A WEST Yorkshire head teacher who won national fame and plaudits after his participation in a reality television programme has delivered an inspirational talk at a Keighley school.

Jonny Mitchell, the Dewsbury head who starred in Channel Four's Educating Yorkshire, was invited to Riddlesden St Mary's Primary School. He spoke to its staff during a visit last Wednesday. (Jan 14) Deputy head teacher Laura Pool said: "Jonny inspired the staff with a lively debate about vision, values and ambition. During his visit he also unveiled the school's new symbol of success.

"This is an emblem of a heart containing images of all the children in our school, all 417 faces!"

Commenting after his talk, Mr Mitchell said: “It was an absolute pleasure to have been invited to St Mary's to speak to staff about the moral purpose of education.

"I was equally delighted to have been able to spark debate and discussion around how adults can play such crucial roles in the social and moral development of young people, whatever their age.

"For me, it was also wonderful to be able to talk to adults working with youngsters from a phase other than secondary education. It gave me a valuable insight into both the commonalities and differences between the phases.

"Riddlesden St Mary's is blessed with good leadership and a team of staff who are fully committed to providing the very best education possible for all of its children, and I look forward to reading in the near future about the many successes it will inevitably enjoy.”

Mr Mitchell is head of Thornhill Community Academy, in Dewsbury. He and his school first came under the media spotlight in 2013 when they featured in the popular Educating Yorkshire series.

The documentary attracted huge audiences and a number of awards. It was produced as a follow-up to the Educating Essex series.

Mrs Pool noted that Riddlesden St Mary's had been on the brink of entering Ofsted's Special Measures category in March 2014, but was now working towards achieving a classification of Good.

"The school has recently undergone radical development under the leadership of head of school Linda Wright and her team," she added.

"The children in our school deserve the best education and we are working hard to put our school back on track and on the map."

She said a recent visit by inspectors had been encouraging, with the assessors praising Riddlesden St Mary's for its new direction and leadership.