Four controversial and thought-provoking eighties dramas penned by critically acclaimed actor turned writer/director David Leland make their High Definition debut in Tales Out of School – 4 Plays by David Leland (18).

Originally broadcast on ITV, then Channel 4 and commissioned by the producer of Scum, Margaret Matheson, this series of controversial dramas paint a shocking picture of Thatcher's Britain and how individuals within society cope with social breakdown. These provocative dramas were made before Leland would go on to make films like Mona Lisa and BAFTA-winning Wish you Were Here. Within the current socio-political climate and the ongoing debate about the British education system, Leland's work is just as relevant to a contemporary audience.

Made in Britain
Directed by Alan Clarke, Tim Roth makes his TV debut in Clarke's acclaimed drama as a hate-filled teenage skinhead on a self-destructive campaign destined to lead to permanent incarceration. Winner of the Prix Italia in 1983 for Best Screenplay.

Birth of a Nation
Featuring Jim Broadbent, the play dramatises the conflict between old, authoritarian teaching methods and the more relaxed approach of progressive educationalists. Winner of the Prix Futura.

Flying into the Wind
Graham Crowden stars in a play depicting the battle between parents who want to home-educate their children and the local education authority.

R.H.I.N.O.
The harrowing story of Angela, a disenfranchised young black girl living in 1980s London, and her encounters with a well-meaning but often ineffectual social system.

Tales Out of School – 4 Plays by David Leland will be released as a 2-disc set on UK DVD and Blu-ray on 4th July 2011 by Network at the RRP of £24.99 for the DVD and £29.99 for the Blu-ray.

Special features (which will be in high definition on the Blu-ray release) will be:

• Digging for Britain – writer David Leland and other cast and crew reflect on the making of Made in Britain (directed by Alan Clarke), the final film in the Tales Out of School quartet;
• Twice Told Tales – writer David Leland, producer Margaret Matheson and a group of high school pupils look back at Tales Out of School 30 years on;
• Image gallery (including stills of the deleted ending of Made in Britain where Trevor gets locked up;
• 36-page booklet by Alan Clarke biographer David Rolinson.