William Atkinson (teacher)

Last updated

Sir
William Atkinson
DL
Born(1950-04-09)9 April 1950
OccupationEducator
Years active1971–2014 [1]
Known forHead teacher of Phoenix High School

Sir William Atkinson DL (born 9 April 1950) [2] is a Jamaican-born [1] British head teacher who 'turned around' Phoenix High School, a secondary school near White City, London. [3] He also contributed to Channel 4's The Unteachables , and was the inspiration behind Lenny Henry's character in the 1999 BBC TV series Hope and Glory . [2] [4] He is a graduate of King's College London (MA, 1980), and has helped many students with their lives.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Ferguson</span> Scottish football manager (born 1941)

Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time and has won more trophies than any other manager in the history of football. Ferguson is often credited for valuing youth during his time with Manchester United, particularly in the 1990s with the "Class of '92", who contributed to making the club one of the richest and most successful in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angus Deayton</span> English television presenter, actor, writer, and comedian (born 1956)

Gordon Angus Deayton is an English actor, writer, musician, comedian and broadcaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Curtis</span> British filmmaker (born 1956)

Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis is a British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Notting Hill (1999), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Love Actually (2003), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), About Time (2013), and Yesterday (2019). He is also known for the drama War Horse (2011) and for having co-written the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean, and The Vicar of Dibley. His early career saw him write material for the BBC's Not the Nine O'Clock News and ITV's Spitting Image.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lenny Henry</span> British actor and comedian (born 1958)

Sir Lenworth George Henry is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Hurt</span> British actor (1940–2017)

Sir John Vincent Hurt was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in the world". He possessed what was described as the "most distinctive voice in Britain". He received numerous awards including the BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award in 2012 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2015 for his services to drama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westminster School</span> Public school in Westminster, England

Westminster School is a public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as documented by the Croyland Chronicle and a charter of King Offa. Continuous existence is clear from the early 14th century. Its academic results place it among the top schools nationally; about half its students go to Oxbridge, giving it the highest national Oxbridge acceptance rate. In the 2023 A-Levels, the school saw 82.3% of its candidates score A*/A.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Straw</span> British politician (born 1946)

John Whitaker Straw is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary from 1997 to 2001, and Foreign Secretary from 2001 to 2006 under Blair. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Blackburn from 1979 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Moffat</span> Scottish television writer and producer (born 1961)

Steven William Moffat is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as the second showrunner and head writer of the 2005 revival of the BBC sci-fi television series Doctor Who, and co-creating and co-writing the contemporary crime drama television series Sherlock, based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. In the 2015 Birthday Honours, Moffat was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Duncan</span> British politician (born 1957)

Sir Alan James Carter Duncan is a British former politician who served as Minister of State for International Development from 2010 to 2014 and Minister of State for Europe and the Americas from 2016 to 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rutland and Melton from 1992 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Willis</span> British politician

George Philip Willis, Baron Willis of Knaresborough is a politician in the United Kingdom. He is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords, and was Member of Parliament (MP) for Harrogate and Knaresborough from 1997 until retiring at the 2010 general election. Up to that date he was the chair of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fettes College</span> School in Edinburgh, Scotland

Fettes College is a co-educational private boarding and day school in Craigleith, Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in 1983. In 1978 the College had a nine-hole golf course, an ice-skating rink used in winter for ice hockey and in summer as an outdoor swimming pool, a cross-country running track and a rifle shooting range within the forested 300-acre grounds. Fettes is sometimes referred to as a public school, although that term was traditionally used in Scotland for state schools. The school was founded with a bequest of Sir William Fettes in 1870 and started admitting girls in 1970. It follows the English rather than the Scottish education system and has nine houses. The main building, called the Bryce Building, was designed by David Bryce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian McGeechan</span> British Lions & Scotland international rugby union player

