When Hazel Grove High School joined the Laurus Trust, Martin was delighted to be appointed as Head of School. Prior to this, Martin was Deputy Headteacher at Cheadle Hulme High School, where he was a senior leader for six years. He is a Specialist Leader of Education (SLE) and is passionate about improving the educational opportunities for young people.

Martin graduated with a BA (Hons) in English and Sport in 2005, and then went on to complete his PGCE. He has been teaching for 18 years and began his teaching career in Tameside before joining CHHS in 2011. Martin has experienced a variety of roles throughout his career which have focused on achievement, behaviour and pastoral care and effective teaching and learning.

In his role as an SLE Martin has supported underperforming schools and has successfully taken on the role of Acting Headteacher in these circumstances. He has completed his National Professional Qualification for Headship and has a Masters degree in Education. Martin is committed to creating the best possible opportunities for his students to succeed and develop a love of learning that will last and that will support them as they take their next steps in life. 

In September 2019 Hazel Grove High School joined the Laurus Trust, which is underpinned by the shared vision...“For everyone, regardless of background or circumstance, to be inspired, to thrive in all environments, to recognise what it takes to succeed, to set aspirational goals and to work hard to achieve them.” We opened our redeveloped Academic Sixth Form in September 2023 and currently have 1434 students on roll.

In our recent ‘Good’ Ofsted inspection in January 2022, Hazel Grove was classified as Outstanding in the areas of Leadership and Management; Personal Development and also in our Sixth Form provision with inspectors noting that staff “are highly positive about what leaders do to support them”.

We were so proud of our students who achieved truly impressive GCSE results in 2024. We had a progress 8 score of 0.22 which shows that student outcomes were excellent. Year 11 students achieving 9-4 in English and Maths was 73% and 50% achieved Grades 9-5. Furthermore, around a fifth of students achieved the top grades 7-9. In our third year of entering Year 9 students for GCSE Languages, an incredible 74% of students achieved a strong pass at grade 5 and 86% achived a pass at grade 4+. Over a third of students achieved grades 7-9, and 33 students achieved the top grade of a 9.

Hazel Grove is very much a part of the wider community and the partnership between students, staff and parents/carers is vital to the continued success of the school. We endeavour to provide students with the best possible opportunities to succeed and develop a love of learning that will last and that will support them as they take their next steps in life. Our hardworking and dedicated staff always have our students’ best interests at heart and challenge them to achieve their goals.

We set aspirational targets for all students and provide the curriculum, support and the structure needed to achieve them. This is essential to ensure that our students feel safe, confident and challenged. We have high expectations of all members of our school community and we provide opportunities for students to engage with the wider life of the school and, importantly, to develop the qualities, attitudes and habits which will allow them to flourish. At Hazel Grove High School, we place the professional development of staff at the very core of what we do. Our teachers know our students as individuals but they are also passionate and knowledgeable about their subjects. We all consider ourselves to be lifelong learners.

Providing high quality learning opportunities – and removing any barriers – is at the centre of what we want to achieve for our students and we remain committed to ensuring all our students can get the very best out of their time at Hazel Grove High School. our students can get the very best out of their time at Hazel Grove High School.