Summer
2014
moments. Thinking I was going to be
there for just the two years, I tried to do
everything I possibly could. The school
were brilliant in allowing me to set up
the debating club, manage the Year 9
football team, take two separate trips to
Cambridge and one to Parliament, as well
as run Twelve Angry Men as a school play.
The students made it what it was. They
expected so little and were immensely
grateful for the opportunities.
However, just before the two years came
to a conclusion I became increasingly
aware of a “what next?” problem, not only
for school leavers but also for myself. For
them, there was no Sixth Form at the school
and all the students tended to go to one
of the two large local colleges to pursue
vocational provision. A handful tried to
get into a Sixth Form school in the more
aºuent south-west of the city. It didn’t feel
right, particularly as for me progression
from Fifth Form to Lower Sixth barely even
registered as an issue. Following some
research I soon found out that there were
ten (yes, ten!) other local secondary schools
with the same problem. North She
eld
had almost nothing by way of focused,
academic Sixth Form provision – just two
big colleges. It was then and there that
the idea for Chapeltown Academy was
born – a new, small, 16-19 academic Sixth
Form focused on helping students in North
She
eld and the surrounding area get to
university and succeed thereafter.
From a personal perspective I made
the heart-wrenching decision to leave
Yewlands after two unforgettable years
to take up a training contract with one of
the city of London’s big law firms (it was
a contract I had deferred in order to “do”
Teach First). It was a tough call as I loved
my time there and wanted nothing more
than to stay. In any case I felt I ought to
start the training contract. I tried to manage
the writing of the bid to open Chapeltown
Academy in 2014 at the same time. Some
co-Teach Firsters, university colleagues
and brilliant educationalists helped out in
putting together our bid. A certain Michael
Bond, familiar to many OMTs I’m sure, was
instrumental in providing guidance. But
ultimately the Training Contract dragged.
Despite the supportiveness of the firm
I desperately missed the language, the
students and the responsibility. These
factors, combined with my desire to put
everything I had into the bid to open
Chapeltown Academy, meant I only lasted
a couple of months in the City. I had to
resign. For six weeks I moved back to
Northwood (chez Mum and Dad) and
worked full time on writing our bid. After
Christmas, I swiftly found another part-
time languages job inWest Yorkshire and
moved back to the county to build the
groundswell of parental support we needed
to demonstrate in order to add weight to
our case. After the 150-page document had
been tweaked, honed and submitted the
DfE interviewed us in April 2013 and the
following month we were one of 102 free
schools in the country, and the only one in
She
eld, to be approved by the Secretary
of State to move into the pre-opening
phase. Apart from a somewhat numb
feeling for a couple of weeks after getting
the good news, it has been incredibly busy
ever since.
As a free school we were (and in some
senses continue to be) opposed on
ideological grounds. We are also opposed
by those with an interest in protecting
the status quo. But politics isn’t our worry.
Rather it is about giving the young people
in North She
eld a local opportunity
that they currently do not have. And they
are a fantastic bunch. We have young
people who are destined (with the right
support) for great things. They are, inter
alia, artists, linguists, writers, scientists,
mathematicians, diplomats and economists
all in need of what we are about to give
them. We’re well on the way to getting
there. The team, albeit small, is highly-
skilled and very experienced. Parents,
students, businesses, and universities are
increasingly and continuously getting
behind what we’re trying to do. On the
ground our team includes Jack Joseph (an
old colleague from university and former
PwC associate) and we have now recruited
a very impressive woman, Mrs Rebecca
Maxted, to be our inaugural Head Teacher.
The rest of the sta will follow.
It is now 2014 and Brazil is around the
corner. Four years ago I was about to set
foot into the classroom to face some young
people who I had little idea how to deal
with, let alone teach. Four years later, those
very same young people are applying
to study at Chapeltown Academy, an
institution which they inspired and which
will hopefully inspire them to achieve what
their potential demands and deserves.
Chapeltown Academy is looking for undergraduate
coaches and business mentors to support its
students and anything the Taylors’ community can
provide would be most welcome. For more info or if
think you can oer support, please email Ali -
ajaer@chapeltownacademy.co.uk
Rather it is about
giving the young
people in North
Sheffield a local
opportunity that
they currently do
not have.
