A former Bolton headteacher has called for a “revolution” in education following his TV appearance with former pupil and now successful comedian, actor and writer Sophie Willan.
Sophie, star of the BAFTA award-winning BBC sitcom Alma’s Not Normal, was reunited with her former teacher Frank Vigon on ‘Would I Lie to You?’ when she had to explain that he once he kicked her out of school for “arriving in a bikini”.
Mr Vigon, the now retired former head of Turton School in Bromley Cross, says he has been “inundated with wonderful messages and humbled by them” following his appearance on BBC’s comedy panel show.
READ MORE: Sophie Willan and ex-Turton School head on Would I Lie To You
And while in the limelight, he has taken the opportunity to lay out his frustrations at an education system that “wasn’t right” for Willan.
He said: “Sophie Willan is living proof that there are more ways to success than we realise and I am proud of her achievements
“School wasn't right for her. She needed a different structure that education even today does not recognise in oh so many students.
“The answer is not new syllabuses and more teaching, the answer lies in institutional change and a wider variety of educational experience than the one size fits all.
“Politicians tinker with education and my experience is than when people tinker with a design they rarely improve it but rather make it even more ineffective.
READ MORE: Alma's Not Normal star Sophie Willan is new patron of Bolton's Backup Northwest
“Give us the resources and stop tinkering. We need revolution.”
Mr Vigon says the education needs better funding, more teachers, smaller class sizes, and less and more efficient teaching time.
He advocates a four-day week for teaching and one day for activities and development programmes.
He would also like to see one day for teacher preparation and marking, and early closure on Friday afternoons, amongst others changes.
Willan, who was recently bestowed an honorary degree from the University of Bolton, is also a patron for Backup Northwest – a Bolton-based charity for young people at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
READ MORE: Alma's Not Normal star Sophie Willan honoured by University of Bolton
Mr Vigon says he would love to claim that she is an example of their success, “but no, she is an example of what you can do if the system rejects and doesn't understand your needs”.
He added: “Sophie is her own person. We didn't always get it right for her, but the spark was there and some of her very gifted teachers spotted it and gave her those few minutes of encouragement that made all the difference.
“But she did most of it on her own with determination and sheer hard work.”
And the head says despite his retirement he is very much still fighting for education.
The show can be watched on BBC iPlayer.
If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at lewis.finney@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @lewisfinney18.
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