Few could have predicted that during the lockdowns, one of the biggest hits on BBC iPlayer would turn out to be old episodes of the school drama Waterloo Road. Perhaps people were missing school more than they thought they would. This interest appears to have had a knock-on effect; as well as bringing Waterloo Road itself back, here we are with another, more youth-focused school series, the likable Phoenix Rise.
This is more of a contemporary Grange Hill, with a sweet, Breakfast Club spirit of rebellion in the air. Phoenix Rise is the new name for a secondary school in Coventry that was previously known as Manor Grove (the kids joke that the name-change has nothing to do with the fact that the school is under special measures). It’s a new name for a new term, and an influx of new students, each of whom have been written off as “unteachable” in the past. “You all deserve a clean slate,” says idealistic head teacher Mr Stewart (Tyler Fayose), whose good intentions place him at odds with some of his teaching staff. “One man’s unteachable is this man’s work in progress,” he solemnly informs his new charges.
