Educator with links to two Sheffield schools awarded OBE

Aonghus Gordon, founding trustee and chair of the Ruskin Mill Trust receives the royal honour for his services to heritage and education.

Aonghus is also the founding trustee of Ruskin Mill Land Trust, which for many years has been acquiring and restoring redundant buildings and land, including Freeman College and Brantwood Specialist School in Sheffield.

The organisation has transformed the sites in partnership with the Ruskin Mill Trust into educational and cultural centres for special needs education, arts, festivals, and social enterprise.

He said: “I am very grateful for this recognition of the Trust’s exceptional work over the past thirty years. Our team at Ruskin Mill has worked tirelessly through the most challenging of circumstances, and their dedication to the young people in our care and each other has been unparalleled. They go above and beyond every single day to support our communities, and I could not be prouder of them.

“I hope that this honour will lead to a greater awareness of Ruskin Mill’s innovative method, Practical Skills Therapeutic Education, and the positive impact it has been shown to have on many of those with learning

disabilities who have attended one of our twelve centres.”

Founded in 1981, Ruskin Mill Trust is now one of the UK’s leading educational charities working with people with learning disabilities, with twelve centres across England, Wales and Scotland.