Sam O'Neill stood in front of a blackboard with a piece of chalk
Sam O'Neill

A former pupil of specialist school in Lichfield has returned to the classroom at his former school as a teacher.

Sam O’Neill was a student at Maple Hayes between 2000 and 2007,  joining when he was just eight and only had the reading age of a six-year-old.

The school’s approach to supporting dyslexic students saw him thrive and complete his GCSEs a year early.

Mr O’Neill then went to college to study health and social care, before deciding he wanted to go back into education to become a teacher himself – and after spotting an opening at his former school he jumped at the chance to step back into the classroom.

“I went on from social care to get a degree in education and I’m now a qualified primary teacher and my PGCE allows me to teach primary and to fill in and be a learning support assistant at older ages.

“At Maple Hayes, I’m currently filling in for geography and I’m supporting with handwriting and spelling, covering KS2.

“It’s a great opportunity for me to work with pupils at a school I’m very familiar with, and of course having overcome dyslexia myself, being able to support those in similar circumstances.

 “When I walked through the doors after all these years it was strange but very familiar at the same time and so I settled back in very quickly.

“The staff were very welcoming and it was great to see that the school has maintained its traditional focus on standards and working towards personal academic success for its pupils.

 “I have a lot of very happy memories from my time as a pupil here and it was a huge relief when I came here at the age of eight to get the support I needed. So of course to be now able to give that support back to the pupils I’m teaching is incredible.”

Sam O’Neill

Dr Daryl Brown, the school’s headteacher, said:

“When Mr O’Neill walked through the doors again for the interview it was great to see the path he had taken since leaving us all those years ago and we knew he would be just perfect for the job.

“Having someone who is dyslexic themselves and has gone through our school, learning our very unique morphological teaching method and then being able to apply it himself when teaching children now is a very great skill to have.

“We are proud to have him on the team and he has fitted in so well with the school, teachers and of course the children he is now helping along their learning journey.”

Dr Daryl Brown

Founder of Lichfield Live and editor of the site.