Filmed in the industrial east Manchester district of Miles Platting, the tough school culture is very similar to the previous year's Kes. Until the age was raised to 16 in 1974, pupils could leave school at 14, and through economic and social pressure, as well as limited other options, they usually would leave, finding a starter job in one of the local factories, the rest of their learning taking place on the workfloor. We see a Manchester that any 60s revolution passed by - boys schooling was to prepare them for the inevitable life of hard work at the local factories, limited leisure options coming by way of sport and drinking.
We're introduced to Latimer in the lively art class run by Max Fielder, one that engages the boys much more than the others we see, as they're told off and insulted by frustrated elder teachers who'd surely rather be teaching elsewhere. His keenness to stay on after the lesson ends is both an interest in art, and an avoidance the playground, where early on, he's launched into and given a debagging by the other boys. When questioned as to why they single out Latimer, the boys admit later that they don't like Latimer because he looks too long at them in the changing rooms. Following another beating by the school bullies, Latimer is pressured against his will into attending the Christmas party, mainly for the sake of 'joining in'.
That Max and Latimer's sexuality is never confirmed and left ambiguous is a great strength of this play. It can therefore be read both as the difficulty and hostility experienced when growing up gay in an unsympathetic community, a toxic environment fostered by the teachers, but also the culture of working class conformity and peer pressure, the singling out of those who are a bit different, where being artistic or introvert, or just not going with the flow, will have you condemned as 'gay', regardless of your actual sexuality.
Roll on Four O'Clock was initially broadcast in December 1970 as part of ITV's Saturday Night Theatre series, but appears to have gained much of it's reputation as a genuine time capsule of life in a part of Manchester (redeveloped out of all recognition shortly after filming) from a BB2 screening in December 1992. It does not appear to have received an official re-release, but it's from this TV broadcast where you can find the uploads on YouTube.