How a Southend school tackled misogyny and became a happier place

When hard-hitting British drama Adolescence was first screened last year, it was lauded as a TV masterpiece Netflix subsequently made it free to watch for classes in secondary schools, and the prime minister said it had "lit a touch paper" for discussions about social media, misogyny and the so-called manosphere. For many schools, it opened up a Pandora's box of challenges, but one school in Essex was ahead of the game. In February last year, Ofsted rated Chase High School in Southend-on-Sea as inadequate and placed it in special measures. The report made for very uncomfortable reading. "Pupils regularly experience bullying, racial, sexual and homophobic discrimination," inspectors wrote. Girls were "routinely discriminated against" by boys; staff did not always intervene; and "too many pupils" would "suffer in silence", including after experiencing sexual harassment. However, before the report was published, staff got to work. The school implemented its own specialist training and has run numerous workshops and events, championing gender equality and questioning the definitions of masculinity. In March this year, Ofsted said "bullying, sexist and discriminatory behaviour" was rare