Royal seal of approval for Teacher Tommy T
15th May 2025 – Tags: Inclusive Learning, Staff
Inclusive Learning lecturer Tom Egleton, who is known to his TikTok and YouTube followers as ‘Teacher Tommy T’, has spoken to the King about his popular social media videos about school life.
Tom and his wife were invited to the Buckingham Palace garden party for staff from the world of education and skills, which was attended by King Charles, Queen Camilla, and the Education Secretary, The Right Hon Bridget Phillipson.
Tom has worked as a Special Educational Needs teacher at City College Norwich for the past twelve years, working with our Inclusive Learning students on practical courses designed to equip them with the skills they need to thrive in the modern world.
In 2020, during the Covid lockdown, he began creating school-themed comedy videos as a way to stay connected with his students.
Five years on, he has built a community of over 4 million young people across social media. Tom uses his platforms to engage young people on a range of topics, from exam stress to tips for transitioning from primary school to high school - with a plenty of jokes thrown in.
Tom Egleton meeting King Charles at the Buckingham Palace garden party.
Tom says he is proud of the positivity surrounding Teacher Tommy T and of the opportunities it has provided to offer tips and advice to help young people with their learning:
When you’re doing a comedy video and you see a comment saying, I’m actually really worried about my SATs, you can’t just make light of that. So I then do a video to support them.
I do top tips, which I find are really useful. I network with other teachers and say, if I could speak on your behalf, what would you say? And then I just make the videos.”
He hopes that the recognition that young people have for Teacher Tommy T can help add positively to how teachers are perceived:
It’s quite rare for teachers sometimes to get that positive vibe. Making a teacher into almost like a celebrity status is quite a cool thing. I think it’s quite positive to give teachers a nice reputation online.”
In true Teacher Tommy T style, Tom has some great one-liners to share about the experience of going to Buckingham Palace – look out for his next video for more about the day.
It was surreal. When I was lined up waiting to be greeted by the King and Queen, I can only describe it as being like waiting outside the headteachers’ office when you’ve done something wrong.
But Charles was actually a really friendly guy, he made me feel at ease, and Camilla was lovely. It was nice talking to the King about what I do and to be recognsied. It was wonderful, it is definitely the highlight of my career.”