The Real Ale Classroom, Stoneygate, Leicester

Set in a smart little parade of shops in a Southern suburb of Leicester, this is a rather unusual micropub that has been set up to evoke memories of school days. This seemingly bizarre concept is explained by the fact that the pub is run by a couple of former teachers and there is something to be said for their idea, as it works well as a talking point, allowing punters to wallow in a bit of nostalgia whilst enjoying some great beer. The pub has a compact two room layout with the small servery tucked into the rear right corner of the front room. All beers are racked up behind the short bar counter and a large old school blackboard to one side lists all the beer options including those not yet ready, with ticks next to those that are currently on. Some stools are available along a ledge under the front window and fixed benches run along the left hand wall beneath the blackboard, supplemented by what appear to be old science lab stools. The decor is a bit of a mixed bag and includes some potted plants, test tubes and other bits of scientific equipment, pump clips and a large upturned barrel to rest your pint on. The rear room seemed like a nice cosy spot with more fixed benches and lab stools around two sides of the room, a school desk and low stools to the front and a fireplace with a little stove in it to the left. A large portrait of Thomas Arnold, a former headmaster of Rugby School, takes pride of place above the fire whilst elsewhere there are some great photos and paintings depicting various aspects of pub life. The door frame between the two rooms has been carved with various names, the significance of which was not seemingly explained anywhere and there is a nice Victorian tiled floor corridor leading to the pump clip lined toilet cubicle. There was plenty of good natured chatter between the customers and barman, with much focus on a sheepdog wearing a large cone which was sprawled out in the middle of the pub. Some outdoor seating is also available in the smartly fenced off pavement area to the front of the pub. Scanning the long list of potential beer options, I was able to discern that Anarchy Citrastar, Titanic White Star and Marble Lagonda IPA were available alongside five real ciders. That seemed like a pretty high quality line-up and my pint of Citrastar was in great shape and went down very nicely after a hot walk here from the Cow & Plough. This is a classy (excuse the pun) micropub offering some top quality beer from some of the UK's premier-tier breweries. The classroom concept has been nicely done and came across more as a quirky idea than a cheesy effect - the theme speaks to the typical middle-aged micropub demographic, as I doubt most young drinkers know what a blackboard is. This is a great little pub and worth the detour from the city centre to seek out.

Official site of Real Ale Classroom - www.therealaleclassroom.com

Official site of Real Ale Classroom - www.therealaleclassroom.com