ALAN Bennett just has a way of telling a story – and The History Boys, it has to be said, is no exception. Here he weaves a story around a group of public school students all in need of a place of university – and the need of the headmaster that he can pr

ALAN Bennett just has a way of telling a story - and The History Boys, it has to be said, is no exception.

Here he weaves a story around a group of public school students all in need of a place of university - and the need of the headmaster that he can produce candidates for Oxbridge.

Bennett, as usual, makes a social comment on education and he compares one system of teaching history with another.

Certainly his comments would be recognised in educational circles.

But there is, too, the usual Bennett wit: the way of turning the drama into an almost comic scene with brilliant effect.