[1] In a boys' grammar school in Sheffield in 1983, students Crowther, Posner, Dakin, Timms, Akthar, Lockwood, Scripps, and Rudge have recently obtained the school's highest-ever A-Level scores and are hoping to enter Oxford or Cambridge, by taking a seventh-term entrance exam in History.

At the conclusion of each class, Hector offers a lift to one of the students on his motorbike and it is generally known (and initially dismissed as a joke) that he touches them inappropriately on the ride.

Dakin then proceeds to the Headmaster's office and, by threatening to reveal Felix's own sexual harassment of Fiona, forces him to reinstate Hector.

Dakin gladly hands the helmet to him, and the screen fades to white as they drive off, the boys waving happily and laughing.

Rudge is a builder, Scripps a journalist, and Irwin makes history TV programmes, though Mrs Lintott says they are more journalism.

The final shot shows the boys and teachers standing at the field trip lawn, with Hector's voice encouraging them to "pass it on".

[2] Rolling Stone notes that some sense of familiarity with the subject of the film is lost in the cutting of nearly an hour from the original play, but the dialogue remains witty and pointed as is the customary style of the author.

Nick Clark of The Independent wrote, "Bennett raised eyebrows with his sympathetic portrayal of Hector, the teacher forced to step down for fondling his teenage pupils".

[7] David Batty of The Guardian strongly criticised the film stating he "came away bristling with annoyance at its romanticised portrayal of Hector, a teacher who serially gropes the teenage boys in his study group."

Or is the audience meant to excuse Hector's behaviour on the grounds that he grew up in an age when homosexuality was repressed...Whatever the intention, the misty-eyed, nostalgic tone seems totally unsuited to addressing such a thorny topic.

"[8] The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures named The History Boys one of the Top Ten Films in its 2006 awards.