Blog

Working on Rekindle has been one of the greatest honours of my life so far. If you’re passionate about educational change then building an incredible school would be the dream. It is not just the dream that I am most grateful for though: it has also been the team behind it. The […]

As a country we have become desensitised to an education system that fails so many young people: those from disadvantaged backgrounds, those from minority ethnic groups and those who have become disillusioned with a system that is no longer fit for purpose. Rekindle aims to reimagine education, re-engage young people and revitalise […]

Remember your school council? Invariably composed of kids with pushy parents telling them this would “look great” on their university applications? The clipboard-clutchers would conduct surveys about the canteen baguettes and organise a rad non-uniform day. (£1) Adults knew the secret about school councils: they were invariably toothless entities that served only […]

Growing up on the Holmewood estate, in Bradford, I saw how even the smallest amount of encouragement can have an overwhelming positive impact on someone’s life. A lot of young working-class people haven’t had the opportunity to express just how brilliant they could be because they don’t see the support they need […]

I’ve never been naturally academic. At school I struggled with the structure, the random cruelty of a 1970s South Manchester state primary school and the seemingly unseen background trauma of a deeply abusive home life. I was never excluded from school, at least formally, but I didn’t feel part of it and […]