I’m deeply honoured to be given the opportunity to continue the legacy of our success and I’m so excited to work alongside her and our amazing school team to keep reaching for the stars.

Thank you for your trust. We’ve got this.

I’m a Headteacher. The work begins!

You’re the best :)

When we understand why teachers act as they do, we can truly support professional growth.

- Check out Sarah and Adam’s work on Sarah’s substack: lnkd.in/eKsU4h5X

- Subscribe to our Coaching Unpacked podcast series from EduPulse: lnkd.in/ePTCubnn

- Surfacing mental models through structured reflection
- Using mental simulation to stretch thinking
- Varying practice to build situational sensitivity

We also emphasise the importance of vulnerability and agency in coaching conversations.

By surfacing and developing teachers’ mental models - the cognitive frameworks that drive decision-making - we can help them move from knowing, to deciding, to doing.

Instructional coaching is powerful, but its true potential lies beyond technique. In our latest article, we argue that coaching should aim to develop adaptive expertise in teachers: the ability to notice, interpret, and act appropriately in ever-changing classroom contexts.

May we continue to make music that builds bridges, uplifts souls and honours the legacy of those, like Saint Thyagaraja, who remind us that music is not just art — it is devotion.

Without devotion, is there any real knowledge of music?

धन्यवा

None more so than founder and headteacher, Sally Alexander Mbe, of my beloved @kimichischool.bsky.social in Acocks Green for taking a chance on me when others turned their backs.

It is important to take this opportunity thank the countless creative individuals and collaborators who have helped shape my journey and my eventual offerings to the world that are being humbly honoured today.

On that day, I was reminded that while our roots may differ, our aspirations through music and the arts are shared; a sentiment that surely cannot ignored on such a wonderful occasion here in our great city.

My journey as a music educator, author and composer has been driven by a simple belief: that music and the arts, indeed knowledge overall, belongs to all of us equity, with equity of access, and that through it, we can find a common humanity in an increasingly divided world.

It's an honour to have been recognised in this way and to spend the time enjoying some excellent Carnatic and Hindustani singing, dancing and instrumental performances with my family by my side.

With huge thanks to Chithra Ramakrishnan, the British Carnatic Choir, ShruthiUK5 and the Birmingham Thyagaraja Festival.

It was also a pleasure to see @MRSDPWAR, Paul Sabapathy and the new High Sheriff Mark Smith.