Sir Ian Robert McGeechan, OBE is a retired Scottish rugby union player, coach and teacher. Born in Leeds, McGeechan represented Headingley as his only club during a 15-year club career, qualifying for Scotland through his father he played 32 times internationally for Scotland over 7 years and won 8 caps on two tours for the British & Irish Lions. During his playing career he worked as a teacher. Upon retiring from player McGeechan began coaching, in a career spanning 26 years he coached the most recent Scottish side to win a Grand Slam in the 1990 Five Nations Championship, and won Premiership Rugby & the European Cup with London Wasps in 2008 & 2007. He was head coach on four tours for the British & Irish Lions spanning 1989 to 2009 and was an assistant to the 2005 tour as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Woodhead</span> Former teacher and Chief Inspector of Schools

Sir Christopher Anthony Woodhead was a British educationalist. He was Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in England from 1994 to 2000, and was one of the most controversial figures in debates on the direction of English education policy. He was Chairman of Cognita, a company dedicated to fostering private education, from 2004 to 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Kermode</span> English film critic

Mark Kermode is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter, author and podcaster. He is the co-presenter, with Ellen E. Jones, of the BBC Radio 4 programme Screenshot and co-presenter of the film-review podcast Kermode & Mayo's Take alongside long-time collaborator Simon Mayo. He is a regular contributor to The Observer, for which he was chief film critic between September 2013 and September 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Winton</span> British banker and humanitarian (1909–2015)

Sir Nicholas George Winton was a British stockbroker and humanitarian who helped to rescue Jewish children who were at risk of being murdered by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. Born to German-Jewish parents who had immigrated to Britain at the beginning of the 20th century, Winton assisted in the rescue of 669 children, most of them Jewish, from Czechoslovakia on the eve of World War II. On a brief visit to Czechoslovakia, he helped compile a list of children needing rescue and, returning to Britain, he worked to fulfill the legal requirements of bringing the children to Britain and finding homes and sponsors for them. This operation was later known as the Czech Kindertransport.

Drayton Manor High School, formerly Drayton Manor Grammar School, is an academy school located in Hanwell, west London, England. The school was granted academy status in August 2011. Its emblem is a phoenix rising from a crown with the legend 'Nec Aspera Terrent', which means 'hardships do not deter us'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoenix Academy, Shepherd's Bush</span> Academy in London, England

Phoenix Academy is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in White City area of Shepherd's Bush, London, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rowan Atkinson</span> English actor and comedian (born 1955)

Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles in the sitcoms Blackadder (1983–1989) and Mr. Bean (1990–1995), and in the film series Johnny English (2003–2018). Atkinson first came to prominence on the BBC sketch comedy show Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979–1982), receiving the 1981 British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Heywood</span> British civil servant (1961–2018)

Jeremy John Heywood, Baron Heywood of Whitehall, was a British civil servant who served as Cabinet Secretary to David Cameron and Theresa May from 2012 to 2018 and Head of the Home Civil Service from 2014 to 2018. He served as the Principal Private Secretary to Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown from 1999 to 2003 and 2008 to 2010. He also served as Downing Street Chief of Staff and the first Downing Street Permanent Secretary. After he was diagnosed with lung cancer, he took a leave of absence from June 2018, and retired on health grounds on 24 October 2018, receiving a life peerage; he died a fortnight later on 4 November 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Roache</span> British actor

William Patrick Roache is an English actor, best known for playing Ken Barlow in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Roache is the longest-serving cast member in Coronation Street having appeared in the show continuously since its first broadcast on 9 December 1960. He is listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest-serving television star in a continuous role.

References

  1. 1 2 "William Atkinson (Sir)". Gordon Poole Agency. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Profile - William Atkinson". Association of Teachers and Lecturers. Archived from the original on 25 October 2007. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
  3. "Phoenix head given a knighthood". BBC News. 13 June 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
  4. Wilby, Peter (7 April 2009). "Britain's most successful headteacher after turning around 'the worst school in the country'. What is William Atkinson's magic formula?". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 7 April 2009.