For Sean O'Sullivan doing his PGCE was a means to an end but serendipity and a role in an amazing special school has led to a deeply fulfilling career

Why I became a teacher: Sean O'Sullivan found a role he loved by chance. Photograph: Sean O'Sullivan
Becoming a teacher wasn't a life long ambition. I did a degree in psychology and had the option to do a PGCE with a focus on educational psychology. I anticipated doing four or five years in the classroom and then training to be an educational psychologist.

Mossbourne academy is noted for its traditional approach to teaching and learning. Photograph: Alamy
One of the government's flagship academy schools has lost a legal challenge over its refusal to admit a number of children with special educational needs.

Parents have successfully challenged Mossbourne academy in Hackney, east London, in five legal cases, while a sixth has been adjourned.

The cases include one in which the school refused to admit an 11-year-old boy with cerebral palsy, arguing that it would compromise other children's education and that it already has a higher-than-average number of pupils with special needs.