School's In: Why it's never been so good to be young at heart

They say your school days are the best days of your life. A period in time that you can never relive, just remember fondly (in some cases). They lied. In 2008, we're all cool enough for school again – or, at least, that's what the BBC think.

On Tuesday, the broadcaster unveiled Coming of Age - another programme to add to the growing list of school-based dramas that have graced our screens in recent years. But before we all go and dig out our yearbooks again, isn't it time someone asked just why we're subject to all this pre-adolescent TV? And more to the point, does anyone actually want to see what life is like from a teenager's perspective?

"Well actually, Yes sir, I do."

I have to admit, I was intrigued when it was revealed that Coming of Age had been commissioned for BBC3's autumn schedule. Not because the seal on the envelope containing Grange Hill's letter of expulsion had barely stuck, but because this is a school drama written by a teenager for teenagers, and, if its 10.30pm time slot suggests anything, the rest of us as well.

In the first episode we were introduced to our hapless and horrendously horny bunch as they prepared to embark on their final year of sixth form. Although a little rough around the edges – I'm not sure if the word "shagnificant" will make it into the dictionary anytime soon - 19-year-old Tim Dawson's writing provided a frivolous look at adolescence. At all times you could have cut the testosterone with a knife. Romances were kindled, re-kindled, consummated and debated – all of which left little time for actual learning. But isn't that the point?

You only need to take a look at the alternatives to see that the last thing we want our school dramas to do is actually teach us something. Waterloo Road, which has given Neil Morrissey's career a sort of rebirth, is really a study of teachers' relationships with their co-workers, as was Channel 4's Teachers. The Inbetweeners, meanwhile, like Coming of Age, is another show about teenagers' schoolyard hijinks. And a fabulous one, I might add. Just about every example from America – from Saved By The Bell to Boy Meets The World – also plays by the same textbook: a second wasted in the classroom is a potential chance of love spurned.

And that's exciting to watch. We all love TV when it exaggerates experiences we've all been through, especially memories from our childhood. Although it's the time when we form most of the foundations of our future, it's also when we live without inhibition. These programmes all magnify that.

Whether or not Coming of Age proves to be a winner for the BBC remains unclear. While it could turn out to be a shining star for the broadcaster, it could just as easily find itself sitting in the Headmasters office come the end of term. One thing is certain though; there will be another school drama waiting to take its place. Every year has one.