Educating Yorkshire TV head Jonny Mitchell to leave Thornhill

Jonny Mitchell, the head teacher made famous by the Educating Yorkshire TV series is to leave Thornhill Community Academy to take up a new job at a school in Leeds.
Jonny Mitchell is to leave Thornhill Community Academy.Jonny Mitchell is to leave Thornhill Community Academy.
Jonny Mitchell is to leave Thornhill Community Academy.

He is to become the principal of the Co-operative Academy in Leeds from September.

Mr Mitchell said he was proud to have led Thornhill but felt that the time was right for a new challenge.

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The school and Mr Mitchell shot to fame in 2013 as they featured in the hit series Educating Yorkshire on Channel 4.

The documentary which was a follow up to Educating Essex attracted huge audiences and his since won a raft of awards. It made household names of Mr Mitchell and some of his colleagues including Matthew Burton and Michael Steer.

Mr Mitchell said: “The series brought an excitement with it and we had a whirlwind 12 months afterwards giving staff and students opportunities they would never otherwise have had but it has been easy to get back to normality and it doesn’t really get talked about much now in the school.”

However he said he believed being involved in Educating Yorkshire had improved the community’s confidence and boosted the popularity of the school.

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“When I first took over the school was operating something like 350 below capacity. Now our current year seven is full and next year we have even more and might be in the position where we are facing appeals because so many people want to get in.

“I would of course recommend Thornhill Community Academy. It has been the most challenging role I have ever held but also the most fun I have ever had at work. And that is not because of the programme but because of the colleagues who have been willing to give their all.”

Mr Mitchell said he was “buzzing with excitement” about taking up the job at the Co-operative Academy in Leeds.

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