New Doctor Who spin-off series announced

BBC Three have announced the upcoming production of a new eight-part Doctor Who spin-off series.  Class is a drama aimed at young adults which will be set at the fictional Coal Hill School in London.

The show has been created and written by Patrick Ness who is an acclaimed writer of young adult fantasy fiction.  He has recently adapted his own novel A Monster Calls into a major feature film. Some Doctor Who fans may be familiar with Ness for his Fifth Doctor short story Tip of the Tongue: 

The BBC's press release for Class gives no major details on plot or characters but suggests a darker tone than previous spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures:

 "Incredible dangers are breaking through the walls of time and space, and with darkness coming, London is unprotected."

Steven Moffat, who will serve as executive producer for show says:

“No one has documented the dark and exhilarating world of the teenager like Patrick Ness, and now we're bringing his brilliant storytelling into Doctor Who. This is growing up in modern Britain - but with monsters!”

The series is being produced by BBC Cymru Wales in association with BBC Worldwide for BBC Three.   The series will film in and around Wales from spring 2016 and be on later in the year.  Ness has confirmed that Class will also air on BBC One:

          Btw, plan is, "Class" airs on BBC3 online, then on BBC1, at which point the new episode of               "Class" hits BBC3. It's cool.

          — Patrick Ness (@Patrick_Ness) October 2, 2015

Another tweet suggested that the series will not feature the Doctor's current companion Clara Oswald who works as an English teacher at Coal Hill School:

So, going to bed, but: 1. Not the casting director, sorry. 2. Yes, it will definitely air in America. 3. No, no Clara. 4. That's it for now.

— Patrick Ness (@Patrick_Ness) October 1, 2015

Coal Hill School appeared in the very first episode of Doctor Who in 1963.  In An Unearthly Child school teachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright were concerned about the behaviour of their student Susan Foreman.  When Ian and Barbara visited Susan's home address they encountered his mysterious grandfather the Doctor and his time machine the TARDIS.

The school next featured in the 1998 Seventh Doctor story Remembrance of the Daleks.  The school's headmaster (played by Michael Sheard) is under the control of the Daleks who were searching for the Hand of Omega, a powerful Gallifreyan device the First Doctor left in 1960s London before leaving with Susan, Ian and Barbara.

In the fiftieth anniversary special The Day of the Doctor, it was revealed that Clara had become a teacher and was working at Coal Hill.  The school then featured several times throughout last year's series, most significantly in The Caretaker: