Paul Patrick

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Born on 23 July 1950 in South Shields, Paul Patrick is an openly gay teacher and leading British LGBT rights activist specialising in fighting homophobia in the public and voluntary sectors; particularly in the education system.

He first went to South Shields Grammar School but moved to Burnley at the age of fifteen and attended Burnley Grammar before going to Phillipa Fawcett College, London (a college of the University of London) where he studied English and Drama.

He became a teacher in 1972 at the Roger Manwood School, Lewisham. He quickly became Head of Drama and a member of the teachers’ advisory panel for Greenwich Young People’s Theatre in Education Company and worked with the teachers and advisors who produced the Inner London Education Authority’s “Drama Bulletin”.

In 1974, he co-founded the Gay Teachers’ Group (Schools Out since 1981) and was its secretary until 1982. He was the first teacher in Britain to come out to parents and pupils and retain their job, and went on to be promoted. He then became the first single gay man to be allowed to foster a young heterosexual male.

In 1976, he co-founded the Lewisham Association for Multicultural Education. In 1983, he became the Equal Opportunities Officer for the school he had just helped into amalgamation as a member of the Crofton School Advisory Team. While continuing to teach English and Drama, he became the co-ordinator for a project bringing adults with learning disabilities into the school to use the facilities and work with pupils.

This work was recognised by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) who appointed him an advisor for equal opportunities in the areas of Expressive Arts, particularly Drama & Theatre Studies, PHSE and the pastoral curriculum. Soon he was co-opted to the Relationships and Sexuality Project and sat on its steering group, became the Multi-ethnic Inspectorate representative on the Authority's P.H.S.E. Advisory panel, a member of the Authority's video panel. He also worked with the ILEA publishing section to produce materials, videos and guidelines for teachers. This, until the abolishion of the ILEA in 1990 when he returned to teaching English and Drama at Crofton School.

In May 1996, he took some time out to concentrate on writing and his training work and co-founded Chrysalis,a training collective, with his close friend and colleague, Sue Sanders.

In 1997 he joined the staff of Accrington and Rossendale College, working first in their Student Services Department and later moving on to full-time lectureship. In September 1999 he joined their Performing Arts Team to work full time teaching BTEC Foundation, BTEC National and HND Performing Arts. He also directed several plays including an education piece on homophobic bullying which toured local schools and was performed at teachers’ conferences. He then moved to Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School where he taught for three years, leaving after a period of illness. He continues to work as a supply teacher enabling him to devote more time to his writng, training and public speaking.

In June 1999, he addressed the International Conference of Teachers of English.

In August 2000 he was the UK representative at an international conference, funded by the European Union and held in Finland on the development of lesbian and gay issues in the curriculum and anti-bullying strategies.

In 2002 he became the Co-chair of Schools Out together with Sue Sanders. He also became the Equal Opportunities Officer of the NUT - Lancashire Division and a member of the NUT’s LGBT Working Party.

In 2003, he became a member of the NUT's North-West Region Council.

Since 2004, he sits on the Steering Group of the LGBT History Month (UK) for which, together with a team of teachers, he creates and vets lessons and assembly suggestions. He also has toured the country promoting LGBT History Month to a wide range of groups and organisations.

As well as being a teacher, Paul Patrick has written on a range of issues and sub-edited others' work. His articles have been published in many prestigious publications including Gay News, The Guardian, The Times Educational Supplement, The Teacher. He has also worked on several educational video programmes.

He is currently working as a consultant to the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights.

He regularly appears in the national press, on TV and radio programmes dealing with education, equality and LGBT issues and fulfills many public speaking engagements. He has lectured on PGCE and M Ed courses at Goldsmiths College and the Institute of Education.

He is currently working on Biting the hand that feeds me!, the first volume of his autobiography.