... of documentary. Educating Michael Michael Light, son of a Barrow shipyard worker, is going to public school at the taxpayers' expense. He is one of 13,000 bright children from poor families whose fees are paid by the government's controversial Assisted Places Scheme.
This programme follows Michael through his first uneasy term at St Bees School in Cumbria. It also charts the progress of Kathleen Roberts , 13, whose father's dying wish was that she should win an assisted place, and Susannah Wright , 11, whose parents both taught at State Schools.
At a time when some comprehensive schools cannot even afford books, argument rages over this scheme, which will cost taxpayers £17 million this year. It has been dismissed as unfair, as divisive, and as an example of 'social engineering'. One critic accuses the scheme of 'trying to deal with a famine by paying for a few children to have lunch at the Ritz'.
Film cameraman JIM PEIRSON Film editor eric BROWN
Executive producer ROGER MILLS Producer HARRY WEISBLOOM