It has taken me a few months to be able to write this post. A friend of mine and PE colleague died earlier in 2025 and I want to share my recollections of him.

Glenn Colmer

Glenn was a friend. I got to know him when we were both Heads of PE across the amazing Hampshire Colleges Sixth Form network. I was Head of PE at Farnborough Sixth Form College in North Hampshire between 2005 and 2013 and Glenn was Head of PE of Itchen College, Southampton, at the same time. 

We crossed paths on regular occasions during that period. The network of Heads of PE met three times a year, often in Southampton, and the entire group of short- or trackie-wearing teachers would discuss everything from A-level PE to fixtures to student welfare to extra-curricular. 

Glenn was a cerebral type. In that context of a rowdy bunch of PE teachers, Glenn would be amongst the softest spoken, but when he spoke, he did so with confidence and calmness and he had the capacity to draw divergent –sometimes emotionally so– conversations to a consensus-based agreement. I didn’t know him well at the beginning, but I definitely noticed him and I wondered who he was and why he commanded, with real quietness, such authority. 

Then, in approximately 2010, Glenn and I shared a moment. Both Glenn and I were football nuts, and we gave a lot of energy and passion to our football coaching through work. The way men’s football and leagues work in the Hampshire Colleges is that Wednesday afternoons at 14:00 is kick-off time and, typically, the bigger colleges like Farnborough and Itchen in Southampton and Peter Symonds in Winchester would field three separate teams against that week’s opponents. Anyhow, this particular Wednesday it was the Itchen Sixth Form College v Farnborough Sixth Form College fixture and it was early season. The first and second XI of Farnborough was travelling to Itchen and the third XI of Itchen was travelling to Farnborough. Glenn was coaching the second XI for Itchen and I was doing so for Farnborough. The context was that my Farnborough team were back-to-back league winners who finished first the two previous seasons but, this particular year, we had an overhaul of players and were finding our feet as a team. Anyway, Itchen thumped Farnborough 10-0. I remember that day really well. After two consecutive seasons of pretty much winning every week, I was needing to console, guide and reassure. I was also needing to figure things out for the remainder of the season because matches were approaching back to back and every Wednesday would see a new challenge.

That day ended quietly, and Glenn and I had only fleeting interactions and conversations. I remember Glenn being kind and magnanimous but, otherwise, it was a normal, yet disappointing Wednesday afternoon.

A few weeks went past and the Farnborough 2nd XI played some, lost some, won some and then, by Christmas of 2010, found ourselves in a cup semi-final draw to be played in January. Guess who we drew? Itchen away.

So, in mid January 2011, my 2nd XI team and I made a second trip to Itchen, this time all alone as the semi-final was a one-off fixture, not a big college v college Wednesday event. My team was approximately the same as last time, and we had worked hard in preparation to be solid defensively and spring counterattacks. The game started and we hung on, defending in a low block, soaking up the pressure from Itchen. We got to 20 minutes: 0-0. We got to half-time: 0-0. We got to full time: 0-0. It was already an amazing turnaround, and it was noticeable that the Itchen players were getting a little flustered.

The extra time period began and, again, Farnborough held it tight. As it was January, it was almost dark by about 16:00 and the gloom set in. Then, in an explosion of activity, Farnborough defended a corner, cleared the ball and, somehow, miraculously, our centre midfielder Luke Cousins (Luke, it’s been ages, I hope you’re well) broke the offside trap, went clear on goal and chipped the goalkeeper. The ball lofted into the air, time seemed to stand still and then it started to fall. The ball fell towards the goal, scraped the crossbar and, in my opinion, bounced over the line and then, with the backspin the ball carried, kicked back out into the goalkeeper's hands. We all looked at the referee! Surely he knew it was a goal! “Play on!” he shouted. I fell to my knees. There were maybe 60 seconds left on the clock. The goalkeeper threw the ball out to the full back of Itchen, they progressed up the line, crossed the ball from a very deep angle and our centre back, a lovely lad called Matt headed the ball clear. The whistle shrieked. I thought it was over and then we were into penalties but there was a commotion on the pitch. The referee was pointing to the penalty spot of our team. The referee had awarded a penalty against Matt for handball. 

I will tell you here and now that, if a referee awards a decision, that decision is correct by definition. This is my sporting philosophy, but that philosophy abandoned me that day. I knew he hadn’t handled the ball. I shouted I don’t remember what at the referee, I threw my arms in the air and I made my feelings very, very clear. It made no difference. The Itchen #10 placed the ball on the spot, struck it in the corner and it was 1-0, followed by the threepeated blast of the whistle to make it all over. 

I was devastated. I stormed onto the pitch, gave some choice opinions to the referee and then, from nowhere, I felt an arm around my shoulders. It was not threatening. In fact, it was reassuring and calming, and I was turned away from the referee and walked away. The arm was Glenn’s and, although I don’t remember what else he said to me on that walk to the building, I do remember him saying, “Come on, let’s get a cup of tea.” 

We left the scene and went and sat in Glenn’s office. Glenn told me things like how impressed he was at our mid-season turnaround. That he’d never seen such improvement in a team and that I should be proud of what had been achieved. He told me about the players in the Itchen team, who we managed to subdue, all of whom would have been previous years’ first-team players but this year were second XI because of the introduction of a football academy. He asked me about my family and about my job, and we must have spent about 30 minutes just talking about stuff. Glenn told me about his kids and how much he loved family life. He told me about his love of sport, those days golf, and asked me if I played. I remember telling him I’d love to join him one day for a round, but that I didn’t have the right shoes. 

Time passed over the coming years, and Glenn and I once again met in Hampshire meetings. I started to notice that Glenn seemed to make a point of agreeing with my inputs. Then in 2013, I left Farnborough and our association ended, at least for a while. 

By mid-2015, my life had changed a lot. I had created mypeexam.org and that platform was doing well. I commercialised it in September 2015, and guess who was one of my first customers: Glenn and Itchen College. He had followed my work and he gave me a call. He told me that he loved the videos and that he wanted to be part of it. Glenn introduced me to his colleague James Bedwell, who led on many aspects of the A-level PE course. James and I became close, and he even featured on some videos we made. 

You see, Glenn was an ally. Whatever happened on that day during the semi-final, Glenn made, I believe, a commitment to me. He saw something –I don’t know what– and he followed up on it and supported me in everything. 

By 2025, Glenn and Itchen College were amongst our longest-standing customers. 

I didn’t know that Glenn was poorly earlier this year. A dear friend of mine, Alan, who was my second in department at Farnborough sent me a message. I couldn’t believe it. I attended Glenn’s funeral remotely, and it was the most amazing celebration of life I have ever witnessed. There was immense sadness, but there was a continuous honouring of this amazing man who, clearly, had touched so many and had definitely left us all too early. 

Two Sundays ago, a teacher from Itchen who also happens to be a friend of mine was in our garden, enjoying a barbecue with his family and mine and watching the Euros 2025 final that England won on penalties v Spain. We chatted about Glenn and the fondness that both he and I felt was so clear in that discussion. 

Glenn, I miss you. You are and were a truly good man, and everyone who knew and loved you has lost a great ally. I’m sorry that you didn’t get to experience more years of life, because you deserved to. Thanks for what you did for me. You were and always will be a true ally. 

James Simms