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Bromwell High is an adult animation animated series about a British high school in South London. It first aired on Teletoon in Canada and Channel 4 in the United Kingdom (incomplete run). It is a co-production between Hat Trick Productions in the UK and Decode Entertainment in Canada. It was originally to be entitled Streatham Hill, but was renamed Bromwell High in January 2005. Streatham Hill is a real London suburb, while Bromwell is fictional.
Subsequent international purchases have seen the show screened in the United States on BBC America, on The Box in the Netherlands, dubbed to Spanish language and Portuguese on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim in Latin America, on the ABC in Australia, on TVNZ's TV2 in New Zealand, and also dubbed in French for the Canadian Télétoon network.
It stars three troublemaking girls: Keisha, Latrina, and Natella, as they wreak havoc on their impoverished school and its teachers.
The show was designed by David Whittle, who is also responsible for illustrating the popjustice icons series of books.
The show represents a caricatured view of contemporary British society, while "delivering a surreal and outlandish viewing experience." For example, the majority of students at Bromwell High School are immigrant children from the Caribbean and Asia, and some of the male teachers are aging ''. Many of the characters on the show speak a very poor form of English, including the headmaster, Iqbal. Most of the teachers have an affinity for biscuits.
Because the show was intended for both British and Canadian audiences, the characters sometimes use Canadian terms which are different from those heard in Britain. This can sometimes confuse viewers, especially on the occasions when Bromwell is referred to as a "public school"; in Canada, this means a provincial school, open to non-fee paying students, but in the UK, the term refers to a fee-paying, private school which attends the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. In fact, Bromwell would be correctly termed as a state school in Britain.
There are some other differences between the UK and Canadian versions of the show, notably that the UK version has a longer and slightly different version of the opening credits and theme, and the UK broadcasts were in the 16:9 (widescreen) aspect ratio, while the Canadian versions are cropped to a 4:3 picture.
The show is directed by Pete Bishop (who also directed and co-created with Steven Appleby and Frank Cottrell-Boyce the Captain Star TV series) and was created by Anil Gupta, Richard Osman, Richard Pinto, and Sharat Sardana (with Osman, Pinto and Sardana also contributing as writers to the show).
Although he had no formal academic qualifications (he does not believe in science, which he calls "hocus-pocus"), Iqbal rose quickly through the ranks to become Headmaster on the night he won Bromwell High in a poker game.
Since he began his tenure, Bromwell High has consistently succeeded in avoiding closure — testament, surely to the quality of leadership he had provided.
Gregarious and larger than life, Iqbal is not a conventional Headmaster by any stretch. His language is colourful though his understanding of basic grammar is non-existent. He tries to make money any way he can, which often involves illegal and unethical practices. He holds very long meetings and assemblies that are often filled with irrelevant and/or ridiculous anecdotes or performances (known unofficially as "Item 53", due to the fact that in each episode the bizarre story/act is promptly followed by Iqbal saying "Next on our list, item 54..."). He can be manipulative and cocky but beneath the rough exterior lurks a conscience, and occasionally Iqbal surprises everyone with (rare) moments of humanity and pastoral excellence.
Iqbal's Bromwell High file number is 1. He is voiced by Simon Greenall (of I'm Alan Partridge fame).
In his first year, Mr. Bibby came under the spell of an emeritus professor whose study he accidentally wandered into one night thinking it was his own bed. It turned out that it was his own bed and that the "professor" was quite seriously mental. That night, a friendship began that eventually resulted in Mr. Bibby becoming a geography teacher.
Mr. Bibby is the Deputy Head of Bromwell High and the Geography teacher. Extremely articulate and knowledgeable, he has a very professional bearing. However, he is very stern and insensitive, and sometimes evil just for the sake of being evil (he has been known to be friendly with demons, and with Iqbal has links with the slave trade and diamond smuggling in Angola). In one episode he slapped Iqbal in the face just for crying. He is extremely manipulative, and therefore able to commit unethical acts with the Headmaster's consent.
Like the Headmaster, he is insatiably greedy and tries to make money through unethical practices. However, unlike the Headmaster, he is far more calculated when he implements his plans.
Mr. Bibby's Bromwell High file number is 159. He is voiced by Graeme Garden (of The Goodies fame).
He spent three years as a research project for the School of Medicine—his blood pressure was found to be high enough to clean car wheels. He did not die, he only whined continuously. Research on Martin led to the development of Prozac.
Despite the fact that he was, and still is, the only mathematics teacher in the school, it took Martin five years to gain promotion to Head of Mathematics Department. His teaching has been described by Ofsted as 'cocking shite'.
Martin must always be watched. He has the kind of nervous disposition exhibited by people who take high-velocity rifles up clock towers to pick off passers-by. He is a spineless, ineffectual teacher who hates children, his job, and himself. In his late thirties, he is cripplingly middle-class and hides it by living in a Victorian terraced house in the shadow of a council estate in southeast London. He is the bane of Carol's life.
