Keith Sudbury spent 31 years in education, the last ten as head of two schools in Nottinghamshire that he successfully led out of special measures. His retirement plans were overtaken by a tragic family illness, however, and he’s back in schools again to inform teenagers about blood, stem cell and organ donation with the support of the Anthony Nolan charity.

Life lessons

Did you always want to be a teacher?
I originally wanted to be a vet but I don’t think my academic ability was up to those straight ‘A’ grades. It was the seventies and I fell into teaching but I was then approached to join a heart research team at a pharmaceutical company. My life could have changed at that point but I carried on in school because I was good with children – and with parents!

What was your approach to turning around underperforming schools?
They tended to be staffed by people who were discouraged and dispirited, crying out for leadership. It calls for a management style that’s not completely democratic and quite prescriptive. I produced an A4 sheet about what made a good lesson and we stuck to it for years. Some colleagues said it was blindingly obvious stuff but those are the things you sometimes overlook.

What had you planned for your retirement?
After ten years of constant inspections, I knew my shelf life was up. Having spent a lot of time on campsites in France with my own children, the lure was just too strong. For some October-to-April sun, we bought a house overlooking the sea five miles outside St Tropez. The plan worked for about nine months.

What happened then?
My 25-year-old son Adrian was diagnosed with a particularly aggressive and complicated version of leukaemia. Adrian was a newspaper journalist and his blog was read by people affected by leukaemia around the world; a subsequent book raised money for the Anthony Nolan charity.

What did you do next?
When he received his terminal diagnosis Adrian wanted to do two things.

The first was to ensure he went out in a blaze of glory so he spent the last three weeks with us. We had parties, people came to say goodbye and we ate a lot and drank far too much.

The second thing was a proposal to tell every 17 and 18-year-old in this country the facts about blood, stem cell and organ donation. He was very driven and he got to spend half an hour discussing the project with then Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

We set up the Register & Be a Lifesaver (R&Be) organisation which is now funded by the Anthony Nolan charity. We have more than 50 trained volunteer presenters and we‘ve been to 40 0 schools and spoken to 39,000 students.

What’s it like being back in the classroom giving presentations?
It’s something I found I had the talent to do. I always used to like taking assemblies! Some of the volunteers are so inspiring as they have been through the process themselves and have donated successfully.

A couple of our presenters show off the cards sent to them by the people whose lives they saved and that’s an emotional experience for everyone.

• For further information about the Register & Be a Lifesaver scheme contact Katie Campling via Katie. campling@anthonynolan.org, call 020 7284 8264 or visit www.anthonynolan.org

• Interview by John Holt
  

Pro.file

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