Will Yates is a Senior Policy Manager in the education practice at Public First. Prior to joining the team in October 2023, Will spent five years as a secondary school English teacher with Teach First in West London, additionally coordinating Gifted and More Able and university progression activities. He has also spent time as a freelance writer and researcher, with bylines in The Independent, The New Statesman, The Guardian, Schools Week and TES, and he has co-authored reports published by IPPR and CfEY. He holds a BA from the University of Oxford in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and an MPhil in Education (Knowledge, Power and Politics) from the University of Cambridge.
Since joining Public First, Will has coordinated the third phase of the Coalition for Youth Mental Health in Schools, worked on reports for Teach First and Pearson, and contributed to major university and corporate retained accounts. He also heads the firm’s competitive internship programme.