A relatively short-lived drama series based in a secondary school in one of Sydney's more impoverished suburbs, Glenview High focused on teacher Greg Walker, dividing its attention between his work with his students and his homelife with his brother and two flatmates.
Don Storey, in his Classic Australian Television, notes that 'Glenview High frequently looked at the problems faced by city kids preparing for a world of uncertainty, with less opportunity and high unemployment. It also dealt with the frustration of the education system from the point of view of both teachers and students.' Albert Moran, conversely, notes in his Guide to Australian TV Series that 'Glenview High was mildly concerned with social issues in and around school, kids, teachers and parents but with each episode needing to tie its stories up inside the hour, social problems were mostly solvable and social issues were raised but not explored.'
Storey summarises the program as follows:
Grundy's claimed that Glenview High could not be compared to Class of 74/75, a valid statement with which the critics agreed. Glenview was a better product than Class, but it could not be considered an outstanding series: the scripts sometimes lapse into melodrama, with corny and contrived endings, and being produced entirely on video gives it a cheap look.
(Note: Moran mistakenly lists Ken James and Rebecca Gilling as playing teachers, rather than their actual roles of Greg Walker's brother Tom and flatmate/air hostess Robbie Dean.)
