Teacher banned after lying about graduating from Cambridge and claiming to be five years younger than he was
A teacher who lied about going to Cambridge University and told his school that he was five years younger than himself was suspended from his profession indefinitely.
Nicolas Martin, head of a sixth form at St Edwards School in Cheltenham, admitted lying on job applications and forging documents.
Following an investigation by the school, it was discovered that he had also lied about being a magistrate.
Mr Martin said at the disciplinary hearing that he tried to portray himself as “younger, more dynamic and more fun”.
The 43-year-old actor qualified as a teacher in 2006 and started working at St Edmund’s in September of the same year. He successfully applied for the head of the sixth form in 2024 and later applied for the position of vice-president in 2025.
Inconsistencies between the applications led to his investigation and subsequent referral to the teaching regulator.
A professional conduct panel heard Mr Martin said his date of birth was 1987 in his 2025 application, despite previously saying it was 1982.
When asked about the discrepancy, he initially said someone might have messed up his handwriting, but in follow-up emails he stated that the date before 1982 was incorrect and that he had been trying to correct this for several years.
His employment records, including his passport and driver’s licence, showed a date of birth of 1982, but Mr Martin said the problem was related to an error in the old passport.
The school then carried out further checks with the Department for Education and found records only dating back to 1982.
Mr Martin then produced updated passport and driver’s license documents showing his date of birth of 1982.
As part of the investigation, the school also examined his job application in 2024. In the application, he said his date of birth was November 2012, which would make him 12 years old.
He also claimed in his 2025 application that he had received a master’s degree in history from the University of Cambridge, while in his 2024 application he told the school that he had received a master’s degree in history from Lancaster University.
When asked to see his Cambridge diploma, Mr Martin said he had a copy of the certificate and claimed he had the original at home because “he liked to show it to his friends at the weekends”.
The University of Cambridge later confirmed that the details on the certificate were incorrect.
Mr Martin used the post-nominal phrases “MA (Cantab)” and “JP” in his signature and stated in both applications that he served as a magistrate approximately once a month.
HM Courts and Tribunals Service confirmed there was no record of him acting as a magistrate in recent years.
At a disciplinary hearing in March, Mr Martin admitted acting dishonestly, admitting he had given an incorrect date of birth, issued a forged certificate and had not served as a magistrate for several years.
The panel report stated: “Teachers must demonstrate appropriate and professional respect for the ethics, policies and practices of the school in which they teach and maintain high standards in their own attendance and punctuality.
“The panel found that Mr Martin’s conduct fell significantly short of the standards expected from the profession.”
He has been suspended from the classroom indefinitely and must wait two years before he can apply to have the restraining order revoked.
