Boarders review

A few years ago, a group of under privileged but intelligent pupils spent a period at Rugby public school and it is that as well as his own experiences as a black pupil at a mostly middle class, white University that inspired writer Daniel Lawrence Taylor to pen Boarders.  I would doubt though whether a lot of the scenarios depicted in this lively and occasionally riotous series actually happened which is a good call that pulls the series a\way from being too over earnest. Set over three six-episode series, Boarders charts the varying experience of five bright sixth formers who are plucked from urban surroundings by an outreach programme and placed in the somewhat rarefied country atmosphere of  St Gilberts school. It’s a place with a raft of traditions, some formal school activities with Latin names, others exuberant and often weird student traditions. The narrative tries to cover each of the pupils equally, their different journeys exploring all the possibilities of the experience.

 

The quintet are all given differing personalities to explore how the school will affect them and vice versa. Femi is proud of his Nigerian heritage and sometimes struggles to convince his family about his chosen options. Wide open as a person, this honesty is often taken advantage of by the toffs with whom he bonds in an effort to fit in. Such ties offer potential future career opportunities but how much of himself is he prepared to subsume? His season three victories are well earned and provide the series’ most uplifting moments. 

Leah is the firebrand, as soon as she arrives fixating on the traces of colonialist past  she sees dotted about the building and sometimes unknowingly fighting against those trying to help her. By season three she is having more familiar problems struggling to complete her work. Omar is the introvert who prefers art and comics to people as well as being gay and he maintains a low key presence. The way he is written is curious with the narrative putting him in serious trouble with his classmates and fellow outreach students twice – once when his drawings of “secrets’ around the school become public and later when he accidently sets off the school’s sprinkler system damaging school art projects. His reserved behaviour makes him misunderstood and of course he hates the attention his mistakes bring him. He seems to me to be the only one of the main characters whose resolution is unsatisfactory but then maybe that’s the point. 

Toby is the wiliest – adept at business, languages and sociable he has the smoothest course- the opposite of Omar- through even the trickiest situations. Somewhere there should be a spin off series about his adventures because he seems like the sort of character who would live a very interesting life.  Jaheim seems sensible but has an anger that bursts through to his disadvantage. He leaves at the start of season three to take up an opportunity in the States, a bold narrative decision that gives space to other characters.

Season one starts off as you might expect- the newcomers receive a less than friendly welcome, prejudices on both sides inform first impressions and its unclear what kind of a series this will be. There’s always a risk a drama like this will present an uneven view but Daniel Lawrence Taylor is careful to expand the palette pretty quickly making the drama character rather than issue led. Each episode draws out the individuality of each character (both the five and the various other pupils they interact with) as they gradually become more integrated into the school but sometimes on their own terms.

The show does seem to suggest that the influence of these schools endures and across the three seasons, the main characters realise, at varying speeds, that they must integrate into this system to succeed yet that is not necessarily at the cost of their individuality. There are small victories but there is realistically never going to be a sweeping away of the old order, rather the characters have to find ways to exist in it. It’s a hopeful narrative though that ensures optimistic endings for everyone though not at the expense of all their principles.

Increasingly as characters find themselves in situations that appear to spell the end for them at the school or their prospects, the next episode rescues them with eyebrow raising circumstance. Its fun though and the story enables the cast to shine. Early defiance and drawing of cultural lines- exemplified by Leah’s determination to get a painting taken down- ebbs away by series three which sometimes comes across like a bigger budget Grange Hill as it ferments rivalries whether in student hustings, on the sports field or with the rival comprehensive.

The scholarship is rather forced on the school due to recent negative headlines culminating in an incident where a  homeless man was mistreated by some of the pupils. So despite their misgivings the school’s authorities need it to succeed. There is much talk of “black excellence” yet the school is littered with symbols of white colonialism. The headteacher tries to mitigate but by the end is forced out only to be replaced by the Governor’s chair who we’ve already seen has little interest in the outreach programme.

Season two seems more diverse in its plots  pulling the characters into personal relationships while new head teacher, the spectacularly named Carol Watlington - Geese cracks the whip with relish. Despite showing details of her personal situation the narrative never quite gets to the nub of her personality as it does the pupils’. This can make her seem like a villain for the sake of having one. When she resigns at the end, there’s little linking context as to why she has taken that decision which is so opposed to her steadfastness up till then.

One of the shows’ advantages is its ability to move seamlessly between the serious and the frivolous.  Season three in particular is extremely well paced; it brings home the fact that the group have not only developed but thrived in this environment and at the end will actually miss it to some extent. One aspect that works especially well is enabling the main quartet’s intelligence to good effect; these are not people who are too easily intimidated and prove adaptable to these surroundings. By season three, the divisions of earlier seasons largely replaced by natural friendships, enmities, pranks and escapades that would exist in any school.

Directed to fully show off the location – it was filmed in Clifton College, Bristol -  Boarders luxuriates in manicured lawns, walkways, staircases, grand rooms and the large chapel where assemblies take place.  It really conveys a sense of the place and its traditions. The cast are so talented it feels wrong to single people out by by virtue of the fact they get more screen time than anyone else Aruna Jalloh’s open  Femi and Jodie Campbell’s principled Leah are both terrific while there are especially strong performances too from Niki Warldley as wound up head teacher Carol, Sekou Diaby as the optimistic and resourceful Toby, Archie Fisher as the personification of the public school toff `Cheddar` and even though he’s largely absent from season three Josh Tedeku’s Jaheim. Assa Kanoute  as Abby takes advantage of a strong narrative in which she has the best character  development of anyone on the show yet is still resolutely the same girl. It’s a standout performance. Keeping it more low key Myles Kamwendo adds unexpected layer to the enigmatic Omar while Harry Gilby's Rupert shows so many sides in a skilful performance. And watch out too for Ruxandra Porojnicu whose hockey captain Yelan'as deadpan aggression wins alot of laughs.

Behind the big plots and statement events, the show also has some lighter sub plots- the hapless security guard in particular while you only have to clock the expressions of those background artists playing visiting governors or VIPs to see what they really think of the head teachers. Dialogue feels authentic (though I’m no expert on urban patois or upper class banter) with the cast managing to appear natural while still rising to the more emotional aspects of the drama.

The one thing I’m not so sure about it what audience the series is aimed at so I guess that means anyone can enjoy it. I certainly did and in the end it does make you glad you’ve left schooldays way behind!