Joining the x100
Do you aspire to lead a school within the next five years?
Do you want to lead a school in your community where all children thrive—especially those underserved by our current systems?
If so, one of our x100 programmes could help you take the next step in your leadership journey.
Applications to join the 2025/26 cohorts are now open in:
If you’re committed to leading transformative change through our schools in one of these four regions, we’d love to hear from you. You can find more information about each programme by following the links above.
What is the x100 programme?
At its core, the x100 is an intensive, place-based, leadership development programme for aspiring headteachers. That said, strictly speaking, the x100 programme doesn’t exist—it’s not a national school leadership programme.
Rather, at The Reach Foundation, ‘x100’ is our name for a group of regionally led programmes that we facilitate in partnership with leading school trusts around the country.
This is because we believe that place matters—context produces the structures through which systemic issues are refracted; it produces location-specific challenges that demand context-sensitive solutions. This means that each x100 programme is directed towards embracing local assets and addressing regional challenges.
The x100 programmes take a place-based, asset-based approach to school leadership and community development. This isn’t about applying one-size-fits-all solutions; it’s about deeply understanding the unique challenges and opportunities of the communities we serve.
Nevertheless, a handful of core principles prevail across the programmes. In this post, we want to explore some of these principles to highlight what unites the programmes and what this means for aspiring school leaders.
Pulled by a shared purpose
The x100 programmes are united by a singular mission: to eradicate educational inequality in each region.
This tight focus enables more intentional programme design; everything we do is directed towards enhancing outcomes for children and families experiencing disadvantage.
It also means that participants report, time and time again, how they’ve ‘found their tribe’ through the programme because ‘it’s not just a course’ but a community of locally rooted leaders who share the values, drive and ambition to initiate and sustain lasting change.
By grounding leadership in the assets of a local area, our leaders develop a structured, thoughtful approach to school leadership. And because their networks are local too, the relationships they build through the programmes are relevant, capacity-building, and enduring.
Pushed by shared knowledge and understanding
But we can’t just care our way out of educational inequality. If that were enough we’d have closed the disadvantage gap a long, long time ago.
Educational inequality is a complex beast that requires deep domain-specific knowledge, a sustained collective commitment to challenge it, and a vast array of skills. We need to be rigorous in how we approach it.
This means that we sacrifice breadth for depth on the x100 programmes. We acknowledge that we can’t and won’t cover ‘everything you need to know to become a headteacher’ in 12 months. But we can and do ensure that our leaders finish the year with:
A deep and nuanced understanding of ‘disadvantage’ and how it originates and manifests within their region and community;
A shared knowledge of the biggest levers that can improve outcomes for the most ‘disadvantaged’ pupils;
Concrete mental models of educational excellence and how it is achieved in different settings;
A deep understanding of their own self-concept as an educational and civic leader; and, critically,
A trusted network of educational leaders within and beyond their region.
United by shared experiences
How we build that shared knowledge and understanding matters too. One of the most distinctive features of the x100 programmes is the amount of time we spend together—some of that’s online during our evening webinars with expert practitioners but we spend lots of time together IRL too.
We know how demanding life as a senior school leader can be—their time, energy, and headspace are stretched in countless directions. Though it may sound counterintuitive, that’s precisely why we take our leaders away from their everydays. We do so to create the requisite time and (head)space for meaningful, face-to-face interactions to take place.
That’s because these in-person residentials, conferences and schools visits to high-performing schools are not just about content delivery—they’re about building trust. In order to lead schools where all children can thrive, our headteachers will need the courage to take risks. And taking risks requires security. Our x100 programmes help leaders develop trusted networks of locally rooted peers who understand the challenges and aspirations of leadership in their respective communities and will support one another in driving change.
Building relationships with like-minded peers is more than just a nice way to spend time, it’s a mutual investment in collective growth. Strong, trusting relationships expand our leaders’ capacity to do great work that will last far beyond the duration of the programme.
Sound good? Apply today!
If you’re ready to join a purpose-driven network of locally rooted leaders, work towards eradicating educational inequality in your region, and take your leadership to the next level—we invite you to apply to join our next cohorts of x100 leaders today.
Applications will close on Sunday 23rd February 2025. Don’t miss your chance to be part of a movement for change.
Here are those links again 👇
