The first in a series of practitioner opinion pieces, this paper argues that English public education is failing to serve learners in the post-pandemic world and urgently needs reimagining. Written by former school leaders and education advisers, it contends that the current system — built around centralised measurement, compliance and content delivery — leaves insufficient space for young people to grow, be valued or flourish as human beings. The authors call for a new vision of education that reframes the purpose of schooling: moving from performance and conformity toward empowering learners and supporting diverse ways of learning. Candid, experience-grounded and deliberately provocative, it sets the frame for the papers that follow.