Mike Cox teaches at Bedford Free School and has taken part in Big Ideas First World War centenary projects including The Unremembered and Trailblazers as well as Aspire to Engineer challenges. This is his LockDown Lookback:
“Going back to school in September we had to work together as students and staff to make each other safe. We thought that we, the staff, were at risk but actually the students have taken it so seriously.
We were all in it together: we care about each other, and each other’s health, and our families’ health. I don’t know why, but it surprised me! I suppose you expect teenagers not to be thinking about the rules. The whole school community came together.
Over last year, we have been rethinking our school community in the light of the Black Lives Matter movement. Marcus Rashford has been recognised this year, as a young black role model. Young people need people like Marcus Rashford to inspire them. You realise you can achieve a lot even if you are from a poor background.
If you are asking what young people need, it’s that – hope and inspiration.”