It took the consent of hundreds of parents before cameras were allowed into a Dunboyne school to film a documentary. What’s it been like for those who took part?
The principal at the centre of RTÉ's new documentary series, The School, has expressed concern that the first programme is too negative, focusing on students with learning and behaviour difficulties who are "unrepresentative" of the 970-strong student body at large. "To represent a school you naturally have to deal with difficult issues, but the first episode was disproportionate to the level of problems in the school," says Eamonn Gaffney, principal of St Peter's Community College at Dunboyne in Co Meath, which received €10,000 from Scratch Films's production budget after the school had agreed to make the series and after filming had already started.
The cheque, which was channelled through Co Meath VEC, was a “pleasant surprise” and “not a motivation” for making the series, Gaffney stresses. Peter Kierans, CEO of Co Meath VEC, says it received the money through its central accounting and gave it to the school in the form of funding for capital enhancements.
Having seen the first of three episodes, where students are seen being chastised and counselled on issues ranging from a poor attitude to bullying and learning difficulties, Gaffney says there was a “negativity” which he thinks will be balanced in the two further episodes, which will feature the school musical, and students preparing for their Leaving Cert examinations. He added that the majority of pupils who did not have behaviour issues could have been emphasised more in the first programme.
At the same time, Gaffney felt strongly that the school should be portrayed “warts and all” and that it would be a positive step for viewers to see the efforts that the principal, deputy principal, counsellors and teachers make to assist their most challenging students.
The school’s parents’ association has seen a “mixed reaction” to the first episode of the series, says Maria Murphy, secretary of the association and a local Fine Gael councillor. “Some parents are saying there was negativity and that the good side of the school didn’t come out strongly. The most negativity was in the uniform element and in the special needs and disciplinary element. “
Pupils are seen being dressed-down for not wearing the right uniform. “Those things exist in all schools. St Peter’s is a great school and it caters for all the children in the community, it does not cherry-pick and segregate . . . I hope the troublesome ones are not the abiding memory people have. I hope we get a better impression after the full series,” Murphy says.
But how do the students themselves feel, having seen the first programme?
“What came across was how confident the students were and how they had no problems with the media. They were very self-assured. Twenty-five years ago, teenagers in front of a camera would have been looking down and too nervous to speak into a microphone,” says Eleanor Petrie, president of the National Parents’ Council – Post-Primary.
One of the featured pupils, Adam Bouktila, was seen getting into trouble in the first episode for a uniform infringement and for losing a letter to his mother about his behaviour. “I was always being given out to. I was not in trouble a lot but I was a bit of a messer. I was bad for answering back to teachers when I disagreed,” says Bouktila, a musician and actor who has since graduated from the school and is doing a PLC course.
“Back [when the series was being made in spring 2009], I thought everyone was out to get me, annoy me, persecute me. Looking back, after the filming, you see how the teachers were thinking and it changed my mind about how teachers think and feel. They are people, too.”
Gaining the co-operation of the school and the parents was a painstaking process for producer Liam McGrath of Scratch Films. The parents of nearly 1,000 students had to be informed and asked to sign release forms. All but a few approved. McGrath and his team were scrutinised by Gaffney and his team of deputy principals and teachers, who wanted to show the strong pastoral ethos of the school but didn’t want students to be exploited or stigmatised.
In response to criticisms of negativity, McGrath says that the next two programmes have a positive feel, and people need to see all three before they judge.
Gaffney says “We defined what we thought would be successful. Schools tend to be too secretive and afraid of being misunderstood and misinterpreted. We began to trust Liam McGrath, who is a serious film-maker; he was making the film for the right reasons and we liked him a lot. And we are a pretty confident bunch, so we have nothing to fear.”
The principal and his staff were shown rushes in advance, and every student featured in a “role” had to have the additional written approval of both parents, who were invited to face-to-face meetings. Gaffney contacted parents of featured students both before and after the first programme was shown. “The parents trusted me that I would not let things through if they would damage anyone.”
He has heard criticism that “students with differences” dominated the first programme. “But at the same time the public will see how schools are coping with certain situations. I think the general public don’t realise that young people are resilient and happy to talk about difference. They’re not afraid to talk about what’s on their minds. These are a pretty tough lot,” he says.
One in five secondary-school students has a mental health issue, Irish and international research has shown, with one in 10 students experiencing a serious problem such as depression or self-harm, says Gaffney, who is a trained guidance counsellor. He believes the pastoral care role of a school is crucial in maintaining students’ wellbeing and helping them with school, relationships and family. St Peter’s is one of the few schools in the country to have two trained psychotherapy counsellors.
Clinical counsellor Jimmy O’Connell, who features in the programme, says “We’re dealing with a lot of kids who have issues – depression, family issues, relationships with their peers, bullying – normal teenage stuff. I initially had concerns about participating in the programme, but the kids were very open about it and willing to talk. We try to separate the behaviour from the person. You don’t shame the person, you deal with the behaviour. What the kids see is that we care for them and are on their side. We are trying to help them succeed.”
Kate Hannigan, whose son James Hannigan is now at university, and is featured briefly in the series, says “I thank God we came to live in Dunboyne. St Peter’s saw the potential in James and set the bar high. The school enabled him to blossom and I can’t say enough good things about it. The support is there for all children, not just those who are struggling. I have heard a couple of comments about the programme that were negative, but school life with 1,000 teenagers isn’t always going to be pretty.”
