Sathnam Sanghera is a prizewinning journalist and author, whose book The Boy with the Topknot was named 2009 Mind Book of the Year and adapted into a drama on BBC Two. His latest book, Empireland, was released earlier this year to widespread critical acclaim.

He is also one of the authors supporting the Penguin Lit in Colour campaign that aims to highlight the importance of a diverse English literature curriculum.

He chatted to Tes about his time in school, the pranks he played on his classmates, some wonderful teachers who shaped the course of his life - and the time he took a clothes peg on a school trip.

1. Where did you go to primary school?

I went to Woden Primary School in Wolverhampton. It was an amazing school because it was in a very poor area of Wolverhampton [and the students were] mainly Asian and black, and all the teachers were white, yet race never came up as an issue. It was
really idyllic and I had such a good time; it was fantastic.

2. And then how about secondary school?

All my siblings went to the local comprehensive, East Park High, but I managed to pass the 11-plus, and went to Wolverhampton Grammar School. It had been a state grammar
for a long time but had just become an independent school. I had a fully assisted place, so the government paid for my fees.

3. Did you have one particular teacher who really stood out as your favourite?

I’ve got quite a few! Mr Burgess was my final-year teacher, and he gave me extra tutoring for the 11-plus, which got me into Wolverhampton Grammar School; the headmaster [of my primary school], Keith Ball, who passed away recently - he’d been an old boy of the grammar school, and so it was his idea [to apply to Wolverhampton]. He changed my life.

And then at Wolverhampton Grammar School, Robin Roberts was an English teacher and she helped me a huge amount. I had a very problematic family life. When I was in sixth form, my sister had schizophrenia, and so did my father, and [Robin] just basically took over and became like my second mum.

She would take me on school trips, even though I wasn’t meant to be there, and allow me to go to her house when things were bad at home, and even drove me to university. We became lifelong friends.

4. Did you ever get a chance to tell her what she meant to you?

She actually passed away a couple of years ago. She had moved to Italy to teach
English to businesspeople, and had lived there for the past 20 years or so. But we stayed in touch and she proofread my books, and we remained very close friends, and I thanked her at my first book launch.

Empireland is dedicated to her, and I’ve written about her a couple of times. If I’ve got any advice for people reading this, it’s that you should say thank you to your teachers.

5. What sort of student were you?

Initially, I was just a pure geek when I was at junior school. I just had to come top in everything … except, obviously, games.

But then I joined a school where everyone was clever and I did quite badly initially.
I had a top knot, and I was a very shy kid, and I felt very self-conscious about it. But then I cut my hair and gained confidence. Then I probably became overconfident. I ended up being head boy, even though I was actually quite naughty.

6. What were your favourite subjects?

I did English, maths and politics for A level. I was really into maths [before A level]
and I was really good at it. I was quite near the top of the class in maths, and it was my one salvation. I just loved the fact that you had clear solutions, whereas a lot of other things seemed vague.

But then I did maths for A level, and I remember the moment where I thought “forget this!” - it was when we started doing calculations with imaginary numbers. If we’re doing “imaginary numbers”, I’d rather just go all the way and “do” a novel. I mean, what’s the point?

7. What was your worst lesson?

You know, I think about PE a lot because in later life I got massively into running. It was one of the things that made me happiest in my life, until I tore my hamstring. And
I look back and I think people have an idea of me as a nerd and didn’t encourage me.

When I started school, I had a top knot, so that meant I couldn’t do certain sports like rugby. And I think people were too keen to just put the nerds in a box and say: “You’re really good at school and academic subjects, and you’re crap at sport.”

[But] I remember doing the triple jump once and I came top of the class and everyone was like, “Oh, my God!” [But] I was never given the chance to try out a bunch of sports to see what I was good at.

I suspect teaching is much better now, but in those days, PE teaching was pretty brutal. I think back to the cross-country runs we used to do, and the main thing I remember
is that we were never even given water! We were just expected to run five miles and have no water. Nowadays, everyone’s obsessed with hydration, right? Wouldn’t happen.

A bunch of kids got a lift on a milk float [instead of running cross-country] and got into terrible trouble, but I think they should have been rewarded for their street savviness.

8. Did you get many detentions when you were at school?

I got a couple. I got into this phase where I thought I was really funny and I used to do practical jokes. I remember once I had a very basic plastic spider. I’d put a spider on the desk and they would scream.

There was one terrible thing. I don’t know if I should say this … but I faked the Queen Mother’s death. Basically, there was a school notice board and, as a prefect, I could write on it. And I don’t know who gave me the idea, but I wrote a message saying: “I’m sad to say the Queen Mother has passed away; can the whole school gather at 3pm for service?”

And the school gathered, some kids were crying. It was a really stupid thing to do,
and tasteless. But I was a child, and I have utter remorse about it now.

9. What memorable school trips did you go on?

There were a lot of school trips at our school, but I never went on them because they were expensive. They were skiing trips and we couldn’t afford them. So I missed out on almost all school trips, but Robin took me to Cornwall, and I couldn’t believe the sea was so blue. I didn’t realise these places existed! It blew my mind.

I also remember one school trip to a sewage works. People often think I’m making that up, but we went to the sewage works. It stank, obviously. I remember I took a clothes peg for my nose - and I got detention for that.

At the time it was like, “Why have we been taken to a sewage works?” But, actually, I think about it all the time. It was very educational. In the pipes I remember seeing all these condoms and coffee mugs, and being surprised. People throw all sorts of stuff down the toilet; it was actually very interesting.

10. What were your school dinners like?

We applied for free school dinners [in secondary school], but I didn’t get them, [although] I had them at primary school. But then my mother found out what I was eating, and she didn’t approve. So she would make me two patties and Indian food. And she would spend ages making them - and then I would sell my Indian food to [fellow pupil] Matthew Davis and then go and get chips from the local chip shop!

I wouldn’t do that now because now I know my mother’s food is the thing I die for. But then I was tired of it and I just wanted chips. And Matthew Davis would pay me generously.

Sathnam Sanghera was talking to Grainne Hallahan, senior content writer
at Tes

To listen to the full interview on your podcast platform of choice, including
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Google, search ‘Tes My Best Teacher’
and subscribe to listen on demand to each new episode

This article originally appeared in the 17 September 2021 issue of Tes