When he teaches he does not discipline his students when they act contemptuously. He is also extremely neuroticism, and at the thought of anything going wrong for him. He does not have a proper teaching qualification; only a certificate in plumbing technology. He often infidelity on his wife, Carol Jackson, although he claims that "using a prostitution is not cheating."
When Martin messes up or does something wrong he often hits himself on the head and says "fuck" even when students are present.
Iqbal's nickname for him is "Mongo" (a variant of "Down syndrome", an offensive term implying mental retardation, derived from the original name given to Down syndrome).
He was born Martin Shitely but took his wife's surname after marriage.
Martin's Bromwell High file number is 657. He is also voiced by Simon Greenall.
She then spent five years at the Amnesty International London office, waiting outside the main entrance. Nobody let her in but she did receive free psychiatric help and eventually accepted that she didn't work for Amnesty International and was in fact a nut.
She later met and married Martin Shitely, who took her name.
Carol is now an English teacher at Bromwell. She is in her 30s, wears organic clothes, and reads the The Guardian. Carol understands people of all races and creeds except her husband Martin. She is discontented with the lack of intimacy and romance in her marriage; this is probably why she competes with Melanie Dickson for the attention of handsome men. She usually responds to Martin doing something stupid or wrong with "Oh, Martin, you idiot."
Carol's Bromwell High file number is 287. She is voiced by Doon Mackichan (from Smack the Pony).
She immediately gained bar work in London and very quickly rose up the ranks to become Bar Manager of "Alcoholiday", an Aboriginal-themed bar in London's Leicester Square.
She moved to Bromwell High thinking it was another themed bar, but within a year she realised that she was Head of Sciences at an inner-city school.
She is an attractive but very rude woman who shows a lack of proper teaching skills. She often taunts and teases people who aren't as pretty as she is, especially Carol.
Originally from Australia, Miss Dickson now teaches all the subjects at Bromwell that nobody else will (History/Science/Music/Etc.) - very poorly. She seldom cares about the subjects she teaches and even Chain smoking during class. She competes with Carol Jackson for the affections of handsome men, mainly because she has an insatiable libido.
Melanie's Bromwell High file number is 349. She is voiced by Tracy-Ann Oberman.
On his way to an interview for a post at Bromwell High, Mr. Philips was caught in the crossfire of a gang-war shoot-out and lost 80 percent of his remaining brain matter.
Mr. Philips is Bromwell High's Physical Education teacher. He is often unaware of his surroundings or current situation, and is therefore utterly ineffective as a teacher. Iqbal refers to him as "the stupid one".
Mr. Phillips' Bromwell High file number is 999. He is voiced by Stephen Merchant.
He studied Theology at Durham University where he obtained a trombone scholarship.
He was ready to enter the Christian clergy by 1990, in a poor east London parish where he felt he could help ease the suffering and assist the poverty stricken. He decided to defer a year and backpack around Thailand instead.
He claims to have written the novel "The Beach", the manuscript of which he says he left in a Bangkok dance bar, possibly in a Bangkok dancer. No one believes him because he has absolutely no proof and is generally considered to be "a lying twat".
Returning to the poverty-stricken East End parish, he was struck by how disgusting it was so he got a job teaching.
Gavin is now the Religious Education teacher at Bromwell High (he considered being a journalist for NME but became a Christian Fundamentalist without having to change his taste in acoustic-based rock). He acts casual in an effort to connect with his pupils, but this is a thinly veiled attempt to convert his students to Christianity. He consistently offends followers of all other faiths.
Gavin's Bromwell High file number is 742. He is voiced by Stephen Mangan.
Bruce was an accomplished rower who took first place in both coxless events. He enjoyed being coxless, as if he were waiting all his life to be without cox.
After teacher training, "Ms." Gosby taught sciences to inmates of Lezzborough Prison, Little Beanflick, Dykeshire. She was dismissed after her involvement in a rooftop protest.
Convicted of inciting a riot, Ms. Gosby was tagged by the police and considered dangerous and psychologically unstable.
She has since been appointed to Head of Biology at Bromwell High, and is also the lunchlady.
Other characters have hinted that she might be transgender.
Ms. Gosby's Bromwell High file number is 123. She is also voiced by Tracy-Ann Oberman.
A UK DVD release was originally planned for early 2006 - in connection with which a 15m 23s Making of Bromwell High short was certified by the British Board of Film Classification as a '15' on 31 January 2006 - but was subsequently cancelled. The thirteen episodes were certified as '15' on 30 August 2006, apart from Keisha's in Love, which was classified as a '12', for the release of the complete series as a two-disc set on 9 October 2006. This release contains all 13 episodes (seven of which have never aired in the UK, and which appear on the second disc erroneously labelled as "Season Two"), and extras include the previously prepared Making of Bromwell High short, deleted scenes and outtakes, commentary on the episode Sweets, and the original animatic storyboard for Baby Boom.
An uncensored Canadian DVD set was released on 19 August 2008 from Phase 4 Films / kaBOOM! Entertainment and Nelvana as Bromwell High - The Complete Season ( Polyvalente Baptiste Huard - La Saison Complète in French). It featured all episodes on two discs, with a rating of 18A under the Canadian Home Video Rating System.
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