Only a quarter of working class white boys in England reach the country's benchmark education levels when they reach age 16. That is one of the sobering statistics that frames this documentary, which takes on the crisis in education through the journey of a single boy. Harry is an 11-year-old student from a poor section of London who, like his father and grandfather before him, is unable to read or write. He is admitted to Reach Academy, a new, progressive school focused on helping disadvantaged kids left behind in the public school system, and the film follows him over the course of two years as he works with a committed teacher to break the cycle of illiteracy. This is not the usual uplifting portrait of the underdog triumphant. Harry makes early progress and is inspired by his initial success but soon gets bored by school and grows uninterested in his lessons. Filmmakers Edward Owles and Jaime Taylor hang back through it all, observing without interacting, and their camera catches Harry as he becomes increasingly distracted and zones out during lessons. They also observe his English teacher, Sophie, who kindly by firmly engages Harry and his fellow students directly, encouraging them along the way but calling them out when they shirk their lessons. She sees hope for Harry to graduate from the remedial group and join his friends in regular English classes and works with Harry's supportive father, Grant. While there are success stories in the margins (including an inspiring coda that shows Grant himself learning to read and write after decades of illiteracy), Harry's story is more complicated as his progress falters and his focus strays. Did Reach Academy get Harry too late? Is there still hope for some educational success for Harry? While the film makes a case for the approach of Reach Academy as an important new educational tool, it posits more questions than answers by the end. As it should. At only an hour, H is for Harry is unable to address the larger systemic social issues of growing up impoverished but it does offer an unflinching look at one promising attempt to combat educational underachievement. That it is not successful in Harry's case is a sobering reminder that there is no single answer. Be aware that some of the accents are thick and may be difficult to understand. Recommended. Aud: J, H, C. P. (S. Axmaker)