Following his retirement, he continued working with the NSW Department of Education, mainly with young teachers and graduate recruits. This led him to proudly declare that he had been on the Department of Education payroll for 60 years – possibly an unequalled accomplishment.

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In 1966 Sargeant married Caroline Moore. The marriage, which produced three sons, ended in divorce. In 1994 he married a fellow high school teacher Lesley Hardwick, who brought two children to the marriage.

Throughout his life Sargeant’s passion for education ran parallel to his obsession with sport. As a young man he had dreamt of becoming a professional footballer. He played representative rugby union at school and at Armidale Teachers’ College, and received a College Blue in 1962. When appointed to St Mary’s High School in outer Sydney, in a strong rugby league town, he immersed himself in training and managing school and representative league teams, touring New Zealand with them in the 1970s.

Working with him was both a joy and an education. He was the most non-judgemental person. He treated the girls as teenagers as well as responsible mothers, and I was constantly astounded by his unending patience when dealing with his students.

In 2003 he was named the NSW Community Father of the Year in recognition of his contribution to family and community.

In 2004 Sargeant retired as principal of Plumpton High, and his groundbreaking work there with teenage mothers petered out. The Department of Education told him that the program marginalised the community. In an interview he said: “I thought that was garbage. I thought it galvanised the community.”

That view was reflected in two nominations for Australian of the Year and in 2004 an Order of Australia for service to education and to youth, particularly his work through the establishment of the Young Mother’s Program.

For the next 10 years Sargeant travelled throughout NSW as an Australia Day ambassador. Sargeant was unquestionably a pioneer. He described teaching as: “The only profession where you can change the future of this country for the better. We shape kids’ attitudes. We guide them, nurture them, encourage them and educate them in all manner of life’s skills. It’s challenging, but so very, very rewarding.”

In 2012 we filmed Plumpton High Babies 10 Years On and caught up with three of the eight young women who appeared in the original series. They were full of praise for their principal’s care and concern for them.

One student, Simone Miller, eventually married her first love, Marc, the father of her baby. She is adamant that throughout her pregnancy and after her son’s birth, continuing with school would have been impossible without the emotional and practical support she was given.

Another beneficiary of the program, Jacinta Beard, recalled that Glenn Sargeant would call her every morning at 5.30am without fail, with a follow-up call 10 minutes later to make sure she hadn’t fallen back to sleep and would make it to school.

Baby Marquez, now a primary school teacher, was 15 when she became pregnant and entered the Program. She said that Sargeant had given her hope to continue achieving her life goals.

“I consider myself and my children to be a part of his legacy. He will always be remembered for his contribution to education and more importantly, my life.”

Sargeant’s work reflected his belief that “for change to happen you’ve got to be a bit of a risk-taker because you are really going where no one has probably gone before.”

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Today the Plumpton High Young Mothers’ Program is being emulated by schools in Victoria, Western Australia, Queensland, and the United Kingdom.

Glenn Sargeant is fondly remembered and mourned by many, particularly young people he helped and guided. After his death, the Plumpton High Facebook page showed around 600 positive posts.

He is survived by his wife Lesley, sons, Mark, John and Rodney from his first marriage, stepdaughter Sarah, stepson James and 11 grandchildren.

Aviva Ziegler is a highly regarded documentarian.

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