Originally published in 1983, reissued here with a new preface, Tales Out of School presents the experience of seventy young people from different parts of the country, most of whom left school at sixteen and are now either in work, unemployed or in the twilight world of the Youth Opportunities Programme. Through a series of interviews they reflect upon their eleven years of compulsory schooling and the preparation it gave for the world of work, offer their comments and criticize the school institution and processes. Many of them have experienced long periods of unemployment, and their perceptions of the relationship between school and adult life are both revealing and thought-provoking.

The second part of the book initiates a dialogue between pupils and the Establishment by presenting responses to the young people’s comments from well-known adults who were at the time specialists in particular educational fields and who were in a position to have some influence on practice and policy. This unique juxtaposition of the views of both ‘consumers’ and ‘enablers’ provides the basis of a valuable and exciting debate. Today it can be read in its historical context.