Academic support staff comedy Schooled coming to Channel 4
- Schooled is a new Channel 4 comedy based on writer Delia-René Donaldson's real experiences of working in pastoral care at a London school
- The six-part series follows a newly appointed pastoral Head of Year 10 with zero teaching experience and little patience for teenagers
- Donaldson says: "I created Schooled to celebrate the joy, chaos, and beauty of being a Head of Year - with Caribbean essence, a sharp sense of humour, and a lot of heart"
Channel 4 has commissioned Schooled, a six-part comedy series based on writer Delia-René Donaldson's real experiences in pastoral care at a London school.
The network explains: "Schooled is a comedic love letter to school support staff and teachers across the UK.
"The series follows Kayleigh Clarke, a newly appointed pastoral Head of Year 10 with zero teaching experience and little patience for teenagers as she faces off with everything from Ofsted inspections and AI-generated scandals to riotous parents' evenings. Despite the lack of resources, overworked staff and relentless students, Kayleigh is determined to turn her lack of credentials into a strength as she forms unexpected bonds and discovers that sometimes empathy (and maybe a bit of bribery) is the best tool for survival."
The series was commissioned as part of Channel 4 and GroupM Motion Entertainment's Diverse Indies Fund, a ring-fenced fund set up to support small and medium sized ethnically diverse-led production companies to produce new projects.
The writing team (pictured) includes Yemi Oyefuwa (Smothered) and Tyrell Williams (#HoodDocumentary), with The League Of Gentlemen's Jeremy Dyson as script editor. Afolabi Kuti is the executive producer, with Broedmachine and GroupM as the production companies.
As BCG previously revealed, Delia-René Donaldson had a school-set comedy drama piloted with Sky in 2020 under the title Kisses And Bumflicks.
Speaking about the Channel 4 commission, she says: "I created Schooled to celebrate the joy, chaos, and beauty of being a Head of Year - with Caribbean essence, a sharp sense of humour, and a lot of heart. It's bold, funny, and unapologetically us! Partnering with Afolabi Kuti who has been championing my show since the beginning, we have now found a home with Channel 4, it has been equal parts laughter and magic. We've cooked up something special - and now it's time to serve it hot!"
Charlie Perkins, Head of Comedy at Channel 4, says: "We're thrilled to be working with Broedmachine on their first sitcom, Schooled - a subject matter timely, yet universal; age-old in comedy yet updated through Delia's unique voice. It's been amazing to see how many brilliant names have come through the writers' room alone, to make this show feel contemporary and exciting, and we can't wait for what's to come in Schooled's first term (series)."
Afolabi Kuti comments: "Delia's voice was always destined to cut through the noise. She's created a show that's wholly reflective of her - fresh, authentic, hilarious and full of heart. Getting a green light in this climate is a small miracle and we're beyond grateful to the brilliant team at Channel 4 who have been so incredibly supportive of us and our show. We're excited that Schooled will shine an authentic light on the everyday heroes in education, and we can't wait for people to see it."
Deep Sehgal, Head of Creative Diversity and an executive producer for GroupM Motion Entertainment, adds: "Delia's personal experience as Head of Year at an inner-city school promises a unique and hilarious glimpse of life beyond the classroom - and it's an absolute pleasure to bring this series to the screen via our Diverse Indies Fund with Channel 4 and Broedmachine."
Casting will be announced in due course.