In conversation with... Jak Martin

We sat down with Jak Martin, Head of Foundation at GLF Schools to to learn more about the Foundation and discover what drives his passion for the role.

What is the GLF Schools’ Foundation and what do you do?

We created the GLF Schools’ Foundation in 2022 to level the playing field for all our students, no matter their background, with regards to educational opportunities and experiences. Primarily, we want to make sure that all students can enjoy sports, school trips and activities that might otherwise be outside their reach.

How do you know the Foundation is achieving its aims?

At the moment, we track attendance for all the pupils we support, and we can see that attendance has increased on average. We also want to track students’ well-being and how happy they are in school, because we know that the children's enjoyment has a positive impact on education. We'd like to be able to track every one of the students we support beyond school, to see the real impact the Foundation has had on a child’s life. For now, we are happy to see that attendance in school increases on the days children are attending a Foundation programme. Children come to school because that's something that they really enjoy, and they don't want to miss out on.

How did you come to be involved in GLF and the Foundation?

I went to Glyn School, so I am a GLF man through and through from 11 years old! After leaving school and university I pursued my dream of professional sport. In my case, this was cricket in Australia. I always knew that other than sport my other great passion was education, and I had some great role models at Glyn, including my P.E. teachers. I came back from Australia, worked as a teaching assistant at Glyn for a year and qualified as a teacher. I became a P.E. teacher there and eventually became Head of P.E. in 2016.

In April 2016 I was diagnosed with a serious illness and was paralysed from around three quarters of the way down my back. I was given a five per cent chance of walking ever again. I spent a long time in hospital, learning how to walk again. I was in a wheelchair and for the first time I experienced the unfairness of barriers and not being able to participate in sport. I was also in a fortunate enough position financially to receive physiotherapy, which was a huge part of my recovery. From that point I resolved I had a mission to make sport and other extracurricular activities more accessible, removing barriers, whether financial or anything else.

What is the Boundless Festival?

It’s a series of competitions and events across schools within GLF, spanning music, art, drama, sport and academia. Schools and pupils compete against each other all the way to finals. These events make up the Boundless Festival, which will culminate in a great celebration at Twickenham Stadium in July.

I'm hoping the Boundless Festival will be a massive celebration of participation and talent across several different areas in all our schools. We've started with a basketball tournament; we've had maths which is based on timetable rock stars.

We've tried to make the festival so that we can celebrate everyone. If you're a mathematician, you'll get celebrated. If you're amazing at spelling, you'll get celebrated, if you've got an incredible singing voice, you'll get celebrated as well.  If you’re great at football, or if you're incredible at chess, you’ll be recognised. We've tried to make quite a broad spectrum, which I'm sure next year we can make even broader.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of your role?

Without a doubt the most rewarding aspect is seeing the impact that the funding is having on these individuals. There are programmes that we support in one of our schools, which is alternative provision for children who are finding school very difficult.

The funding helps them go on trips and extracurricular experiences that support the curriculum and, for those students, attendance has gone up dramatically. And their readiness to go to lessons has also improved. So, I think it's really seeing the impact that the Foundation is having on the children that need it the most.

What drove you to want to get involved in education and leadership?

I think what drove me to this is that in schools, I spent quite a lot of my time looking after and trying to find solutions for children that find school difficult, and I genuinely believe that the solution is the Foundation.

Of all the children I've looked after in the past, none of them wanted to be naughty. As soon as children have a positive experience, they start to engage a little bit better in school and they start to discover that life is really cool and there's lots of fun to be had.

What’s your proudest moment as a teacher?

I think most teachers will have a handful of students who they've worked closely with whom they have kept in touch. There's one student that I mentored. She was finding school very difficult; home life was tough. I got her a job with an alumnus, and she's coaching for that company.

Now she's going back into schools to mentor kids who are having a tough time. And for me, that's the full circle. She's holding down two jobs and her favourite thing is to go back and speak to kids who also have a challenging home life and speak to them. I think that's the biggest thing that a teacher can ever give back to any student, giving them the qualities to become a good person.

If you could describe your job in one word, what would it be?

Essential. Because I think without it, we're missing a massive chunk of what education should give to students. I think having these extracurriculars means every student gets the same experiences and opportunities in schools that help you become a better person, and the person you're meant to be.

For more information about the GLF Schools' Foundation please click here.