In the thirty-second episode of the Just Checking In Podcast we spoke to Headteacher of ThornHill Community Academy School in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, Matthew Burton.
Matthew came into a bit of fame through a little show called ‘Educating Yorkshire’, which was broadcast on Channel 4 in September 2013, after which he became affectionately known as ‘Mr Burton’ to the wider public.
The show focused on the day-to-day life of ThornHill Community Academy School in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire where he was an English Teacher, when the show was filmed.
Stories focused on children and staff alike, from Year 9s struggling to manage school life to stressed-out Year 11s concentrating on their GCSE exams, teenage relationships, fights, bullying and one truly inspirational young lad called Musharaf.
In this pod we talked about the show, how Matt, his colleagues and the students dealt with fame as well as Musharaf and the life-changing story which catapulted them both into the national spotlight.
We also discussed his teaching journey to date, Matt’s experiences of imposter syndrome and fatherhood, including his wife’s miscarriage which occurred shortly before the filming of Educating Yorkshire took place.
Also on the menu was COVID-19 and how it has affected his students lives, particularly GCSE and A-Level students, Matt’s newly published book ‘Go Big: The Secondary School Survival Guide’ as well as his new podcast, ‘Until Further Notice’.
As always, #itsokaytovent
Follow Matt on social media below:
You can purchase Matt’s new book on Amazon here.
Listen to episode of ‘Until Further Notice’ here.
If you have been affected by miscarriage and the discussions on this podcast, access information and support via the Miscarriage Association here or phone 01924 200799 (open Mon-Fri, 9am-4pm)
Music: Patawawa – Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk
