Stormzy’s ‘Blinded By Your Grace’ was the song the kids in his school started their day with. They loved it too, sang their hearts out to the tune. No old fashioned hymns sung here, no thanking the Lord for the gifts he had given them. This was a school of hard knocks and the methods of teaching nothing like what you’d find in the mainstream. That’s probably why it worked. The kids sounded great too when they sang, the words meant something to each and every one of them. And to Donny too. He’d been broken in the past and he’d been fixed just like the lyrics said. Susan had saved him back then and for that he would always be thankful. But he wanted to forget about those days: he was strong now, no room for even the memory of weakness.

Second Chance had been running for over four years, with Donny the headteacher from the start; he’d worked his balls off to get to where he was today. A diamond in the rough he branded himself. But three years at university, endless training courses, and jobs in schools trying to work his way up the ladder had finally paid off. He knew he was great with the students no one else could handle, and always dealt with them fairly. His methods of running the school were not always orthodox and provoked regular mutterings in the education department, but he got the job done and had a real connection with the kids. All the staff did; it was more than a job, more like one big family. At least most of the time. It wasn’t just about ticking all the boxes and reaching targets. For Donny it was about caring for these students – listening to them when nobody else would and giving them a voice of their own and someone they could always count on. Most of the kids at Second Chance had nothing positive in their lives; no family support, no money, no motivation. Lost causes in the eyes of everyone else. Kids that society would rather hide away than admit the education system had failed them. His job was about building them up, making them part of the school family – the ‘Chance’ family he called it.

The kids who came here were all different, each one of them unique. They’d all had problems somewhere along the line, some more serious than others. If you’d read their care plans you’d have been tempted to get your coat on, never step through the front door again. Arson, violence, knife crime, drug abuse; you name it, these kids had done it. But Donny was the backbone of the school and he was always there when the shit hit the fan.