One Teacher, A Camper Van, Britain's Toughest Schools
Charlie Carroll is a successful young teacher in a great school. He loves his job, but he wants to see the tougher side of British education. So he hands in his notice, takes to the road in a beat-up old camper van and spends a year travelling round England's most deprived areas, supply teaching in dozens of the country's roughest comprehensives.
Carroll is battered and bewildered by what he finds: pupils threaten and abuse him, deal drugs, flash knives, surf the internet for porn and fight in class. Often, lessons are more about riot control than learning.
Above all, it's the lack of sanctions and support that shocks him. He's almost broken by the experience, but just occasionally - in the most surprising of places - he comes across inspiring kids who are battling to beat the odds.
This is his frank, funny and frightening story of a journey to the edge of modern education.
"A remarkable account ... well worth a read if you can stomach the constant misery of his existence as a supply teacher. Like some kind of educational suicide bomber, Charlie loads up his van and scours the British Isles in search of adventure, or death ...This book is packed full of all sorts of statistics that you'll find fascinating if you're interested in education. And you'll enjoy the running commentary given by Charlie, telling it as it is, from a real teacher, on the frontline ... On the Edge is a must-read." - Katharine Birbalsingh, The Telegraph
"I enjoyed and was gripped by On the Edge, but it scared me." - TES
"Charlie Carroll tells his story, in a shocking but humorous diary." - The Guardian
"Exposes a system that leaves teachers vulnerable and allows children to run amok" - The Times
"A profoundly shocking book" - Daily Mail
"Paints a terrifying picture ... [an] important read." - TES
