Beat the Teacher facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Beat the Teacher
Genre	Children's Game show
Created by	Clive Doig
Presented by	Howard Stableford (1984) Paul Jones (1985–6) Bruno Brookes (1987–8)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	5
No. of episodes	164
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Release
Original network	BBC1
Picture format	4:3
Original release	24 September 1984 (1984-09-24) – 27 October 1988 (1988-10-27)

Beat the Teacher was a fun British game show made for children. It was shown on BBC1 from 1984 to 1988. The show had different hosts over the years. Howard Stableford started in 1984. Then Paul Jones took over from 1985 to 1986. Finally, Bruno Brookes hosted from 1987 to 1988.

How Beat the Teacher Was Played

Each episode of Beat the Teacher featured two players. One player was a school student. The other player was a teacher. Both had to answer general knowledge questions. They also solved logic puzzles.

The Noughts and Crosses Board

When a player answered a question correctly, they earned moves on a giant Noughts and Crosses board. This board was made of rotating cubes. Harder questions gave more moves. Players could earn one, two, or three moves. A buzzer decided who got to answer the question first. After answering correctly, the player chose which blocks to turn.

For example, if a square showed a "nought", one turn would make it blank. Two turns would change it to a "cross". Three turns made it blank again. On the fourth turn, it would go back to a "nought".

Players used smart moves to create lines of noughts or crosses. They earned points for each line. Each horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line was worth 10 points.

Special Joker Card and Bonuses

There was a special "joker card" that could be used once per game. Either player could use it. When played, it flipped every square on the board. All crosses became noughts, and all noughts became crosses.

Players also got a bonus for filling the whole board with noughts or crosses. After this bonus, all squares on the board would mix up randomly.

Question Types and Prizes

The questions were often puzzles. Some were "true or false" questions. Other times, players had to "identify the picture".

The player with the most points at the end won the game. They became the champion and went to the "final" round. For the final round, the board was cleared. The winner had to answer nine questions correctly in 60 seconds. If they did, they won a prize! Whether they won the prize or not, they were invited back for the next episode. If a contestant didn't win, they often received a "Beat the Teacher" Failure Mug as a small prize.

Champions and Series Finals

If a contestant won five games in a row, they would "retire" as an undefeated champion. However, this rule changed for the last series. In that series, one contestant won thirteen episodes before finally being defeated!

At the end of each series, the best four students and best four teachers returned. They competed in quarter-final games. These players were chosen based on how many games they won and their total scores.

Series Broadcast Dates

The show ran for five series. Here's when they were broadcast: