A headteacher told his pupils that he was gay and introduced his husband to them in a moving assembly. Colin Scott, who leads Risedale School in Hipswell, North Yorkshire, made the move on Monday.
It's believed he is the first UK state school head to come out as gay to his pupils. Mr Scott, 54, has since thanked his husband, staff and governors at the school, reports YorkshireLive, which said that the Mail Online reported that the assembly was held to mark Pride Month.
Mr Scott announced that he was gay by introducing his 512 pupils to his husband, Drew Dalton. The couple were joined by Hanna Johnson, North Yorkshire Police's LGBTQ+ representative, and Lt Colonel Jim Turner, the openly gay commander at Catterick Garrison.
Mr Dalton works at the University of Sunderland as a sociology lecturer. Last year, private school headteacher, Nick Hewlett, marked a similar occasion when he, too, came out to his pupils during an online assembly.
Like Mr Scott, Mr Hewlett told his students at St Dunstan's College in London that he is "happily married and gay".
For Mr Scott, the moment that he was able to tell his students about his sexuality provided a turning point in his life - as he had once battled with his sexuality. The head revealed that he had faced "fear and turmoil" throughout his life and said that his sexuality had even forced him to give up a career in the Navy.
Mr Scott's husband revealed on Twitter that, far from being on the receiving end of further prejudice, Mr Scott was met with applause from his students. He said: "So today, my husband @colindscott became the first ever U.K. state school secondary Headteacher to come out to his pupils #Pride2022 #edchat #education
"They applauded him + he has since received amazing emails from parents. I'm so proud of him."
In a public response to the tweet, Mr Scott revealed that he "couldn't have done it" without the support of his husband, and the staff and governors at school. Many parents have since got in touch with Mr Scott to add their support.
And the school's chairman of governors, John Glahome, said that he was "so pleased" that his school community was so accepting of Mr Scott.
