AN OLDHAM school has called on educational leaders to take immediate action through direct industry collaboration following a landmark report.
Leading expert Sir Anthony Seldon warned UK schools are “crying out” for government guidance on Artificial Intelligence.
It argues that AI in education must be treated with the same urgency as a national emergency, calling for a national framework and requiring all schools in England to establish formal strategies by September 2027.
However, Kirsten Pankhurst, Principal of Hulme Grammar School in Oldham, has warned that waiting for top-down policy leaves pupils vulnerable in a rapidly evolving and precarious job market.
Under her leadership, the Chamber Road establishment has taken a pioneering stance by embedding explicit AI literacy directly into its curriculum from September 2026.
And to ensure pupils are genuinely prepared for the future workplace, the school is partnering directly with tech leaders and enterprise founders, such as Purple AI, through its Brenda Mills Institute for Innovation and Technology (BMIIT).
They work alongside teachers to shape course content, mentor pupils, deliver masterclasses, and run cross-borough hackathons with major firms like AMEX GBT, CTI Digital, Nominet, and Koder.ly.
“Sir Anthony Seldon is right to highlight the sheer scale and urgency of the AI revolution in education,” Mrs Pankhurst said.
“However, holding back on AI education while waiting for a national framework means sitting on the sidelines while our pupils engage with these tools every single day.
“Our pupils will graduate into a world still being defined.
“Our responsibility is to prepare them for it with clarity and purpose, not by working in isolation, but by bringing industry leaders directly into the classroom.
“By pairing 400 years of academic tradition with real-world tech partnerships, we are giving our young people the human capabilities, judgement, ethics, and critical thinking that the modern workplace demands.
“Proactive, industry-aligned education beats reactive policy every time. We don’t need to wait for a government white paper to start building the workforce of tomorrow.”
To learn more about Hulme Grammar School’s curriculum and industry partnerships, visit www.hulmegrammar.org.
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