Prof Dr Ger Graus OBE, author and ex-mastermind of KidZania, on how we're stifling children's curiosity
Once described as "Jean-Jacques Rousseau meets Willy Wonka", the formidable Prof Dr Ger Graus OBE is next to join us on Heads & Tales. A trailblazer and provocateur, Dutch-born Ger's impact on global education has been both profound and characteristically unconventional. From his early days in the classroom to leadership roles with Manchester City Council and as founding CEO of Children's University Trust, Ger has long championed the idea that "children can only aspire to what they know exists".
He is perhaps best known as the first Global Director of Education at KidZania, a roleplay concept where young people try out real-world careers, learning practical life skills and earning and spending 'KidZos' as they go. But behind the assembly of firefighters and pilots lies a more serious mission: to innovate and reimagine what education can and should be. With his new book Through a Different Lens fresh off the press, Ger joins Henry Faber to reflect on a life spent challenging the status quo, confronting inequality and asking the uncomfortable questions on education that we often avoid.
🎙️ Episode highlights
Dr Ger Graus flips the script on mentoring, revealing that some of his most transformative role models have been teenagers, and explaining why educators must be brave enough to learn from younger voices.
He shares a eye-opening childhood story from his Catholic school days, when asking "why" got him banned from religious studies.
He opens up about one of the toughest moments of his career – closing a failing school – and the personal toll that comes when leadership affects livelihoods.
He is withering in his criticism of the UK education system, saying we've engineered a system where the elite are educated and the rest are schooled, and that ratings and data have sucked the life out of it.
He makes the case that education innovation won't come from new policy, but from proper teachers who dare to disrupt and rebuild trust between schools, students and parents.
Ger calls for a wider conversation on what education is really for – "compliance is not aspiration" – and that we mustn't let children stop asking why.