Headmaster Comes Out to Students at LGBTQ+ History Month Assembly

An English headmaster came out to his students in a moving video.

Nicholas Hewlett, the headmaster at St. Dunstan's College in Catford, England, just outside of London, declared, "I am happily gay and in a same-sex relationship," Monday in a virtual assembly.

In his remarks, the 41-year-old educator assured his audience that being LGBTQ+ should "never be seen as a barrier to success and happiness." To illustrate this, Hewlett recounted the story of Martin Preston, a graduate of St. Dunstan's who later became the school's chaplain and a teacher of religious studies. He was supported by his students after being outed by Private Eye magazine -- in defiance of an antigay administrator.

Preston passed earlier this year. But Hewlett noted how pleased he would be that the school was observing LGBTQ+ History Month, which now takes place every February in England.

In an earlier interview with The Sunday Times of London, which speculated that Hewlett may be the first headmaster to come out to his students in the United Kingdom, Hewlett revealed that one of his out students inspired him to come forward.

"I was so blown away by the courage of him that something flipped in my head," he told the publication. "I thought then of my own situation and thought: 'This is ridiculous.' Here I am as a happily married gay man, and the children do not know that at school."

In the virtual assembly, Hewlett also addressed coming out. "Have the courage to be true to yourself and allow others to be true to themselves also. Keep an open mind as to your identity and the identity of others," he said, while also warning against the tendency to "pigeonhole" others.

Watch the speech below.