CYP Now - Interview: Ray Priest, head, The City Academy Bristol

Ray Priest has just returned to his office after giving a rousing motivational speech to pupils at his city academy. "I've been watching the film Coach Carter and I heard myself doing the same sort of talk," he says. "I was going on about how we're a team and the only way we get these results is by all of us doing it together."

For the uninitiated, the film stars Samuel L Jackson as Ken Carter, aninspirational coach of a high school basketball team. Determined to makea change in his players' lives, Carter makes every boy sign a contractthat ensures he will attend every class and wear a jacket and tie ongame day. The boys reject the contract at first, but when it appearsthat their tough-as-nails coach is actually turning them into winners onthe court they embrace his "tough love" philosophy.

Priest's choice of role model may raise a few eyebrows but his methodsappear to be working. "What's happened in the two years of being anacademy is that attainment has rocketed; we've gone from 20 per cent to52 per cent of our students gaining five A to C grades at GCSE," hesays.

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