About talesbehindtheclassroomdoor

Francis Gilbert was born in 1968 and grew up in Cambridge and outer London. He attended local primaries and the local comprehensive as a child, before being moved to a private school when he was twelve. He read English at Sussex University, achieved a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education at Cambridge University in English and Drama, and an M.A. in Creative Writing, where he was taught by Malcolm Bradbury and Rose Tremain. Since the early 1990s, he has taught in a number of comprehensives in London. He has held numerous positions of responsibility and has taught all ages in the secondary sector. He currently juggles being a parent, partner, writer, teacher and researcher in the east end of London. His latest project is his PhD in Creative Writing and Education that he is doing at Goldsmiths College, London under the supervision of the writer Blake Morrison and Professor Rosalyn George. He published I’m A Teacher, Get Me Out Of Here in 2004, which went to become a best-seller and serialised on Radio 4. After that, Teacher On The Run (2005), Yob Nation (2006), Parent Power (2007) and Working The System (2009), and a novel, The Last Day Of Term (2011) followed. Having once been a proponent of “privatising” education, he has changed his position now that a mass of evidence has accumulated showing it doesn’t improve standards overall. He is a founder member of The Local Schools Network, which aims to support and celebrate the achievements of local state schools. His personal blog is: http://www.francisgilbert.co.uk Local Schools Network: http://www.localschoolsnetwork.org.uk Twitter: wonderfrancis Contact: sir@francisgilbert.co.uk