MEDIA
Neil Mayers is available for interviews, podcasts, and press.
Whether you're a journalist, podcast host, broadcaster, or event producer, everything you need is on this page. For urgent media requests, please include MEDIA in your subject line.
SPEAKER REEL
Watch Neil in action.
The reel covers Neil's core argument, his background, and his speaking style. It includes footage from the Black British Parent Podcast and gives a clear sense of what to expect from a live session.
ON AIR
Recent appearances.
The Lie We Call School
BBC Radio with Dotun Adebayо
10 August 2026
Neil joined Dotun Adebayo to discuss why the school system was never designed to develop children, and what should replace it.
Raising Black Achievement
Black British Parent Podcast
May 2025
A conversation about Cultural Esteem, the achievement gap, and what parents can do right now.
Gifted At Primary, Failing By Secondary
Colourful Radio August 2011
An early interview on the ideas that became the foundation for The Lie We Call School.
PRESS ASSETS
Everything you need to feature Neil.
Review copies, high-res images, and biographical text are all available below. For anything not listed here, get in touch directly.
Short Bio (50 words)
For programme notes, podcast show pages, and event listings.
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MEDIUM Bio (100 words)
For programme notes, podcast show pages, and event listings.
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Neil Mayers is a former UK high school principal (Headteacher), and the author of The Lie We Call School and Gifted at Primary, Failing by Secondary.
Drawing on more than twenty years in education, his work explores what schools prepare young people for, what they leave out, and why academic success alone is not enough preparation for adult life.
Neil Mayers is a former UK high school principal (Headteacher), Vice Principal, Head of Inclusion and Head of GCSE Mathematicss with more than twenty five years’ experience in education.
He is the author of Gifted at Primary, Failing by Secondary and The Lie We Call School: Why the System Isn’t Broken, and Why That’s the Problem.
His work challenges some of the assumptions at the heart of modern schooling, including how intelligence is measured, why capable children disengage, what behaviour can tell us about the environments children are placed in, and why education needs to prepare young people for far more than examinations.
Full Bio (150 words)
For press releases, feature articles, and long-form introductions.
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Neil Mayers is an author, education strategist and former UK high school principal (Headteacher) with more than twenty five years’ experience working with children, families, teachers and school leaders.
During his career he has worked as a maths teacher, Head of Year, Head of GCSE Mathematics, Head of Inclusion, Vice Principal and Headteacher, as well as teaching in the United States.
He is the author of Gifted at Primary, Failing by Secondary, which examines why children who succeed during primary education can struggle after entering secondary school, and The Lie We Call School: Why the System Isn’t Broken, and Why That’s the Problem.
His latest work asks whether many of the problems repeatedly described as failures of education are actually consequences of what the system was originally designed to do.
Neil explores the difference between qualification and capability, the narrow ways schools often define intelligence and success, the relationship between cultural identity and educational outcomes, and the skills and knowledge young people need to navigate adult life successfully.
His work is particularly concerned with helping parents understand the education system more clearly and challenging educators and policymakers to reconsider what education should ultimately be trying to produce.
Book Cover (High Res)
The Lie We Call School: JPEG, 300 DPI, print ready.
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Author Photo (High Res)
Professional headshot: JPEG, 300 DPI, suitable for print and digital.
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“One of the most powerful and transformative Black History Month sessions the Civil Service Race Forum has ever hosted. Neil didn’t just share insights. He shifted the audience’s perspectives. He made the audience rethink what they thought they knew about education, Black identity, and achievement.”
- CIVIL SERVICE RACE FORUM, CROSS-GOVERNMENT ETHNIC MINORITY NETWORK, NOVEMBER 2025
GET IN TOUCH
Thinking of featuring Neil?
For interview requests, review copies, press enquiries, and podcast bookings, get in touch using the details below. Please include MEDIA in your subject line. Neil aims to respond to media requests within 24 hours.
020 8058 8138
