New Brighton housing block for the homeless named after inspirational teacher who died suddenly

A new housing block for homeless people is being named after an inspirational Brighton teacher who died suddenly.

Manoj Natha-Hansen, who worked at St Martin’s Primary School, died of an undiagnosed heart condition in September 2020.

Now Gladstone Court, next door to the school in Hartington Road, is to be named Manoj House in his memory.

READ THIS: Female volunteers at RNLI Brighton come together to celebrate International Women's Day | SussexWorld (sussexexpress.co.uk)St Martin’s acting head teacher Jane Joshi said: “Manoj Natha-Hansen was a loved and respected colleague and friend. Our staff were devastated when he died suddenly at the age of 54.

“He was a teacher for 18 years and specialised in special educational needs. He campaigned for the rights of vulnerable children in his schools and for the rights of adults who worked in education.

“He also adopted a young boy with his partner and continued to support him in Brighton when he became a young adult.

“Manoj was just embarking on a big project in our school looking at equalities when he died. Our whole school community misses him deeply.”

Mr Natha-Hansen, who grew up in Leicester in a Hindu family, was also a well-known LGBTQ and anti-racism campaigner who won awards from the National Education Union.

In a video published by the NEU, he spoke about being a 14-year-old boy from an ethnic minority, growing up in the knowledge that he was gay.

He said that he wished that at least one teacher at his secondary school could have been an openly gay man able to offer support to teenagers like him.