A Brew With…Gary Bullock

This time around we sat down with Gary Bullock from Outwood Academy Freeston. Gary talks about his long history at Freeston, the transition the academy took to become part of the Outwood Family academy, and the probability of snow in January!

[Outwood.com] Hi Gary, thanks for meeting with us! Please can you introduce yourself to the readers?

GB: “Hello! Thank you for asking me to take part. My name is Gary Bullock and I am the Site Supervisor at Outwood Academy Freeston.”

Thanks, Gary. So which is it, tea or coffee?

“Tea for me, milk with no sugar.”

The classic brew, Gary. So you’ve been at Freeston for over 18 years, what were your first impressions when the academy became part of the Outwood Family?

“Well, when I first started it was a lot different to how it is now. Schools have definitely changed since I was a pupil! Obviously there has been plenty written and said about the academy prior to joining the Outwood Family, things were quite difficult so I just hoped that Outwood would bring better and more stable times!” 

Hopefully that hope has been fulfilled? On that note, what’s the biggest change in your time at the academy and since the academy became Outwood Academy Freeston?

“There have been lots of changes in my time here, including a new sports centre. Also, there was a fire that destroyed a two-storey building which resulted in a new library, hub and car park at the academy.

“But since we have been Outwood Academy Freeston, I would say the biggest change so far is the uniform. It really does look so smart and it is very noticeable that the students now are wearing it with pride since we became Outwood.”

It is great that you can notice the students are proud of their academy and uniform. What has been your favourite memory so far then?

“Helping out with the rugby teams is something I really enjoy doing. We have been successful with some of them getting to Yorkshire and national finals and we have been able to watch them play at Castleford, Wakefield, & Featherstone locally. 

“But beyond this we have been fortunate enough to travel to Cardiff Arms Park & Wembley to watch our students, with some of the students going on to make a career from the sport.” 

That must be very rewarding to witness. So from favourite, to funny. What’s been your funniest moment?

“Well this actually happened before Outwood, but it still lives on now.

“I can hold my hands up and admit I am a bit of a wind-up merchant so there have been plenty of funny moments but one that springs to mind is when a previous teacher spoke with myself & my line-manager about some bad weather that had been forecasted.

“The teacher said they had it on good authority from a farmer that there was going to be 40 days of snow in January. It was at this point my line manager kicked me under the table to stop me laughing out loud!

“This worked initially but I had to excuse myself from the meeting because I couldn’t keep a straight face and now every time there is bad weather we joke that we are going to get 40 days of snow in January.”

Think we should all be grateful the farmer was wrong on that one! Last question then, which three people, dead or alive, would you invite round to yours for a dinner party?

“Simple one for me. Kenny Dalglish, Elvis Presley, and Ronnie Barker. 

“I think it’s a great combo, where we would laugh, have some music, and some fantastic stories.”