Chris Dobbs, Director of The Atom Valley Education Challenge Consortium (AVECC)

Posted on 22 Sep 2025

Chris brings a wealth of experience to his role as Director of AVECC, underpinned by almost four decades in education.                                                                                   

Raised in Middleton, schooled in Bury, and having taught in Rochdale for over 20 years, his roots run deep across the Atom Valley area, though his path into education was far from conventional it is one that that is certainly inspirational.

Tell me a bit about yourself

I’m Chris, Director AVECC, and a teacher by trade, though I stepped out of the classroom last year after nearly 40 years in education. I was brought up in Middleton, went to school in Bury, and have taught in Rochdale for the past two decades. My parents were from Oldham, so you could say I’m as “Atom Valley” as it gets.

My route into teaching wasn’t straightforward. I left school with no qualifications, determined to become a professional footballer, which I managed for a couple of seasons in the USA. While there, I began coaching young people and realised how much I enjoyed their energy, curiosity, and ideas. That experience brought me back into education with a renewed sense of purpose. I qualified as a teacher in 1989 and have taught in London, Manchester, and most recently Rochdale, working mainly with 11–16-year-olds in state secondary schools.

From early in my career, I’ve been passionate about creating opportunities beyond the classroom. While teaching, I forged strong links with universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, to encourage young people from underrepresented areas to aim higher. Having benefitted from a second chance in education myself, I know first-hand the transformative power of education just how powerful it can be to recognise your own potential, whatever your background.

Tell us a bit more about AVECC

The Atom Valley Education Challenge Consortium (AVECC) is a sustained academic programme working with every state secondary school in Rochdale, alongside founding partners the RDA, Rochdale Council, Rochdale Sixth Form College, the Altus Trust, Pembroke College, Oxford, St John’s College, Cambridge and the University of Cambridge. This partnership brings together some of the borough’s most significant stakeholders and leaders in world class education to benefit local people, ensuring the skills needed for Atom Valley are developed here, inspiring the future leaders, innovators, and pioneers of Rochdale.

We run a year-round programme, not just one-off trips, for Year 8 and Year 9 pupils. These combine face-to-face sessions in Rochdale’s Town Hall with visits to Oxford and Cambridge. Academics deliver everything from Italian poetry workshops to science masterclasses, and we work closely with parents and teachers so everyone feels part of the journey.

A highlight for me is our International Summer School, fully funded by our California-based partner World Strides. Its director, a former Oxford lecturer, believes strongly in the social mobility ideals of AVECC. Each year, Rochdale students spend a month living and learning at Pembroke College, Cambridge, an experience that can be genuinely life changing.

Why the RDA partnership is key

The RDA is all about innovation and thinking differently, which aligns perfectly with AVECC’s goals. We share the belief that when something hasn’t worked before, it’s time to try a new approach. From the outset, the RDA recognised that this work isn’t simply about raising aspirations, it’s about opening up future pathways that young people may not yet see or feel confident pursuing. AVECC is dedicated to improving academic attainment and creating opportunities that enable young people to make informed choices about their futures, whether academic or otherwise. We are committed to breaking down barriers and addressing the underrepresentation of young people from areas like Rochdale in prestigious universities.

The RDA is future focused, recognising that the borough’s long-term economic prosperity depends on developing the skills needed for tomorrow’s industries, particularly in Atom Valley. By aligning education with emerging sectors, they ensure local people can access high-value, sustainable careers. Skills development isn’t just a social good, it’s a driver of inward investment, business growth, and innovation. Through our partnership, we’re building a skilled workforce that will strengthen the local economy and secure a thriving future for the borough.

What do you really enjoy about your profession?

No two sessions are ever the same. One day I’m in Rochdale’s Town Hall; the next, I’m speaking with world-class academics in Oxford or Cambridge - it’s still a pinch-me moment for someone from Middleton.

But, when I think about what’s important, it’s my connection with young people, getting them to see things in a different way, listening to their ideas, but also changing minds and ultimately seeing how they see themselves.  That, for me, is the joy of what I do.

What makes you get up in the morning?

Knowing the work we’re doing can change family trees. It’s not just about the young people in our programmes, it’s about the generations who follow, who’ll see that the best opportunities are open to them too.

I’ll never forget the first summer school we ran. I offered a place to a young man, and he said, “Sir, this is mad. Kids like us don’t do things like this.” He is now a student In Pembroke College, Oxford! 

Those moments are what get me up in the morning.

Tell me something people don’t know about you

I might have a rugged rugby-playing exterior, but it’s a complete act, at home, I’m a big softy with three cats.