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My name is Michael! And my life is a failure. My wife's left, I'm quite sure my son hates me, and I'm unemployed. But I'd rather all those things than be a pumped-up shit of a man like you. You've been a shit since you were a child. And I think you'll be a shit until you die. Probably because our dad was the biggest shit of all. And you learned to bully me so he wouldn't bully you...And that is such a great shame. But I am too old for it to be my problem anymore. Goodbye, Peter.
— Michael to Peter[src]


Michael Groff, commonly known as Mr. Groff, is one of the main characters in Sex Education. He is portrayed by Alistair Petrie. He is the strict father of Adam Groff, his older sister, and the husband of Maureen Groff. He used to be headmaster at Moordale Secondary School, and now works as a substitute math teacher at Cavendish College.

Early Life[]

Michael grew up with his parents and his older brother Peter. He especially had a strong connection with his mother, whom he described as a warm, caring but reserved woman. Thanks to her, Michael found comfort in cooking. Unfortunately, his strict father and brother frequently emotionally and sometimes even physically abused him for being too feminine and delicate, which caused him to abandon his passion for cooking. Michael would eventually adopt similarly toxic values, using them later against his son, Adam.

Throughout the Series[]

Season 1[]

In the first season, Michael is introduced as a strict headmaster who tries to rule with an iron fist at Moordale Secondary while covering up escalating problems at his rigorous home, particularly his son's behavior, which is very damaging to both his reputation and the institution. Eventually, he sends Adam to military school, wanting him to change his behavior.

Season 2[]

In season 2, Michael becomes a major adversary to Jean's campus activities, as he considers them useless and unnecessary. After many years together, Maureen decides to leave him, leaving him feeling lost and forcing him to move out of their house. Additionally, he loses his position as headmaster after interrupting a play and attempting to humiliate Jean in front of the students and their parents.

Season 3[]

Michael moves in with his older brother, Peter, but later is forced to move out. He stops by Colin Hendricks's house and starts noticing his mistakes from the past. He decides to fix them by giving Jean back her notebook that he stole to get rid of her from Moordale Secondary. He also makes attempts to become a better person by learning how to cook, trying to make up with Maureen, and eventually, cutting out negative people in his life like his brother. Michael also starts trying his best to get Maureen back.

Season 4[]

Michael finally finds a job and starts working at Cavendish College as a substitute math teacher. He also begins making an effort to win Maureen back and takes care of his relationship with Adam. Michael starts giving Adam driving lessons because Adam needs to know how to drive in order to keep his job at the farm. Michael also develops a relationship with his colleague, Gloria, with whom he has sex with, all the while imagining that he's doing it with Maureen, for whom he still has strong feelings. Eventually, thanks to his reconciliation with Adam and proving to Maureen that he has become a better person, he gets another chance with Maureen, which opens the door for their family to finally be happy.

Relationships[]

Romances[]

Gloria Masters (hook-up)[]

Michael and Gloria met shortly after Michael started working at Cavendish. The two hooked up, but while doing this Michael was imagining doing it with Maureen, whom he still loved. After Michael and Maureen officially got back together, Michael called things off with Gloria.

Family[]

Maureen Groff (wife)[]

Main article: Maureen and Michael
Michael and Maureen 3

Maureen is Michael's ex-wife. The two met when they were young and shared the same goals in life: a big, beautiful house, a dog, and children. They ended up having two children and were married for over a decade. However, Maureen stopped enjoying the marriage at a certain point when they stopped having sex. Michael believed that sex was only for young people. Additionally, Maureen and Michael had different approaches to parenting. While Maureen was caring and loving, Michael was more distant and strict. He also favored his daughter over his son, Adam.

In season 2, Maureen bravely makes the decision to divorce Michael, realizing that she deserves better. As Michael moves out of their house, Maureen begins to explore life beyond their marriage, finding joy in dating other men.

After some time, Michael started to notice the mistakes he had been making in recent years. He began to try to win Maureen back, wanting to make up for his mistakes. The two even got back together, but Maureen realized that it shouldn't have happened as it would be too confusing for Adam. Despite this, Michael didn't stop trying to reunite with Maureen, and the two started seeing each other secretly, behind Adam's back. Adam later found out about it and got angry with both of them, but eventually, he started to be happy for his parents as Michael improved his relationship with Adam, and Maureen officially decided to give him another chance.

