In 1980s Britain, a group of young men at Cutlers' Grammar School all have
the brains, and the will to earn the chance of getting accepted in the
finest universities in the nation, Oxford and Cambridge. Despite the fine
teaching by excellent professionals like Mrs Lintott in history and the
intellectually enthusiastic Hector in General Studies, the Headmaster is
not satisfied. He signs on the young Irwin to polish the students' style to
give them the best chance. In this mix of intellectualism and creative
spirit that guides a rigorous preparation regime for that ultimate
educational brass ring, the lives of the randy students and the ostensibly
restrained faculty intertwine that would change their lives forever.
When a 1980s class achieves the best scores ever at Cutlers' Grammar School
for boys in Sheffield (Yorkshire, northern England), the petty headmaster,
who craves the prestige like the parents, recruits a young Oxford graduate,
Irwin, to prepare them for the general entry exams for the world class
universities of Oxford and Cambridge. He stresses that takes not just
delivering what all schools prepare for, but -if they even really want to
go- standing out by a different approach and perspective: surprising
quotations and associations, the other side of the coin, witty phrasing...
Actually good foundations were laid by the current staff, less by history
teacher Dorothy Lintott, a frustrated liberal feminist without actual
impact, then by the enthusiasm-arousing 'Hector' in General Studies, who
gets their attention and makes them think trough literature, open
discussion, role-play and performing declamation and song, at both of which
the only Jewish (like the Muslim, fully integrated) boy, sensitive gentle
gay David, excels. Alas, when the headmaster learns that the caring,
paternal Hector once innocently touched a boy's privates, he insists on
'graceful' early retirement, a personal drama with surprising twists in the
end. Meanwhile the irresistible class flirt, Dakin, skilfully tests all
borders including his and Irwin's sexual orientation, and all consider what
they really aspire and care for, in studies and life.
