Stuart Howarth | Why education is key

Stuart Howarth’s success in specialist teaching has continued to impress since he was awarded an education grant by Rugby League Cares early in his playing career.

The Wigan Warriors Academy product enjoyed a decade-long professional career that featured spells with a host of clubs, including Wakefield Trinity, Salford, St Helens, Hull FC, Workington and Whitehaven.

Since hanging up his boots in 2020 after six games with Rochdale, Stuart has gone on to make a huge difference to the lives of hundreds of young people with special educational needs in his career with Salford-based EdStart Schools, who he had linked up with in 2016.

Stuart was promoted to head teacher last year and now runs a school in Wigan which provides a place to learn for 11 to 16-year-olds with a variety of social, emotional and mental health needs.

Marsh Green School has just passed an Ofsted inspection enabling it to operate as a full-time independent school, an achievement that saw the Mayor of Wigan, Coun Marie Morgan perform the opening ceremony.

In an interview with Wigan Today, Stuart spoke about the support he and other players are receiving to help them make a successful transition into the education sector, where current and former professional athletes bring lots of transferable skills.

Read the full article on Stuart’s success at Marsh Green School on Wigan Today

It’s about sending the right message out to both current and old players. I’ve done a lot of work with Rugby League Cares about the transition into education where many think they have to have a degree when they don’t necessarily have to.