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In this first of a three-part, whole-school series, behaviour management expert John Bayley examines underachieving Key Stage 4 boys at Bexleyheath School in Kent.

The school is one of the largest co-ed comprehensives in the country. As in many schools, the boys here are not performing as well as the girls.

John visits the school and investigates the problem of Year 10 boys in the English department trailing 20 per cent behind the girls, in this classroom-management resource.

He discovers the problem is at its worst on the C/D borderline and he observes newly qualified teacher (NQT) Carrie Andrews teaching such a class.

John suggests various practical techniques for burning off the boys' energy, and Carrie tests out a lively starter, which seems to help the boys focus on their written work later in the lesson.

Which situations and influences are similar and which are different to yours?

In this second of a three-part, whole-school series on underachieving Year 10 boys at Bexleyheath School, Kent, behaviour expert John Bayley explores whether a lack of male role models could be affecting performance levels.

Head of English Laura Thompson thinks this may be the problem, with only three of the 14 secondary teachers in her department being male.

But opinion is divided and the head of teaching and learning at the school, Rosie Fewer, is sceptical that gender is the issue.

John observes Glen Bone, one of the three male teachers, to test some of these gender ideas. He finds Glen to be an engaging teacher, but concludes that active learning is the key to raising the Key Stage 4 boys' performance, with the style and technique of teaching being much more important than the teacher's gender.



In this last of a three-part, whole-school series, behaviour expert John Bayley explores how using drama in English lessons can help the underachieving Key Stage 4 boys at Bexleyheath School in Kent.

John observes graduate trainee teacher Abigail Mack as she teaches a group of Year 10 students on the D/E grade borderline. These boys are usually a handful, but getting them to read out parts of a Willy Russell drama Our Day Out, about a boisterous school trip, is a real hit.

John later reports back to the school's English department with some surprising findings: video footage of the lesson suggests the secondary boys are completely unaware of their underachievement and Bayley believes they should be told.

He concludes this classroom-management resource by suggesting that the boys' performance and self esteem could be boosted by satisfying their need for attention and making lessons more of a performance.