Thanks for taking the time to visit my just giving page! 

My name is Matthew Slater, a 51 year old father of four. I have worked in education for the past 27 years, most recently as the Head of Links Academy in Hatfield. Links is a small school that educates secondary aged children who have been permanently excluded from a main stream school.

As a young man, growing up in Blackburn my passion was swimming. I competed nationally as a teenager, once swimming in the same race (but a long way behind) Olympian and world record holder Mark Foster. 

In later life I have occasionally returned to swimming, this time as a Master. I completed at the National Championships once more, however in the winter of 2019 I made the decision to become a distance swimmer with a plan to swim the ‘marathon’ of swimming events a 10k river swim. 

I started training in the pool through the winter and stopped only because the pandemic closed the pools. The impact of the closure and the effect of the pandemic made me reflect upon my goal and a new plan began to emerge. 

And so I began training at Hatfield Swim Centre in July 2020 with a clear goal in mind. I wanted to swim outdoors in open water, but the difference was I wanted to do it for the greater good. 

I saw the sacrifices made by people through the pandemic, not least the NHS and educators, but also bus drivers and shop workers etc. 

After researching and reading I found an organisation called Aspire. They are a national charity supporting people with spinal cord injury. 

Every year, to raise funds, they arrange for teams of 6 people to attempt to swim the English Channel. In 2021 I have been allocated a place on one of those teams. 

My aim is to raise as much money as I can for this amazing charity. Any help you can be, would be greatly appreciated. 

My talented and technically savvy daughter Alice is currently devising my social media presence which includes this page and :

matthewswimsthechannel@outlook.com.

Twitter: ​matthewsimsthechannel

Instagram:​matthewswimsthechannel

Best wishes and keep swimming

Matthew