Reaction
The series was filmed at a cost of £1m and was heavily promoted in the national press when first transmitted, as Channel 4’s flagship documentary series for the autumn season, and initially received strong praise. The Daily Telegraph commented that "a Hollywood scriptwriter would find it hard to improve on the unfolding storylines", and A. A. Gill rated the series as "one of the best documentaries of this type for years" in The Sunday Times.
However viewing figures were not as high as hoped and, despite the production team being delighted with the project at first, Channel 4 changed their attitude to the show once broadcasts were underway. Tim Gardam, head of programmes at Channel 4, told one of the students involved that the films "lacked life and were too mannered to do justice to the strength of character and interest (the production team) had been allowed to document". The channel shortened the series' run by skipping the fifth episode and instead transmitted the season finale on 6 October 2002.
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