Educating Yorkshire returning to Channel 4

Time to go back to school!

Channel 4 has announced that it'll be opening the doors of Thornhill Community Academy once more as Educating Yorkshire is set to return following its successful return last year.

Once again, the series captures the realities of growing up and teaching in modern Britain. Led by Headteacher Matthew Burton, the series will continue to tell heartfelt, humorous and authentic stories from the classroom and beyond. Building on the legacy of the Emmy-winning original series, while remaining firmly rooted in the issues shaping a new generation, this new series promises another compelling, uplifting and unfiltered portrait of life inside one of Britain's most remarkable schools.

Channel 4 has revealed that the last series reached 8.7m viewers across linear and streaming (28-day consolidated) and was also a hit with young audiences, attaining a 28% share of 16-34s, up 195% on slot average (0-7 days).

The series is also said to have had a demonstrable real-world impact, with 3 in 10 viewers surveyed aged 16-34, saying that the series inspired them to consider a career in education or youth work.

And 8 in 10 viewers surveyed felt that programmes like Educating Yorkshire were important in providing hope and reassurance to other parents or students going through similar situations.

Speaking ahead of the show's return, Rita Daniels, Commissioning Editor at Channel 4 said "Last year’s return to Thornhill Community Academy was both insightful and emotional, providing the perfect snapshot of today’s high school experience. The Thornhill kids were brave and brilliant when opening up about the modern challenges of teenage life. We know that there will be kids across the country dealing with similar issues and we hope they will continue to see themselves in a new series of this exceptional show."

To which Matthew Burton, Headteacher at Thornhill Community Academy, added "I’m really pleased to welcome Twofour back to Thornhill, to highlight more of the important work that goes on in schools up and down the country, day in, day out. As many people will have seen last year, our students and staff are so inspiring, and to have the chance, again, to show the extent of the quiet, life-changing work that happens day by day is a real privilege. Our priority at TCA will always be sharply focusing on the safety, wellbeing and education of our students. We look forward to working (hard and being nice) with Twofour and Channel 4 to develop an important series over the next year."

And David Clews, Twofour Chief Creative Officer, said "The response to the return of Educating Yorkshire was a total joy.  Audiences once again embraced the warmth, humour and humanity of life inside a modern British school. We’re delighted to be returning to Thornhill to tell new stories that are funny, moving, challenging and inspiring in equal measure."

Executive producer, Grace Reynolds, said "The extraordinary teachers and staff help the students navigate some of the most important years of their lives. While headlines often focus on the challenges facing teenagers today, our experience making the series tells a different story. Spend time in Thornhill and you’ll find resilience, compassion, ambition and optimism. If it reminds us of anything, it’s that the future is in remarkably good hands."

Made by by Twofour, Educating Yorkshire is executive produced by David Clews, Alex Kohler, Grace Reynolds, with Kate Walker as Series Editor, Emily Cadman as Series Producer, Helen Robson as Production Exec and Sarah Bell as Line Producer.

Educating Yorkshire will return to Channel 4