A teacher from the BAFTA-nominated series Educating Yorkshire has given a surprising response when asked whether she advises boys to watch the Netflix drama Adolescence. Deputy head Zoe Ali spoke to Metro at yesterday’s BAFTA TV Awards about the award-winning series and how Thornhill Community Academy approaches the issues it raises.
The staff from the comprehensive school in Dewsbury walked the red carpet after their Channel 4 show was nominated for Best Factual Series. Starring headteacher Matthew Burton, pupils, and colleagues, the documentary offers a fly-on-the-wall look at life in a Yorkshire secondary school.
Another show exploring modern youth was also being celebrated: Netflix’s Adolescence received 11 nominations and was a hot topic among attendees. When asked if the series was shown in school or recommended to boys, Zoe responded: “Not necessarily advising them to watch it, because we’re conscious of not creating an issue on something that many of them might not be aware of.”
She added: “But certainly as staff, we have a lot of training around those issues, and warning signs to spot, the red flags that we need to be looking out for, so it’s always a prevalent issue that we’re conscious of as staff. We’re just very mindful of how we then model that to students.”
After the series premiered in March 2025, there were petitions and debates about showing the four-part limited drama in schools as an educational resource. Co-writer Jack Thorne expressed this desire, telling the BBC: “I want it to be shown in schools, I want it to be shown in Parliament. It’s crucial because this is only going to get worse.”
The story follows 13-year-old Jamie Miller, who is arrested after murdering classmate Katie Leonard. It explores toxic masculinity, violence against women and girls, and online safety, serving as an extreme example of what can happen when these issues are not addressed.
Despite this, Zoe does not think it should be blanket-shown to boys. There are other reasons teachers might hesitate: the series is rated 15 due to its “discrimination theme,” “language,” and “violence,” making it inappropriate for many secondary-aged pupils. Additionally, some argue it is better watched at home with parents, prompting discussions rather than being viewed with peers and staff.
Jack alluded to this on the BAFTA red carpet, telling Metro: “Stephen and I always talked about sofa-shows – the shows that we grew up watching with our mum on the sofa. And the fact that lots of people are having that experience with our show just felt like a huge, huge moment to me.”
Educating Yorkshire is available to watch on Channel 4.
