Nearly a year ago I became chair of an inspiring education charity, The New School. Lucy, our amazing founder, and her brilliant team have set up and are successfully running an independent (no fees) primary school in Croydon for 72 kids. It’s secret sauce is its focus on agency, empathy and wellbeing, making it incredibly inclusive. It instils confidence, engagement and hope in children for whom mainstream schooling just doesn’t work.

The school remains heavily over-subscribed, has an Ofsted Good rating and independent research from the University of Nottingham showed that it generates social value of £2.40 for every £1 spent. All in two years from scratch during Covid.

Crucially, the school is a model for how mainstream schooling can be transformed. We’re working closely with local authorities, foundations and social investors to create a new financial, as well as educational blueprint, so our secret sauce can change learning and lives throughout the UK in time.

For this model to work, we do need donors to back us. For my 50^th birthday, I’m getting behind Mike Budd. Lucy’s husband, and his team on their 55-mile bike ride from London to Brighton.