Doctor Who is finally getting another spinoff – this time from acclaimed Young Adult writer Patrick Ness (A Monster Calls).

BBC Three’s YA drama Class will be set in the halls of Coal Hill School, where The Doctor’s companions Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright and Clara Oswald have all worked.

The heroes of Coal Hill School are the students themselves, as they fend off threats to London from intergalactic monsters and other scheming baddies.

Class – which airs next year – will be the first television series for Ness, the author behind the wildly popular sci-fi Chaos Walking novels.

Steven Moffat said today (October 1): “No-one has documented the dark and exhilarating world of the teenager like Patrick Ness, and now we’re bringing his brilliant story-telling into Doctor Who. This is growing up in modern Britain – but with monsters!”

“I’m astounded and thrilled to be entering the Doctor Who universe, which is as vast as time and space itself,” Ness added. “There’s so much room there for all kinds of amazing stories, and to work with Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin to find a place to tell one of my own has been an absolute joy.

“I can’t wait for people to meet the heroes of Class, to meet the all-new villains and aliens, to remember that the horrors of the darkest corners of existence are just about on par with having to pass your A-Levels.”

Class will not actually be Ness’s first foray into Doctor Who, having penned the Fifth Doctor e-book Tip of the Tongue for the series’ 50th anniversary a few years ago.

The setting of Coal Hill School for Class harkens back to the beginnings of Doctor Who in 1963.

Two teachers from the school – Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright – actually became the First Doctor’s companions after stumbling upon the TARDIS in pilot episode ‘An Unearthly Child’.

Much more recently, the 12th Doctor’s current companion Clara Oswald has been shown teaching English at Coal Hill.

There is no indication that Clara Oswald will be a part of Class, given that actress Jenna Coleman has announced her departure from Doctor Who.

Doctor Who was previously spun off into the earth-based kids’ series The Sarah Jane Adventures, which saw The Doctor’s former companion Sarah Jane Smith leading a squad of teenage investigators.

Meanwhile, Doctor Who continues on BBC One in the UK and BBC America in the US on Saturday (October 3) with ‘Under the Lake’.

News Source: Digital Spy