One of the stars of hit Channel 4 documentary Educating Yorkshire has received specialist positive impact training from a leading personal branding coach to help him land the role of head teacher.

Deputy head and maths teacher Michael Steer worked closely with Huddersfield-based Deborah Ogden to give him the extra edge in his job interview and enhance his prospects of landing the position of headteacher at Thornhill Community Academy.

The role is currently held by Johnny Mitchell, who leaves the school in the summer to take up a new post in Leeds following his four-year career at the now famous Dewsbury school, which has won a number of awards since the documentary aired in summer 2013.

Deborah, who specialises in positive impact, conducted the private session with Mr Steer in Wakefield.

As well as encouraging the teacher to discuss his strengths and weaknesses and increase his confidence in presenting, she showed Mr Steer how to express self-assured body language in order to connect with his audience.

Said Deborah: “We all saw on Educating Yorkshire how dedicated Michael is to getting his students the best possible grades and there is no doubt that he is a leader in the classroom.

“However, an interview panel is quite a different scenario and so it was imperative that we worked together to bring out the best from him on a more intimate level, whereby he could effectively convey how he is equipped to take on the running of the school position.”

Michael, who allowed Deborah to film the session, said: “It was quite a unique opportunity.

“I do a lot of coaching myself, but I don’t personally get coached. I know I need to put myself out of my comfort zone and think about how I respond and avoid deflecting questions as Deborah has picked up on for the greatest chance of success of getting the headteacher job.”