy, Ackley Bridge College, the lives and cultures of each are set to collide.
Lessons are about to be learnt in and out of the classroom, even if education isn’t the first thing on the agenda…
In tonight’s opening episode it’s the first day at the newly integrated school, Ackley Bridge College, and best friends and neighbours Missy (Poppy Lee Friar) and Nas (Amy-Leigh Hickman) are now attending the same school for the very first time.
Nas’ more conservative school friends take against Missy.
Nas sides with her school friends and Missy, fuelled by anger, decides to play dangerous liaisons.
Meanwhile English teacher Emma Keane (Liz White) gets the surprise of her life when she finds out that she’ll be working with ex-boyfriend Sami.
She then gets a further surprise when her 15 year old daughter Chloe bursts into her classroom drunk, having caught a taxi from Peckham.
Elsewhere Head teacher Mandy (Jo Joyner) has problems of her own and puts her husband, PE teacher Steve, in charge of troubled pupil Jordan, but Jordan might prove too much for him to handle – especially when he crudely points out how close Mandy’s getting to school sponsor Sadiq Nawaz (Adil Ray).
Starring Jo Joyner, Paul Nicholls, Arsher Ali, Liz White, Sunetra Sarker, Adil Ray, Poppy Lee Friar and Amy Leigh Hickman.