John Tomsett

John Tomsett taught for 33 years in state schools and was a teaching headteacher for 18 years. Until August 2021 he led Huntington School in York, one of the first Research Schools in England. He writes a blog called "This Much I Know", and has written extensively about school leadership. He has published thirteen books: "Love over Fear: Creating a Culture for Truly Great Teaching"; "Mind Over Matter: Improving Mental Health in our Schools"; "Putting Staff First: A Blueprint for Revitalising our Schools" (with Jonny Uttley); "An Angler’s Journal"; "Cognitive Apprenticeship in Action" (editor); "Huh: Curriculum conversations between subject and senior leaders"; "Primary Huh: Curriculum conversations with subject leaders in primary schools" and its companion, "Primary Huh 2: Primary curriculum leadership conversations"; "SEND Huh: curriculum conversations with SEND leaders"; and "AP Huh, curriculum conversations with alternative provision leaders." All the books in the Huh series were co-authored with Mary Myatt. In 2025 he published three books: "This much I know about truly great secondary teachers" and its sister book, "This much I know about truly great primary teachers", and he edited Haringey Education Partnership's first book, "Leadership 55 - lessons in school leadership." In late 2026 Bloomsbury will be publishing his fourteenth book: "If that's how they learn, How might we teach?" He maintains that the best thing for our students is for our teachers to be happy, healthy, well-qualified, highly motivated, hard-working, well-trained experts; consequently, he believes we should put staff first. He is now engaged in supporting the next generation of school leaders, with a resolute focus upon improving the quality of teaching & learning, and developing the school curriculum. As the erstwhile leader of Huntington Research School in York, he believes that an evidence-informed approach is central to successful school improvement.