Simon Read (LGS 1983) recognised in the King’s New Year Honours list
Simon Read (LGS 1983) was recognised in the King’s New Year Honours list and has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for his services to the community and for his DofE work.
Simon is a teacher and is the DofE lead at a school in Oldham. As well as teaching, Simon is chairman of the city council. It is in these roles that he thrives in serving the community. During Covid, Simon set up support groups, Olympics at home and different ways to keep the up the community spirit during difficult times.
At the end of last year, Simon was notified that he would was receiving the award and could not believe it. In April this year, he received the award and following this he attended the Coronation Garden party at Buckingham Palace.
Congratulations, Simon!
Read more for Simon’s reflections on receiving the award and his charity work over the years.
I attended LGS in the early 80’s arriving in the 4th form (Year 10). It was a bit of an eye opener but, rather poignantly, I remember Mr Thorpe as one of the teachers who actively helped me settle in. It wasn’t smooth running through school, but I do remember that my bumpy ride was supported by many of the teaching staff, and I eventually left with four ‘A’ levels and a host of experiences and trips under my belt.
I gained a degree from Derby and did my teaching qualification at Nottingham University, eventually becoming a teacher at a fantastic school in Oldham. This is where the values and experiences I had gained began to tell. The way to treat students, the chance of giving them experiences that will last for a lifetime and the opportunity to support them in their growth and development has been fundamental to my work in school. One of the tasks I took on was to create a Duke of Edinburgh group. I set it up with 21 students, but after reading a comment from a successful Bronze Award student (she wrote ‘I didn’t think I was good enough’), I pioneered and introduced a program to involve the whole of Year 9, 250 students all doing Bronze, including an SEN group. This has had a knock on effect with 150 continuing on to Silver and 56 to Gold in the sixth form.
I married and we settled in Cheshire, and in 2011 we adopted our amazing daughters. Since moving to Cheshire, I have been involved in our village community group, organising and running activities such as concerts, village fetes, litter picks, basically all those activities an English village should have as a standard. The money raised is used to improve the community in varying projects, from planting to painting. From this, I was asked to join the Parish Council and became the chair four years ago.
My chairmanship coincided with the start of Covid, and during this time I set up and ran a Covid support group for vulnerable people in our village, which is still going today. I also ran and developed many activities that the residents could take part in and to support their wellbeing, such as VE day celebrations, treasure hunts, family Olympics etc.
Over the years, I have, through my hobbies, involved myself in many charitable events raising money for Christies, MacMillan and Youth homelessness charities, for example a 24 hour Scuba Diving challenge and sleeping rough to raise money and awareness for the homeless charity.
In December 2022, I received an email notifying me that I was to be awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the King’s New Year’s Honours for my work in the community and for DofE. The citation was a huge surprise but also an incredible honour. It meant that someone had felt that I had deserved the honour and had gone through the application process. I eventually found out that the process is extremely rigorous and to have been given the BEM meant that a huge amount of background checks and research has been undertaken. When the notification was made, the response was amazing and, I never thought I would say this, truly humbling in making me realise that I have made such an impact on people over the years.
On 24 April 2023 I was awarded my BEM by the Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire, and in May 2023, I attended the Coronation garden party at Buckingham Palace.
What I would say to LGS students is that throughout your life, you have an opportunity to change people’s lives for the better. It doesn’t have to be huge but small changes can impact people positively and change lives. Don’t do things for recognition; do it because it is the right thing to do. LGS is your starting point. Learn from it, take on its values and rise to the challenges you face. Never undervalue yourself or your ability to make a difference.