'It gave me everything I needed': Preston teacher pushes for men's wellbeing as Round Table chair

A teacher has told of how joining a Preston mental health charity led him to oversee a regional social group.

Luke Stott, 27, currently works as a social media officer and area lead at Lancaster’s Round Table, which also covers Blackburn and Clitheroe.

Across the country, Round Table groups offer a supportive and fun space to men looking to make new friends and try out new activities.

Working alongside their women’s division, the Ladies’ Circle, volunteers also dedicate thousands of hours each year to fundraising for charity and community projects.

For Luke, it’s a far cry from his earlier days working as a primary school teacher, after moving from Halifax, West Yorkshire, for his teacher training.

“I had literally no friends around Lancaster,” Luke told the Lancashire Evening Post. “I was sort of stuck in a job where I was surrounded by a lot of women who were all older than me.

“I was in a relationship with somebody, but when that broke down, I suddenly realised that I that I actually was miles away from all of my old friends and family, and that was hard in and of itself.

“I was this close to leaving my job and going back to my family and friends. It wasn’t the year for me really, and the application to be a teacher would be the same in Halifax as it would be in London, so I thought I’d just go and pick up a job anywhere.

“But then the school chatted to me and did wellbeing check, which a lot of places don’t do, and [the headteacher] helped me make a list of all the pros and cons of moving back home versus staying here in Lancashire, and the pros were massive for staying.

“I didn’t know what to do or what I should be doing, so I started going to Andy’s Man Club in Preston.”

Andy’s Man Club is a nationwide support group which allows men to talk about their mental health and wellbeing in a judgement-free environment.

With more than 350 clubs across the country, the volunteer-led service has supported thousands of men who have struggled with poor mental health.

Luke said that joining Preston’s Andy’s Man Club gave him confidence “he never could have expected” - particularly as he feels there still remains a stigma around men discussing their mental wellbeing.

“It’s something I think a lot of people don’t talk about,” he said, “and I don’t think men like to talk about it in particular.

“Andy’s Man Club is a great place because every Monday, you’ll go down there at 7pm and meet with a group of people whose experiences are entirely different to yours.

“But there’s no, ‘my issue is worse than your issue’, none of that; they take it seriously, and that gives it a little big of weight.

“But once I’d been going there a little while, eventually my headteacher at school told me a little about the Round Table. It turned out her husband was the chairman at Lancaster, so I went down to meet them about two years ago by now - and the rest went from there.”

According to Luke, joining the Lancaster Round Table gave him “the community that he needed” while living away from his friends and family in Halifax.

After attending as a regular, Luke eventually began working as the group’s social media officer, before eventually being voted in for the position of area chairman a year after joining.

“[The Lancaster Round Table] gave me everything I needed,” Luke said.

“It gave me the mates I needed, all the support I needed... I never thought that could have been a possibility for me, at one time.

“I never expected to be going out every two weeks and doing something crazy and exciting, whether that’s paddleboarding, rafting, archery, blacksmithing... We get out there, meet mates, do something cool, and have a laugh, and we get to do so much amazing work for the community as well.

“We raise money for charity, we put benches out for people who passed away, all sorts. Every day at the Round Table is an exciting, fresh new day, really. I think that’s the biggest takeaway of them all, really: if anyone was going to consider it, that’s what they have to think about, you know?”

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