This is like the bear Briggs says it is kept in a pit because it is a threat and dangerous. Russell uses this to reflect Briggs’s attitude towards the children. Like the bear he sees them as a threat. If they ‘broke free’ from their limited lifestyles, Briggs would loose authority and they would be equal to or potentially better than him. Russell skilfully uses the bear as a metaphor for the kids. (It represents their situation). Russell uses this to get a message across relating to society and how the middle class deliberately keep the working classes down.

These children need to be set good examples because in this social environment they are impressionable. This shows that Linda has been brought up believing that people in Liverpool can never do exciting things or meet new people. They believe that the cycle of poverty will be endless. Therefore showing that they’ll never escape or break this cycle.Here Russell makes the audience suspect something about Briggs, as we are unsure of what he’s going to do with the film. Maybe briggs character is too set in his ways to change. This comment made by Reilly shows that he is immature and not fully developed for a 15 year old. His attitude is of a little Childs. This could indicate that maybe if Mr Briggs was his teacher, he’d act mature. The original television version was developed into a musical for the stage with songs by Willy Russell, Chris Mellor and Bob Eaton. This production, directed by Bob Eaton, was first performed at the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool in 1983. Russell then wants the audience to think that Briggs is starting to build personal relationships with the students.

Russell has written songs since the early 1960s, and has written the music to most of his plays and musicals. He also co-wrote "The Show", the theme song to the 1985 ITV drama series Connie, which became a top 30 hit for vocalist Rebecca Storm. His first album, Hoovering the Moon, was released in 2003. This comment shows that he thinks badly of everyone. This is therefore setting a bad example to the children. When the children are surrounded around negatively all the time, it is no surprise that they behave badly. Mrs Kay is the only person to be optimistic. Briggs’s eyes are opened by Carol expressing her opinions. He realises the kids see him differently to the way he sees himself. He may teach the examination classes, but he is not necessarily the best teacher. The problem is he thinks he is always right. Therefore he has to keep the children below his level to maintain his power. When he drives past he does exactly what she says- ‘ignores her’. Russell puts this in to make us feel empathy for Carol. He is also emphasising that she is realistic and clever enough to know that he isn’t going to stop. He never will. Showing this scene and ending on it reminds us of the plays beginning. Nothing has changed. Briggs is the same character; the play is just a cycle. Here Russell wants the audience to dislike Briggs because the contrast of him to Mrs Kay shows us what he’s really like: selfish, uncaring, and patronising.Willy Russell had taught at Tiber street school, one of the locations used in the film and called on his experiences of school trips — as a teacher and as a child — when writing the screenplay, which he finished in five days. [2] Mr Briggs has a bad attitude towards other people and the children Mrs Kay greets Mr Briggs ‘good morning’ She has become close to them like a ‘mother hen’. She knows there is no point educating them anyway because they won’t let anyone educate them. She wants them to feel valuable for a change, not just ‘factory fodder’, as she knows they are destined for. Here Briggs uses a stern tone. Russell uses this as a rhetorical question because really Briggs is telling them that they won’t smoke. Later on Russell uses the scene when Briggs and andrews are having a conversation to accentuate the children’s problems. And convey how Briggs doesn’t understand the children’s situations. The attitude that they are given limits the chances they have of better education, future, jobs, socialization and meeting new people.

When the coach finally reaches the Castle, the students race around exploring the grounds, cliffs and beach. Soon it's time to leave but one of the best-behaved students, Carol, is missing. A search ensues and Mr. Briggs finally finds Carol, who is depressed because she doesn't want to return to her troubled family home. She wants a better life and wishes she lived in a nicer area, like the area which surrounds the Castle. She becomes so upset that she threatens to jump off the cliff. Mr. Briggs, who up till this point has acted as a strict disciplinarian, policing the students' bad behaviour and expressing doubts that they should even be allowed to have an outing, shows a more understanding side as he convinces Carol not to jump and to rejoin the rest of the group.Briggs starts to panic here. He ‘stops, astounded’. He’s too scared to move unsure of whether she will jump or not.

He starts to speak to her personally and calls her by her first name. Here Russell wants the audience to start to take a liking to Briggs. The start of a personal relationship with the students is conveyed.The film is about a Liverpool secondary school’s trip to Conwy Castle in North Wales during the 1970s. The school is situated in a deprived district of the city, with the majority of the pupils being from impoverished and troubled families.