Toby Young has admitted that running a school was “harder than he thought” in a huge climbdown ahead of his departure as CEO of a flagship Free School.
The Tory columnist and broadcaster said he had been “arrogant” to presume schools could improve just by having high expectations and said he regrets criticising teachers, state schools and local education authorities.
He set up the West London Free School trust in 2011 as part of Michael Gove’s controversial project which allowed unqualified leaders to set out schools outside of local authority.
Mr Young stepped down as CEO of the school, which was opened by Boris Johnson five years ago.
In an interview with Schools Week, he said: “There are lots of things I regret. I was very critical of England’s public education system under the last Labour government, and I hadn’t grasped how difficult it is to do better, and to bring about system-wide improvement.
The writer, who authored How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, said he plans to spend more time as a journalist but will stay on as a director for the trust in a voluntary role.
He added: “As someone coming into education from the outside, the bits you see of other schools are only the tip of the iceberg. You think, ‘well, I could do better than that’, as you are pointing to the tip of the iceberg, without realising how much more there is to it.”
Since opening the secondary school with 120 children, the West London Free Schools Trust has expanded across three additional schools and a sixth form.
The chain is currently advertising for a full time CEO to replace Mr Young.
