Interview with Steve Margetts, Principal of Torquay Academy and Author

"I would describe my leadership style as highly focused on clarity, culture, and people. I believe leaders have to create a clear sense of direction, whilst building an environment where staff and students can thrive.”

Steve Margetts is Principal of Torquay Academy and has spent over a decade leading its transformation. When he took up Headship in 2014, GCSE outcomes in English and Maths stood at 28%, and the school had narrowly avoided Special Measures. Today, the school is heavily oversubscribed, with English, Maths and Science pass rates consistently above 75%.

Steve recently completed an MBA and is the author of Everyone Succeeds, a leadership framework built around 54 codified leadership behaviours designed to make school leadership more practical, visible and coachable.
 
Leadership is always a pithy topic, and we were pleased to speak with Steve about his sustained work both as Principal, and professional development lead and a recently published author. 

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1. What have been the greatest learning lessons for you as a school leader?
One of the biggest lessons I have learned is that leadership is far more about behaviour than position. Early in my Headship, I thought leadership was largely about having the right strategy or making the right decisions. Over time, I realised that people watch what leaders do much more closely than what they say. Your consistency, your reactions under pressure, the standards you hold, and the behaviours you model shape culture every day.

Another lesson has been the importance of surrounding yourself with exceptional people. Schools improve because of teams, not individuals. I have been fortunate to work alongside outstanding colleagues at Torquay Academy who have challenged my thinking and made the school better.

I have also learned that improvement rarely comes from dramatic breakthroughs. We often look for a silver bullet, but sustainable change usually comes through small actions repeated consistently over time. Culture is built through thousands of moments and decisions, not one big initiative.

2. What examples can you share of how your leadership style benefits the work of Torquay Academy?
I would describe my leadership style as highly focused on clarity, culture, and people. I believe leaders have to create a clear sense of direction, whilst building an environment where staff and students can thrive.

When I arrived at Torquay Academy in 2014, the school had narrowly avoided Special Measures and outcomes in English and Maths were at 28%. There was a lot of uncertainty and many challenges ahead. One of the most important things we tried to do was create collective belief that we could improve outcomes for the children in our community. Improvement starts when people genuinely believe things can get better.

Over time, we worked hard to establish high expectations, strong routines, and a culture where staff felt supported and valued. We invested heavily in leadership development and staff wellbeing because schools improve when the adults improve too.

Today the school is heavily oversubscribed, and English, Maths and Science outcomes are consistently above 75%. Those outcomes matter, but what I am most proud of is the culture and community we have built together, and parents want to send their children to Torquay Academy.

3. What do you believe is most important about effective leadership?
For me, the most important thing is creating clarity and shared purpose.

Schools are busy places and there are always competing priorities. Effective leaders help people understand what matters most and why it matters. If people understand the purpose behind decisions, they are much more likely to commit rather than simply comply.

I also believe leadership is about service. It is not about status or hierarchy. Leadership is about creating the conditions for other people to succeed. Some of the best leaders I have worked with spend their time removing barriers, developing people, and helping others perform at their best.

Ultimately, leadership is measured by impact. The question is not whether people enjoyed working with you, but whether your leadership improved outcomes and opportunities for children.
 
4. What are your intentions for the training you will be leading for the SWIFT CPD Programme?
My aim is for people to leave with ideas they can apply immediately, rather than simply hearing interesting theory.

Too often leadership development focuses on broad concepts without helping people understand what leadership actually looks like in practice. Through the Everyone Succeeds framework; we have tried to identify and codify the behaviours that highly effective leaders demonstrate every day.

The training will focus on practical leadership behaviours, real school scenarios, and opportunities for reflection and application. I want leaders to leave with specific actions they can take back into their schools the very next day.

If leadership can become more visible, deliberate, and coachable, then I think we can support more leaders to thrive.

​5. Congratulations on the publication of your book! What is next for your writing ambitions?
Thank you. The book has been around eight years in the making, so seeing it finally published has been incredibly exciting.

In many ways, though, the publication of Everyone Succeeds feels like the beginning rather than the end. A significant influence on my thinking was Doug Lemov and Teach Like a Champion. Doug’s work helped codify effective teaching by identifying specific techniques that great teachers use every day and making them visible, learnable and coachable. That prompted a question which stayed with me for years: if we can codify teaching, why can’t we codify leadership?

That question eventually became Everyone Succeeds and the 54 leadership behaviours. My ambition now is to continue developing that work beyond the book itself and create practical tools that help leaders apply these ideas in their daily work.

We are continuing to build the website resources around the framework, including toolkits, diagnostics, coaching materials and leadership scenarios. There are already more than 50 realistic school leadership scenarios on the platform, each linked to relevant behaviours, and I want to continue expanding these with even more examples of the challenges leaders actually face. The aim is to create resources that help bridge the gap between leadership theory and day-to-day practice.

Ultimately, I would love to build something that supports leaders in the same way Teach Like a Champion has supported teachers, making effective leadership behaviours clearer, more practical and easier to develop over time.

Thank you to Steve for his very uplifting and engaging interview and we wish every success with his book.
We are already looking forward to his training sessions.

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