Chloe Combi is a bestselling author, global speaker, futurist, researcher, and consultant whose primary area of expertise is young people – Generation Z and Generation A. She has interviewed over 20,000 young people globally and utilises that expertise to help schools, brands, companies, governments, and institutions understand and prepare for the present and future.

She is a generation expert who works in hundreds of schools, delivering one-off talks and bespoke long-term projects that benefit students and staff emotionally, socially, culturally, and academically. All her work is underwritten by serious quantitative and qualitative research and data and unparalleled knowledge, using a coveted and highly successful approach and methodology – one that has won rave reviews and a waiting list of schools.

Her expertise, research and data has her in huge demand with global companies, brands and governments and whether they want insight pieces, future-proofing, coaching, high level and entertaining talks, TV or radio work or transformational creative input. In light of the recent Netflix series, Adolescence, this is a timely conversation about supporting young people in incredibly complex times.

Subscribe to The Learning Bridge wherever you get your podcasts: https://thelearningbridge.bepodcast.network/subscribe

About the host

Richard Gerver is a sought-after speaker, world-renowned thinker, and bestselling author of books including Change and Simple Thinking. His career began in education, first as a teacher and then as a school principal, when he turned the fortunes of a failing school and its pupils around in just two years.

Now regarded as one of the world's leading thinkers on human leadership and organisational transformation, Richard has worked with an extraordinary range of people, from elite athletes to former US President Barack Obama. Named UK Business Speaker of the Year three times, Richard has been invited to speak on the world’s most recognised stages, including TED, the RSA and the BBC.

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL.

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

It's a pleasure to welcome Paul Burrows as the guest for this episode. Paul is the Headteacher at Royal School for the Deaf Derby.

His career in front line education spans over three decades, 25 years in mainstream secondary teaching and leadership and 8 years Special School Leadership. He is passionate about high expectations for all saying that “we don’t lower expectations, we build better scaffolding.” He is a global advocate for inclusion and deaf awareness and accessibility.

In this powerful episode we explore Paul’s own childhood, growing up in a multi-ethnic family in the early 1960s/early 1970s and the impact that had on him as he developed and devoted his career to working with young people who felt like outsiders. He talks about special educational needs and the impact of deafness on young people and what we all need to think about in terms of inclusion and opportunity for all.

Subscribe to The Learning Bridge wherever you get your podcasts: https://thelearningbridge.bepodcast.network/subscribe

About the host

Richard Gerver is a sought-after speaker, world-renowned thinker, and bestselling author of books including Change and Simple Thinking. His career began in education, first as a teacher and then as a school principal, when he turned the fortunes of a failing school and its pupils around in just two years.

Now regarded as one of the world's leading thinkers on human leadership and organisational transformation, Richard has worked with an extraordinary range of people, from elite athletes to former US President Barack Obama. Named UK Business Speaker of the Year three times, Richard has been invited to speak on the world’s most recognised stages, including TED, the RSA and the BBC.

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL.

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Frederick Afrifa is a motivational speaker and communication confidence coach. Born in Ghana and growing up in Milan, his family moved to London when he was a child. Frederick went on to become an Italian track star and was slated to take part in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. He has gone on to dedicate his career to helping people overcome their fear of public speaking. He cofounded the communication coaching business Believe in Greatness and is one of the stars of the 2025 UK version of The Apprentice.

In this incredibly motivating and insightful episode, Frederick talks about his childhood as an outsider and how he used his experiences to shape the athlete and business person he has become. He shares deep insights into communication and how to control fear and nervousness in times of challenge and adversity. He also talks about his time on The Apprentice and what it has taught him moving forward.

Subscribe to The Learning Bridge wherever you get your podcasts: https://thelearningbridge.bepodcast.network/subscribe

About the host

Richard Gerver is a sought-after speaker, world-renowned thinker, and bestselling author of books including Change and Simple Thinking. His career began in education, first as a teacher and then as a school principal, when he turned the fortunes of a failing school and its pupils around in just two years.

Now regarded as one of the world's leading thinkers on human leadership and organisational transformation, Richard has worked with an extraordinary range of people, from elite athletes to former US President Barack Obama. Named UK Business Speaker of the Year three times, Richard has been invited to speak on the world’s most recognised stages, including TED, the RSA and the BBC.

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL.

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.