A headteacher in one of the UK's most deprived areas has revealed how he turned his school around, despite pandemic pressures, as he defended criticism of the younger generation.
James Eldon is celebrating this week after seeing his school Manchester Academy win a major teaching award for his efforts to turn it around.
Mr Eldon, who has been in teaching for 30 years - 12 of which as a head - was awarded 'secondary leader of the year' at Wednesday's Education Business Awards.
The accolade comes after the school finally achieved a 'Good' rating from Ofsted in November. Before that, the watchdog had consistently told it to improve after inspections in 2019 and 2016.
But the journey has not been an easy one.
Joining the school in 2018, Mr Eldon said morale was poor, with a high staff turnaround and students stuck in a trap of low expectations.
Situated in Moss Side, Manchester Academy teaches young people from 60 nationalities with 40 different languages.
With a reputation for turning around the fortunes of troubled schools - such as the city's Manchester Enterprise Academy and MEA Central - Mr Eldon took on the school to do the very same.
Speaking to The Mirror, the principal said: "Back in 2018, the school was having challenges but it really just had a period of leadership turbulence.
"It wasn't that it was complete chaos, it just needed consistency and bringing in some great staff. It was mostly supply teachers et cetera, and that's nobody's fault, but it has been a challenge as it was a tough school."
The head had to implement strict measures to turn it around; most notably buckling down on pupils' behaviour and bringing in more support for them in the classrooms to bolster grades.
"There was one particularly tough day during Covid when we had 25 teachers absent," he said.
"That was the worst week of the pandemic - really difficult, because we were really stretched but the priority is to keep the school open.
The award was handed to Mr Eldon for his personal efforts, but he has dedicated the accolade to his colleagues and pupils.
He joked: "The students have joked whether I'll be doing an open-top bus tour to celebrate the win, but I've had to tell them that unfortunately I won't be doing a Jack Grealish."
Teachers across the UK continue to battle an education crisis right now, as strikes over pay continue and some staff are left digging into their own pockets to pay for basic supplies.
"You have to dig deep and be resilient," he said in a sage message to other struggling teachers.
"But what it gives back - I can't think of any professions, maybe medicine or nursing - where it gives back so much.
"I feel really sad sometimes when I hear people saying, 'why would anyone want to do that?'
"I just think with this it's like you have a constant portable battery charger.
"You could be walking around on a tough day, then one student will start chatting to you about the football or you'll end up talking to them about their history and all of a sudden you'll come away and think, 'oh right - that's why I'm doing this'."
Pressure has mounted on schools watchdog Ofsted has mounted in recent months amidst complaints the stress of impending visits is having a devastating impact on the sector.
The organisation faced an outcry earlier this year after Berkshire headteacher Ruth Perry died as a "direct result of pressure" over a damning inspection.
"There just needs to be empathy there, really," Mr Eldon added.
"Different schools are on different journeys, based on the community they are in and the challenges they're up against.
"There is a lack of consistency across inspections - I've heard stories about different things happening during inspections and different treatment.
"Inspectors should bear in mind what we're up against rather than there being one national average."
Having now taught two generations, he said Gen Z in particular had been "shaped by historic times" and should be recognised for their "resilience" despite unfair press.
"I think it's really hard to be a young person in 2023," said Mr Eldon.
"There's a whole set of things to absorb and cope with that I never had growing up, and I think all those things can be negative and can have pressures.
"But at the same time, these young people are amazing. Just look at the way the generation coped with a global pandemic - I just think they're really quite remarkable and actually quite inspiring.
"You might feel it was quite unfair after that experience, but they've just gritted their teeth and worked really hard."
Mr Eldon added: "I do think the future is in really good hands and, in some areas like climate change, they are probably ahead of us.
"As a generation they are fantastic and we don't hear enough about it."
