POWER BOOK PAK

FINAL POWER 100 BOOK 2.59 TUE_Layout 1 14/02/2017 13:56 Page 88
GUGSY AHMED
Headteacher
IKRAM BUTT
Sports & community
when Gugsy ahmed arrived at the
failing parkinson lane primary School
as headteacher in 2000, he was warned
about the school’s hopeless prospects.
twelve years later the school is
virtually unrecognisable, with praise
from ofsted and a growing waiting list.
the 520-strong community of
youngsters have thrived under the
leadership of Gugsy who has
transformed the school into a
welcoming and captivating place where
success and achievement know no
limitations.
recalling those early dark days, Gugsy
said: “there was absolutely no
discipline when i arrived and from day
one i sent out the clear message that
things were going to be different.”
Gugsy’s own life could have been very
different if wasn’t for the iron willed
support of his mother when he went
off the rails as a teenager. “my mum
and dad were real community people
and they instilled those values in me.
“my dad died on christmas day when i
was 14 and afterwards i felt that the
world was against me. “dad was very
proper and believed in education and,
after he died, my mother ensured that
everything they had ever wanted for
my siblings and i happened. my mother
told me that i had an opportunity to go
to university and make something of
my life. She even sold her bangles to
raise the money to make it happen. i
had always wanted to be the best i
could – even though i lost my way for
a while - and she gave me the kick
start i needed to get through
university and into a teaching career.”
Gugsy puts a lot of importance on
getting pupils out into the world to
see for themselves what else is going
on. however, when he started the job
all trips had stopped because of a
fatality. he said: “i went to see the
bereaved parents and told them that i
was reinstating the trips. i explained
that i had a job to do and that i
wanted their blessing. one of the
highlights of my career was when that
family sent their surviving child on a
trip, it felt like they had had give me
the ultimate vote of trust.”
parkinson lane now boasts a student
community of over 500, with more
than 200 on the waiting list, a far cry
from the falling roll of just 350 pupils
twelve years ago.
Gugsy said: “if i had to choose one
winning ingredient for how we got to
today’s position it would be that the
staff and school community give so
much of themselves. they treat pupils
as if they were their own children;
they want them to succeed, thrive
and be happy and will move
mountains to make it happen.
as a school many awards have been
received including the following:
investors in pupils, arts mark Gold,
international intermediate award,
healthy Schools award, Basic Skills
kitemark.
on a personal level, Gugsy was
named as winner of the promethean
award for School leadership and is
an increasingly popular speaker at
educational events and conferences.
he says he is interested in making a
bigger impact in the community or
nationally and has ‘only just got
ikram Butt created history when he was selected
for the 1995 european rugby league
championships, becoming the first British asian to
represent england.
he has spearheaded a number of ground breaking
initiatives, including the formation of the British
asian rugby association, which develops sporting,
educational and cultural links between pakistan,
india, Jamaica and the Uk.
he is an award winning development manager and
highly sought after key note speaker who has
lectured extensively on sport and its cohesive role
in society. he is at parliament as an associate
member of the all party rugby groups and advises
them on equity and diversity.
in 2009, he established the British pakistan rugby
league team and published his autobiography
‘tries and prejudice’ described by the Guardian
newspaper as “fascinating and inspiring”, all
proceeds going to two charities.
a tireless fund raiser, he is a Sporting ambassador
for the ‘kick it out’ campaign, cystic fibrosis
trust, white ribbon, moSiac and the pakistan
recovery fund.
in July 2011, ikram was awarded an honorary
doctorate in Sport Science for his enduring
contribution to sport innovation and services to
community Sport programmes by leeds
metropolitan University.
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