Matthew Burton, the headteacher who became the breakout star of Channel 4's Educating Yorkshire, has revealed that a school careers test once told him he was destined to become a grave digger rather than a teacher.
Burton, 43, shot to fame in 2013 as an English teacher at Thornhill Community Academy in Dewsbury. He returned to screens last year for the show's reboot, this time as headteacher, balancing his 900 students with his newfound fame. Filming is now underway on a second series of the reboot after Channel 4 bosses ordered its return, following students as they head back for a new term.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Burton said he had considered several other careers as a child before landing in teaching. "I went through everything I remember from about five years old, I went through everything," he said. "I wanted to be a train driver and I wanted to be a footballer."
He then recalled the results of a careers programme he completed at school. "I remember doing a careers program when I was in school, but I answered loads of questions and it gave you your ideal job, and mine came back as a grave digger," he said.
His footballing ambitions have not entirely faded, either. "Number 9 for Huddersfield Town up front, might be the next best thing [to teaching]," he said.
Burton could have been in a completely different vocation, had he heeded the career advice he received as a teenager.
Handling fame and trolling concerns
When Educating Yorkshire first aired in 2013, social media was still in its early stages. Now, anyone appearing on television is braced for online trolling, a concern Burton said he and his staff take seriously given that their own pupils appear on screen.
"All of us are aligned behind the fact that the most important thing is looking after our students, looking after our staff, and of course we'd be daft to not think that there's a possibility of that [trolling]," he said.
He explained that a significant amount of consent work is carried out by both the production company and the school before anything is broadcast. "The level of consent work that goes in from the production company and from the school is huge," he said. "Prior to it being aired, there's lots and lots of viewings as you can imagine, there's lots and lots of legal aspects of it."
Burton added that by the time an episode is finally broadcast, he has already watched it many times over. "When the final version goes out, it's no surprise to me what's going out because it's like the 12th time I've watched it or something," he said.
Teaming up with EE on tech safety
Burton, who enforces a strict no-phone policy at his school, made the comments while working with mobile and broadband provider EE to help parents deal with back-to-school technology issues. EE is offering in-store appointments for families to set ground rules on tech safety.
The partnership comes after research from the company found that almost a third of parents, 31 per cent, are concerned their child is being exposed to negative or harmful content online.
Burton said the psychological support given to students and staff throughout filming had been "second to none." "Of course, when things come up they get flagged, but actually the outpouring of positivity towards our students and our staff was, was really, really heartwarming actually," he said.
Musharaf Asghar's return
Educating Yorkshire's most famous former student, Musharaf Asghar, who overcame a stammer in 2013 when he delivered a speech at his Year 11 assembly, returned to Thornhill during the last series.
Burton, who Asghar has described as his favourite teacher, helped him at the time by having him listen to music through headphones so he could not hear his own voice while speaking.
Returning to the school, Asghar, now 29, told current students: "Being in that classroom and having a teacher that put all that time and effort into making sure that you could speak, and finally getting those words out, it was one of the best moments I could ever sort of have or live."
"I guess, for me, it was having a friend who was in my corner, having a person that really pushed me and believed in me," he said. "I realised that if I actually put the time and the effort in, I can get these words out."
