Tom Rowe, 17, adds: "I think everybody benefits from this experience. There are always going to be stereotypes - for public school pupils as much as for these guys - but I don't necessarily think that any of us meets the expectations or prejudices that other people have. It's important to have an idea of how other people live."
Back at the dance class, Donna and Grace are slowly beginning to thaw. It starts with a conversation about food. I ask them what they had for breakfast and Donna breaks out into an unexpected smile. "It were lovely," she says. "She [Grace] had eggs, beans and toast. I had a croissant and it was all free! They've got vending machines with chocolate and everything." Grace nods her head. "I'm starving. Is it break-time soon? I'd like to get a brew." Shortly afterwards they join in with the dance routine for the last 10 minutes of the lesson. Steph is beaming.
It is something of a breakthrough, especially for Donna, who has never been comfortable in a mainstream school environment and has a history of disruptive behaviour. "She is very bright," says Steph. "The thing is she has not yet made the connection between wanting a future and having to modify her behaviour to achieve it."
For Grace, the challenges are slightly different. "I used to love my school," she says, staring down at her unlaced desert boots that look too big for her feet. Her fringe, slightly too long, keeps getting in her eyes. "My favourite subjects were art and design and English." But her school, a state-run boarding institution near Warrington, closed due to lack of funding before Grace got any qualifications. Without anywhere else to go, she ended up at Cool UK, studying for NVQs in English and maths.
At Wellington, Grace proves most comfortable in the classroom. Just before lunchtime, we sit through a GCSE English lesson. There is a large interactive whiteboard showing an excerpt from the film adaptation of The Great Gatsby. The screen is filled with glittering flapper dresses and dancing girls and popping champagne corks. It is hard to think of anything that could be further removed from Grace's daily life. After a while, the teacher asks the class to write a descriptive passage inspired by the film.
