‘There’s power in a boy picking up a book and knowing he’s allowed to enjoy it.’
Oli McVeigh is an English teacher and Assistant Head at Ferndown Upper School in Dorset, and was named Teacher of the Year at the 2023 National Teaching Awards. Alongside his classroom duties, Oli co-leads the school’s boys’ programme — a structured and now nationally recognised effort to improve engagement, behaviour, and achievement among boys (which is working!).
Oli’s work blends pastoral care, curriculum reform, and maybe above all, a firm belief in young people’s potential.
This is a conversation about what’s working — and what’s hard — when it comes to boys and education. We talk literacy, behaviour, role models, Shakespeare, motivation, masculinity, and how to build a classroom where boys actually want to be.
for educators, scroll down for Oli’s list of classroom techniques
🔑 Key Themes:
Stereotypes of boys in education — and how to push back
Building psychological safety in the classroom
Literacy, reading culture, and role models
Discipline, humour, and teacher relationships
Why boys are opting out of higher education
Sport, social pressure, and adolescent identity
📌 Highlights:
“Everybody thinks the boys want to be a footballer. Or a YouTuber. Or go into physical labour. We don’t ask them what they actually want.”
“Taking the clock off the wall helped. But really, it’s about making it feel like the lesson goes quickly. If they’re engaged, they don’t check the time.”
“We don’t see men reading books. And that’s a huge part of the problem.”
“The classroom should feel like a team. If one of us hasn’t passed our English, that’s a shared responsibility.”
Key Themes Expanded
Stereotypes and underestimation
Oli’s work began with a direct challenge to assumptions about boys’ capabilities and attitudes.
“There’s a stereotype that boys don’t care, that they’re lazy, that they don’t want to be in a classroom. It’s just not true.”
The boys’ programme he co-leads has helped close the gender gap in English results, reduce negative sanctions, and increase attendance — all while challenging how boys are expected to want or be.
The classroom is one of the few places this narrative can be rewritten by encouraging boys to follow their gut and not assume what it is they want.
“You want to be a lawyer? Let’s go. You want to write a book? Brilliant. Let’s make that happen.”
Perhaps the problem isn’t the boys. Perhaps it’s a design problem?
Teamwork – foster a group mindset in the classroom
“The classroom should feel like a team.
I loved Oli’s point about recontextualising the classroom experience. ‘We’re in this together’ leans on the boys’ love of a mission and helps them to feel safe and looked after in education, not only by the teacher but by their peers.
They understand what a team is, often from their sporting experiences, so it’s simple for them to translate those behaviours into the classroom.
But this approach does require a balancing act.
“The best bit of advice is: pick your battles. Too many people take on too many battles with boys, and it breaks the relationship.”
He stresses that many behavioural issues are avoidable when students feel known, safe, and respected — rather than simply managed.
Literacy and male role models
Oli is clear-eyed about the cultural signals boys receive around reading.
“They don’t see men reading. That’s why when I came across your videos — a man talking about books — I thought, finally.”
The shift happens when boys see reading as valid, useful, and powerful.
“Now we’ve got boys doing A-Level Lit who wouldn’t have dreamed of it two years ago. Sporty boys, popular boys, reading Hemingway in the afternoon.”
Then there are the difficulties and expense associated with higher education and we discuss why there are fewer men going into secondary school teaching.
Classroom Techniques Oli Uses
Remove visible clocks
“It did help that I took the clock off the wall… If they’re not checking the time, they’re engaged.”
Establish consistent routines
“They know what to expect. That’s safety. That’s structure.”
Use contemporary framing for traditional texts
“I teach Shakespeare with a 2025 stance. Make it feel like now.”
Create psychological safety
“If they say something, the tectonic plates aren’t going to shift. They’re allowed to speak.”
Private corrections, not public shame
“If they do something wrong, I’ll ask them to step outside. We talk about it one-to-one.”
Challenge gently, consistently
“I’m not going to belittle you, but I am expecting you to contribute.”
Shared classroom goals
“If one person in the class hasn’t passed, it’s everyone’s responsibility to help them.”
Use humour — but with clear boundaries
“Humour is powerful with boys. But it’s risky too. You can’t blur the lines and then punish them for crossing them.”
Keep relationships central
“Once you break the relationship, their intrinsic motivation is gone.”
Connect learning to boys’ lived experience
“If the content feels relevant to their lives, they’ll invest in it.”
📚 Mentioned:
The Merchant of Venice – William Shakespeare
Jekyll and Hyde (Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde) – Robert Louis Stevenson
Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
Holes – Louis Sachar
Meditations – Marcus Aurelius
Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl
Taking Boys Seriously: A Literature-Based Approach – Deneen, McVeigh et al. (internal school publication, mentioned in the conversation)
connect with Oli McVeigh on LinkedIn
Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.
Share this post