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And so another year's silly season stories about school exam results has passed. Now the nation's best can look forward to finding out all about getting into debt at some of the world's finest seats of learning.

Meanwhile, an unexpected TV ratings success has been Channel 4's That'll Teach 'Em. It's a simple idea; place a group of 16 year olds into a mock-up of a 1950s school, complete with swede, stodge pudding, sarcastic sirs and misses, and maps painted red, white and blue by the British Empire and see how they get on.


As with other reality shows, you always get the sense that it's the programme makers' version of participants and reality that's being served up. But the programme raises interesting issues of its own. Its essential premise seems to be how different school is now to the 1950s. Certainly, as the sound track of the series shows, pop music seems to have been a lot better then. But where has the production company been over the past 15 plus years of education policy? Hadn't they noticed the return to "traditional values": widespread restoration of school uniforms, upsurge in private schooling, return to selection, moves away from small group teaching and most of all the emphasis on the 3Rs, tests, exams and rote learning?

For those of us with an interest in child welfare and child abuse, the series raises an even bigger issue. Stripped of make-up and teen fashion the participants looked more like children than teenage consumers. We saw children reduced to tears, harangued, picked on, searched, and subjected to physical punishment. At the time of writing, after eating very little, one girl had already left saying she couldn't stand the food. It all makes for good TV, especially when the camera is focusing on someone who comes across as a spoilt brat (a disproportionate number of kids came from private schools). But aren't there some ethical issues here? What does informed consent mean in these circumstances? Lots of parents want to see their children on a stage. Do these children really appreciate what the consequences can be of appearing on a show watched by so many?


However, the truth is that most of the young people in this series rose to the challenge of 50 years ago. So much for the perennial moans about "the children of today". Maybe next time we can see how well politicians meet the challenge of making the world a more child-friendly place.

Yvonne Roberts is on holiday.