School job helps troubled teenager turn his life around

Richard Youle, local democracy reporter

A teenager who struggled in the classroom is now working as a school caretaker and helping out at the comprehensive which offered him a second chance.

It has been an admirable turnaround for Joe Thorne, of Morriston, and a source of pride for his former head teacher and those who have guided him along the way.

Joe, 16, works for around four hours a day from Monday to Friday at Ysgol Tan-y-lan, Clase, after landing the caretaker role last October.

“I arrive every morning at around 6.30am-6.45am, open the gates, and open the rest of the school, ” he said. “I make sure the heating is on, put the bins out if I didn’t the night before, and set up the breakfast club.”

Damage

He’ll also check for any damage within the school site and checks again when he goes back later in the day to lock up. But while most people would go home between the morning and afternoon shifts Joe heads to Ysgol Bryn Tawe, Penlan, where he volunteers with school site manager Geraint Davies and caretaker Nigel Rees.

“It’s been the best thing that’s ever happened,” said Joe of his new role. “It really did save me.”

Joe attended Lon Las and Tan-y-lan at primary level before going to Bryn Tawe. He said he started to struggle after year seven. Reading, writing, and just sitting down in class was difficult. “I could not get on with it,” he said. “I didn’t know how to explain it.”

Things didn’t improve and Joe said he was excluded from Bryn Tawe towards the end of year 10 and then again from Morriston comprehensive where he had moved to.

Bryn Tawe head teacher Simon Davies then gave Joe a second chance and he returned. The offer was that Joe would carry on with his school work but team up with Mr Davies and Mr Rees one day a week.

Joe did his GCSEs last summer and then went to the school every day for a couple of months to help Mr Davies and Mr Rees. Then after a stint elsewhere as a labourer Joe successfully applied to join the Army. By chance the Tan-y-lan caretaker vacancy came up – and the rest is history.

Bryn Tawe head teacher Mr Davies said: “I am really proud of Joe and I’m quite sure in year nine and 10 he wouldn’t have heard those words coming from my mouth. One of the most impressive things is how he has been able to change that.

“We’ve got excellent people within our site team and we decided to give Joe an opportunity to work with adults. He has learned a load of skills. But it’s not just how to fix a doorframe and a bit of plumbing – it’s the life guidance he has received from Geraint and Nigel that has been key to help him make better decisions.”

Attitude

Mr Davies said Joe’s attitude to learning improved as a result of the arrangement while he was still a pupil. “We gave him an opportunity and he took it with both hands,” he said. “I think he is a different person because of that. If we could afford to have Joe working here every day we would. We trust him.”

Site manager Mr Davies knew Joe as a younger pupil and said when he returned after being excluded he made a deal with him that any bad behaviour at school meant he couldn’t join the site team that week. It worked.

Mr Davies, who can turn his hand to many things, said Joe was very inquisitive. He wanted to know how an electrical ring circuit worked, for example, or why toilets weren’t flushing properly if there was an issue with them.

“One of the first jobs we did was change taps,” said Mr Davies. “I did the first one; he watched me and did the next one. I’m very proud of him.”

Mr Davies, a former chef, said he’d trained many young adults over the years. “I wish I had come across more with Joe’s attitude towards learning and life,” he said.

Support

Key support has also come from Bryn Tawe-based Duncan Rowe, a learning coach with Swansea Council’s Credu project, which helps 11-18-year-olds at risk of leaving school and being unemployed and without any training. Funding comes via the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund.

Aged just 16 Joe has a lifetime of work and hopefully many opportunities ahead. Site manager Mr Davies said he wouldn’t like to see Joe join the Army. “He has proved himself in Tan-y-lan and here,” he said.

Joe said being caretaker at Tan-y-lan, where he is addressed by pupils as “mister”, “sir”, and even “uncle” and “dad, was a good job. “The people are nice there, the kids are all lovely,” he said.