“I have had the pleasure of working alongside Mr Aaron Smithson for 11 years, and I can confidently say that they were an invaluable asset to our school. Their dedication to their students, their colleagues, and the overall school community is truly commendable. Their continued efforts to develop team. spirit, mentoring of students, and more recently his leadership ability at the highest levels has had a significant positive impact on the pastoral welfare of the students, raised student achievement and has had significant impact on the culture of the school”

“I worked as Headteacher with Aaron for 2 terms when the school in which he was working hit a turbulent patch.   He was unfailingly cheerful, positive and calm.  He worked effectively with students regardless of their need and very much looked at the whole person in identifying obstacles and strategies.  Students and colleagues had the highest regard for Aaron and I remember his integrity and effectiveness warmly.”

“Aaron has a wealth of experience in education in a range of teacher and leadership roles across Key stages 3,4 and 5. He always has the student at the centre of the priorities. He understands the academic needs of individuals but also the need for their social and personal development.

As a PE teacher he was able to drive the importance of physical activity as both a healthy lifestyle and the important of developing social skills through a PE experience. His passion for sport and extracurricular was always evident and was a key mechanism for him to develop positive relationships with students, in particularly those hard to reach ones.

Aaron in his leadership role was able to show his expertise in being able to manage the behaviour of students in a supportive manner, always developing positive relationships with them.

Aaron has always had a drive to lead change in students to ensure that they develop and can move onto their chosen post 16 or post 18 destinations. His values lay in developing the whole student in a holistic way that allowed them to thrive in an environment where they feel they belong.”

It has been my distinct pleasure to know Aaron Smithson for fifteen years, and during this time, I have consistently been impressed by his remarkable dedication and genuine passion for making a significant impact.

Aaron possesses an exceptional ability to use physical activity to connect with young people meaningfully and positively transform their lives. He is unafraid to confront social injustice and demonstrates a clear talent for spearheading positive change that brings tangible benefits to young individuals in every community he works in and with.

His extensive background as an Assistant Headteacher has equipped him with a profound understanding of the education sector, including its complexities and opportunities. It is therefore inspiring to see him now channel this wealth of experience and his forward-thinking approach into establishing a specialist centre for children facing behavioural challenges. In my opinion, he is uniquely qualified for this important undertaking.

Aaron's unwavering commitment to empowering young people and his drive to make improvements within challenging education communities are qualities I have long admired. I have every confidence that he will lead this new centre to outstanding success, mirroring his achievements in everything else he has previously put his mind to.