Falkirk teacher gearing up to compete in final of Mr Gay Great Britain

Alexander Wright will compete in the finals of the national competition at The Alnwick Garden on August 26. The 32-year-old, who lives in Larbert and has lived in the Falkirk area most of his life, said he’s excited to be taking part in the competition.

The former St Mungo’s High pupil said: ““I’m a little bit nervous but also dead excited. It’s all been building up to this. I’m looking forward to being myself, impressing the judges and just doing my best. The main reasons I applied was to develop my own confidence within myself and to be an advocate for the LGBT+ community.

"For many years as a teacher I’ve supported LGBT young people, supporting them during difficult times with their family and coming out and creating a safe space for them. It’s something I never had when I was in school so I wanted to give those young people a place they could be themselves without judgement and promote love and acceptance.

“When I was growing up there wasn’t really anyone I could talk to about that kind of thing. I love the subject I teach and the kids I work with, but I wanted to be that person that anyone could talk to about it. I want to be able to do more for people and be a voice and create a space that allows young people to come together and talk about these things.

“My job as a teacher is very rewarding, especially now when I work with some children whose background has been challenging. There is still so much more needing done in schools to normalise LGBT+ identities in class and the curriculum that’s why I want to take that step beyond my classroom and promote LGBT+ rights and inclusion across the country.

“I’m the only Scottish finalist so there is a lot of pressure to succeed but I’m feeling up to the challenge. I’ve done a lot of advocacy in the schools I’ve worked in and I want to take that to the next level if I win.”

As part of the competition, Alexander has been fundraising for two charities – The Charlie and Carter Foundation (CCF) and Northumberland Pride. Alexander completed a sponsored cycle from Edinburgh to Glasgow in aid of CCF, which provides families with financial support who have children with life limiting conditions. He also held a quiz night recently in The Wine Library.

He said: “I’m not a pro cyclist by any means, so it was a big challenge for me and I finished it. Only one family in Scotland has received help from CCF, so as well as raising money for them I want to raise awareness of the charity as I’m sure there’s lots of people that need this financial help, especially now with the cost of living crisis. As well as the cycle I also held a charity event in The Wine Library which raised £550 for the charity.”

The teacher has also been raising money for Northumberland Pride.

To donate to Alexander’s fundraising page for CCF click here. To vote for him in the Mr Gay Great Britain competition click here.