FACTS | In 1950 King George VI was on the throne of England.
Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe were the young idols of the day.
Rationing from the war ends in Britain.
Rock 'n' roll was what it was all about with huge skirts and tiny waists for the girls and greased back DAs for the boys.
Before the 1950s the word 'teenager' didn't exist.
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 |  | Report by Faye Claridge, web producer
Rajay Naik has to re-live the horror of the 1950s this Christmas when a special programme is aired following a reuinion of the kids and teachers from That’ll Teach Them.
The prgramme, going out on Channel 4 on 23 December, shows the school reunion where the puplis faced their strict teachers once more.
Back in September I interviewed Rajay to find out how his experiences on the TV show That’ll Teach Them would affect his return to school in Coventry.
Read this interview below and let us know on the message boards what you think of discipline in schools.
|  | Brave student Rajay Naik |
Rajay Naik is just like any ordinary 16-year-old schoolboy in Coventry, except that he’s recently time-travelled to a school over 50 years ago.
He did this as part of the television series That’ll Teach Them, where 30 kids gave up four weeks of their summer holiday to experience the tough discipline of life as O-level pupils in the 1950s.
Rajay normally goes to the Coventry Blue Coat Church of England School. He described the school’s approach: “It’s not too bad, it’s not too strict and is quite fair, as long as you get your work done you can have a laugh with the teachers and have a good time, too.”
So, was the 1950s school a real shock? Of course, but Rajay took it in his stride. He said: “The first week was very tough, getting used to the regime and it was a real test of character. Because we were expecting it to be tough we tolerated it more than if our own school suddenly went this harsh.”
|  | A modern science lab, where learning is much more creative |
I expected the cameras to be an added problem but Rajay said he found them useful. He said: “The cameras being there from 7am – 10pm was a help because it made it less realistic.
"You got used to the cameras after the first week but they were still a useful reminder that it wasn’t real. It would have been a lot tougher if you really believed the teachers meant everything they said.
"There’s no doubt the teachers were putting it on and sometimes they spoke to us normally, but those bits got edited.”
 I was desperate to hear the results from Coventry City though and so arranged a code with a mate, who would write about distances or figures in his letters to let me know the scores!”  | | Rajay Naik |
Amazingly, Rajay actually sympathised with some of the strictest teachers, too. He said: “I think today’s teaching is easier for teachers as well as for pupils because there’s not as much discipline.
"They weren’t actors so it was odd for the teachers, too, you could see they weren’t all that keen sometimes and they felt sorry for us sometimes.”
Despite this, it’s clear Rajay found it tough. He said the exams were very difficult and added: “You needed tougher and more complex skills for O-levels, like in English you needed grammar-based techniques and in Maths you had no calculators.
“We had to do a lot of long division and long multiplication and your head had to be really tuned for mental arithmetic. In History there were just loads of dates to remember and it was really different to the more active lessons I’m used to with discussions.”
|  | The school matron |
Rajay also got off lightly with the worst of the 1950s re-enactment – the compulsory haircut and awful food: “I had short hair already so I didn’t mind the haircut, although lots of the boys had long hair and found it really tough. I’m vegetarian too, so I didn’t have to eat the liver, kipper and spam like the others. I’m sure loads of the others wished they were vegetarian, too.
“I only had matron’s tonic once, too, it wasn’t exactly appetising! I think it was malt and cod-liver oil, it was very thick and sticky.”
Rajay’s experience of the religious instruction also reflected his view of the whole experience. Although a Hindu, his normal school is Church of England and he has no problem with being involved in other religions.
He said: “It’s just about respect. I don’t have to believe it, but I respect other religions and don’t see there needs to be any conflict between them.”
We were all really looking forward to getting out but then when the last day came none of us wanted to leave. | | Rajay Naik |
Rajay felt the same about the other kids in the school, saying: “Some of the people clashed but it was a good test of tolerance and respect. I learnt so much about myself. It was really worth doing and I’d do it again even if it wasn’t being shown on the TV.
"We were all really looking forward to getting out but then when the last day came none of us wanted to leave.
"We bonded very well because we’d been put together 24-hours a day and in the end I think everyone enjoyed it.”
One of the hardest things, Rajay confessed, was missing the start of the football season. He said: “We weren’t allowed to be told anything about the outside world. We had letters from home once a week but they were censored.
"I was desperate to hear the results from Coventry City though and so arranged a code with a mate, who would write about distances or figures in his letters to let me know the scores!”
Rajay is now going back to Blue Coat to start his A and AS level courses, along with following a course at City College.
It’ll be a lot of work, but we expect he’ll enjoy it more than staying at the 1950s school for a couple of years!
Do you think it would be easier to learn if your teachers were stricter?
Do you think reality TV is ever very real?
Would you go on a reality TV show? If so, what would be the best situation to film?
Let us know what you think by using this message board link.
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