CHANNEL 4 went back to school with a unique series, filmed in High Wycombe, designed to get to the heart of the debate about educational standards over the last 50 years.

Filmed at High Wycombe's Royal Grammar School and using former John Hampden head Andrew MacTavish, That'll Teach 'Em threw 30 16-year-olds into the fictional King's School, where they received 1950s-style tuition before sitting O-levels in English, maths and history.

Before the screening of the last episode this Tuesday, reporter JAMES WEBB takes a critical look at the series.

MILLIONS of television viewers have been tuning in to see a selection of today's school kids beamed into the good old days when life was less "one hundred lines" and more "six of the best".o For the purposes of the Channel 4 programme That'll Teach 'Em, 30 teenagers were taken back in time to see whether they could cope with the academic rigour of O-Levels and the tough, Spartan regime of a 1950s state boarding school.

However, for many fans of the show the star has been headteacher or master Andrew MacTavish who has ruled the school with an iron cane and given the pupils more reason to quake in their plimsolls than any other teacher in history.

He said: "I'm afraid I'm very old fashioned, you might say archaic. I believe that children have a yearning for being told what to do and then getting on with it.

"They don't always want to be given a choice."

Mr MacTavish was a pupil at the Royal Grammar School, in Amersham Road, High Wycombe, from 1948 to 1956. He recently retired after 39 years managing and teaching in grammar schools.

He said: "Headmasters and teachers were remote figures when I was a schoolboy. Things were so much more formal and even members of staff didn't use each other's Christian names.

"In the 1950s, there was more rote learning, which within reason has its place. I think there is a real value in learning dates to put things in perspective, for example. And youngsters love chanting learning.

"As an English teacher, I deeply regret the loss of skills like grammar and precising.

"From a historical point of view, I think the series will record something that has been lost."

Simon Rockell, series producer of That'll Teach 'Em, was a history teacher in girls' secondary schools for nine years.

He felt the 1950s had larger-than-life characters doing exciting things and really inspiring children.

He added: "That still goes on today, but in those days there was much more scope for the individual to flourish Ð both teachers and pupils.

"When I was teaching, I felt increasingly that initiatives like the National Curriculum and SATs stifled individuality.

"There are also serious issues to debate today Ð such as are we failing the top five per cent? If you have a system where 90 per cent of the school population gets top GCSE grades, inevitably there are prices to pay."

Stuart Powell, head of school improvements at Buckinghamshire County Council, believed the fact exam rates were up again this year showed schools were moving in the right direction.

He said: "Life does move on and there will be differences between schools now and 50 years ago, but there are also going to be things that remain the same like teachers having the best interests of their pupils at heart.

"In the 1950s the emphasis was on chalk and talk. Pupils were passive and told to learn content rather than be active and learn process skills like they do today."

The last episode of That'll Teach 'Em will be screened on Channel 4 on Tuesday, 9pm.