School Day (BBC1)

IT'S a good few years since many of us were at school, so this day in the life of the nation's education system was an eye-opening experience. I bet a few parents were surprised by what goes on too.

There was some "Stop chewing and put it in the bin" and "Face the front, sit up straight" sort of thing. Less expected was the maths teacher - who failed O-level maths first time - using Play Your Cards Right as the basis for his lesson. And the trainee Spanish teacher who felt she had to become an "all-singing, all-dancing entertainer" rather than rely on text books.

The premise of the documentary was simple enough, and perfectly executed. On Thursday, January 15 this year, ten film crews followed various aspects of our education system. Six were in schools. Another was with the Minister for Schools. A school bus driver, a parent and a gifted student were others featured.

That particular date was chosen as it was the day the Government published the school tables for English secondary schools. This provoked much comment in the staff room at lunch break.

Plenty of statistics were supplied. One-third of all children are taken to school by car. Ten million schoolchildren are looked after by 600,000 other adults, teachers and support staff. One in four teachers quits within five years of qualifying. And on that day 70,000 children bunked off school.

Mo Laycock, head teacher of a comprehensive in Sheffield, was a real star as she patrolled the corridors, tackled a £100,000 budget deficit and shouted back at the TV as panellists discussed education on BBC1's Question Time.

Minister for Schools David Miliband, a former comprehensive boy, was appearing. There was a lovely moment earlier when he unlocked his case to reveal a freshly-laundered shirt and tie on top of the official papers. He also declared himself "mildly petrified" at the prospect of his debut on the TV programme.

A school in the Scottish Highlands with just one classroom, seven pupils and one teacher provided a neat contrast to the bustling inner city comprehensives on view.

Cameras visited an agency where staff were busy on the telephone trying to round up absentees from school. In Middlesbrough, schools work with local authorities and police to get the missing youngsters back in the classroom.

We saw parents with school age children at a shopping centre in the town centre quizzed as to why they weren't in school. Of the 21 stopped, all were with their parents and over half came from outside Middlesbrough. The vast majority were unauthorised absentees. I trust that the parents were given detention.

Whistle Down The Wind,

York Grand Opera House

BEST to forget the delightful 1960s film starring Hayley Mills as this Andrew Lloyd Webber/Jim Steinman musical, moves the action from the English North to the American South.

The story remains the same: three children mistake a killer on the run hiding in their barn for Jesus. He's not wearing a dress, as one of them points out, but the wounds on his hands and feet along with his general Christ-like look convince them it's Him.

The charm and naivety of the original non-singing film is supplemented by elements of racism, sexual awakening and family grief , along with a chorus of children and a largely undistinguished score, although I bet you'll be singing the one big hit, No Matter What, long after the curtain has come down.

Bill Kenwright's production moves swiftly enough, the staging is dramatic and Rosie Jenkins' Swallow proves a sympathetic guide as the girl, still grieving for her mother, who forms the closest attachment to Christ-like figure.

Glenn Carter returns on the current leg of the tour to the role that he played in the London West End production and brings a brooding intensity and suppressed violence to The Man.

Steve Pratt

l Until Saturday. Tickets 0870 606 3595

About Alice, Darlington Civic Theatre

With ,a cast as well-respected as this one, you know you can settle back for a first-rate evening's entertainment, and About Alice doesn't disappoint.

I won't go into the convoluted plot twists; the play is about Alice Hogan, a strong, colourful personality, the widow of a renowned sculptor and artist. It's her birthday, and a gift arrives in the toothsome person of Joseph Panama, who has been hired, he blithely confesses, to bed Alice. "I don't do seduction," says Panama, but as it turns out seduction isn't necessary.

Gwen Taylor is perfect as Alice, a dominant character in her brightly-coloured, flowing silks. Her past is revealed in conversation with Ned, her oldest friend, beautifully played by Francis Matthews. Their relationship is as comfortable as a pair of old slippers, his laid-back, laconic wit an ideal foil for her down-to-earth humour and ringing laugh.

What a contrast when publishing executive Peggy Black arrives from America to try to persuade Alice to part with her famous husband's diaries. Edgy and humourless, you just know she has a hidden agenda, especially as she pretends Panama, whom she has hired, is her photographer. I haven't seen Rosalind Cressy before, but she held her own admirably with such seasoned company.

Michael Greco, of course, caused a bit of flutter as 'tart with a heart' Panama. "I don't have to act sexy," he declares to nervous Peggy, "I am sexy!" Not many ladies in the audience would disagree!

Sue Heath

* Until Saturday. Booking Office 01325-486555