Russell Hobby has been CEO of teacher training firm Teach First since September 2017. He was previously a trade unionist, leading the National Association of Head Teachers for seven years, and founded an education consultancy before that. Hobby was himself educated at Oxford in the early 1990s, becoming a management consultant before pivoting to education. He recently spoke in proposition of an Oxford Union debate on the motion “This House Believes Oxbridge is Failing Britain”. Teach First has been criticised for ‘shipping in’ graduates to deprived areas, with little expertise on schools’ particular needs. It nonetheless enjoys support from all major parties along with the Royals: Prince Charles is its patron.
