Old School with the Hairy Bikers

Andy Rixon and Stephen Harrison (Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies), and Dr Jonathan Hughes (Centre for Inclusion and Collaborative Partnerships) are the lead academics on the BBC2 series 'Old School With The Hairy Bikers'.

The Hairy Bikers, Dave Myers and Si King, have a big new challenge ahead of them. At a struggling school in Oxford, they are taking two groups in society often marginalised, at odds and with a range of different challenges – pensioners and teenage pupils – and pairing them up for a term to see if 12 unlikely couples spending time together as equals can transform their difficult lives. The scheme, inspired by projects in the US and Japan, aims to tackle loneliness and promote understanding between the generations.

Full broadcast details, a discussion hub and links to more information on intergenerational practice, misconceptions about age and mentoring/volunteering can be found on OpenLearn.