Grange Hill

Children's drama series following the lives of students and teachers at Grange Hill comprehensive school.

Grange Hill is a British children's school drama created by Phil Redmond and broadcast on BBC One from 1978 to 2008. Set in and around the comprehensive school of the same name in London, the series follows its pupils and teachers through the ordinary drama of school life, with classroom conflicts, playground disputes and small crises shaping young lives. Its ensemble is constantly rotating as characters arrive, struggle and leave, so the show works less as a single continuing plot than as a portrait of a school across many years. Staff members anchor the stories while students navigate friendships, rivalries, first romances and the pressures of growing up. The tone is earnest, observant and grounded, with a reassuring warmth for young viewers beneath its frank treatment of bullying, peer pressure, family troubles and other difficult subjects. Running to many seasons and hundreds of episodes, it became a fixture of British children's television. Viewers who enjoy Waterloo Road, Byker Grove and Teachers will find similar resonance in its British school setting and its focus on youth-centred storytelling.

Reviewers broadly regard Grange Hill as a pioneering, socially frank youth drama whose ensemble and issue-driven storylines gave young viewers a realistic mirror, though its later years drew more mixed notices.

• Waterloo RoadBritish school drama with a rotating ensemble of pupils and teachers dealing with social issues
• Byker GroveBritish youth drama centred on teenagers navigating everyday problems
• TeachersSchool life ensemble drama focused on teenage social issues and staff-pupil relations

Created by

Phil Redmond

Release Date

1978-02-08

Episode runtime

25 min

Rating

7.1 / 10 (26)

What is Grange Hill about?

A long running British children's drama following pupils and teachers at the comprehensive school Grange Hill.

What is Grange Hill like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Grange Hill as measured, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as easy to follow.

Is Grange Hill violent?

Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Grange Hill as mild.

What did critics think of Grange Hill?

Reviewers broadly regard Grange Hill as a pioneering, socially frank youth drama whose ensemble and issue-driven storylines gave young viewers a realistic mirror, though its later years drew more mixed notices.

Which shows are like Grange Hill?

Shows with a similar feel include Waterloo Road, Byker Grove, and Teachers.

How long is Grange Hill?

Grange Hill: 31 seasons, 602 episodes.

Is Grange Hill still running?

No, Grange Hill has ended.