That'll Teach 'Em (C4) - The Block (ITV1): With A-level results out tomorrow it is time for the annual cries of 'the exams are getting easier' and 'kids today don't know they're born'.

I always feel sorry for teenagers who have sweated over their exams only to be told that if they did well it was because it was simple, and if they failed they must be stupid.

But rather than handing out tea and sympathy, the bosses at C4 decided to test the theory that it was all a lot harder in the good old days.

The first series of That'll Teach 'Em concentrated on school days in the 1950s - this time it's the turn of the Swinging 60s.

Before they continue their modern day studies, 30 16-year-olds have been sent to a secondary modern school.

Secondary moderns were for those who had failed their 11-plus, so the kids chosen to take part in their series are also not the highest fliers - all are expected to get Cs and below at GCSE.

Going into the experiment, one lad naively said: "Nobody's going to kill us. What's the worst that can happen?". If the show had stuck rigidly to the times, the answer would have been the cane but obviously corporal punishment isn't allowed these days - even in the name of realistic television.

Thankfully the youngsters have only been given a month of life in the system which gets girls into the kitchen and boys heading for woodwork.

At secondary moderns there was minimum funding, high truancy rates and little chance of the ungifted learning much - sounds familiar?

The system concentrated on teaching young people vocational skills and with a modern-day shortage of tradesmen and women, it will be interesting to see if the young guinea pigs benefit from what they learn. Personally, I will be astounded if Hannah, Franklin and the other kids can pick up their Nike trainers long enough to turn into a new breed of plumbers, electricians and carpenters.

The contestants on The Block (ITV1) could do with their own army of skilled tradesmen as they continue to bodge up their flat conversions. With rows over bathrooms and lounge disasters splitting up happy couples, it seems unlikely that the homes will ever be ready for the end of the show.

Naturally the programme makers have chosen the most explosive mixture of people for the show but you know they aren't behaving so badly when the cameras are turned off - how else are they managing to get the work done?

And will someone please tell Nicholas Cowell that his brother has cornered the market in being the unpleasant, untrendy expert. Trading on his brother's name, especially when Simon has become something of a joke, is a very shaky foundation on which to build a whole series.

Published: 18/08/2004