Adam Groff (son)[]

107 Michael and Adam at the Moordale dance

Adam is Michael's son. Adam and his father have a strained relationship. Michael is strict and often disappointed with his son's behavior. After Adam won the school essay competition, he was convinced by Adam's stuttering while reading the essay that Adam hadn't written the essay, unlike his wife who believed Adam. Their tough relationship is evident when Maureen tries to take a photo of them before going to the school dance. Adam is too scared to even hug his father, and when Michael loses his temper, Maureen finally takes the photo. At the dance, Adam gets angry and tells Michael that he hates him, then leaves in anger. As a result, Michael sends Adam to a military school, Mountview, as a final chance for formal education.

After getting expelled from Mountview, Adam truly wants to improve and often tries to help his father, but this primarily ends with Adam failing and Michael being frustrated. Later, Maureen decides to divorce Michael, which doesn't upset Adam. After Michael moves out of their family house, Adam and him practically have no interaction (in season 3 they didn't interact at all).

In season 4, Michael tries to become a part of Adam's life again, wanting to make up for his behavior towards Adam in the earlier years, and genuinely tries to become a better person. He attempts to bond with Adam by offering him driving lessons for Adam's new job at the farm and wishes for him to be happy. Eventually, Adam and Michael share a father-son hug, representing their final reconciliation. After noticing that Michael has really changed, Adam also wants his parents to be happy.

Peter Groff (older brother)[]

Peter is Michael's older brother. Peter has been bullying Michael his whole life because he learned it from his father. He frequently calls Michael "Michaela." After separating from Maureen, Michael moved in with Peter. Although Peter acted like he didn't mind his brother's presence, in reality, both he and his wife Lucy showed their disapproval of Michael living with them. Not wanting to share space with Peter and Lucy anymore, Michael decides to move out.

Despite this, Michael was invited to a dinner organized by Peter for his friends and business partners. During the dinner, Peter started laughing at Michael and his cooking. This prompted Michael to finally stand up to his brother, telling him what he really thinks about him, and later saying goodbye to him. Michael doesn't want Peter in his life anymore.

His father[]

306 Young Michael Groff and his father

Michael grew up in fear of his own father, who taught his brother Peter to bully him. Both his father and brother humiliated him, and his father often told him that boys don't cry. As a result, Michael never cried since his childhood, not even after he got separated from his wife. Over time, Michael became someone he never wanted to be - much like his father - and he was strict and distant towards his own son, Adam, just as his father was towards him.

His mother[]

She was incredibly caring and loving towards Michael, which was the total opposite of her husband. She served as Michael's role model and someone he greatly admired.

Friends[]

Colin Hendricks (friend; former colleague & former roommate)[]

Throughout seasons 1 and 2, Michael Groff is the head of Moordale Secondary and consequently Colin's boss. Colin appears to be one of the few staff members who bears the brunt of Michael's anger. This is due to the sexual nature of the school's songs and play, as well as his inability to answer questions from students during SRE lessons observed by Jean Milburn. Despite all of this, Colin looks past these issues, even when Michael interrupts his show in the penultimate episode of season 2.

304 Michael, Colin and Emily in the Hendricks House

By season 3, Michael is feeling down and pretends to go for a job interview at Moordale to make it seem like he has a job. When he arrives, he is interrupted by Colin, who suggests they hang out, but Michael brushes him off. However, after overhearing a phone conversation between his brother and sister-in-law, during which they plan to kick him out of the house, Michael says he has a place to stay and goes to Colin's to ask if he can stay for a bit, to which Colin agrees. Michael stays with Colin for the rest of the season, and they start to become good friends, despite Michael's previous behavior towards Colin when he was the headmaster.

Jean Milburn (friend; former colleague; former enemy)[]

Michael and Jean 2

Michael had disliked Jean from the moment she started working at Moordale Secondary, where Michael was the headteacher. He wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible, and he accomplished this by stealing her notebook with private notes about her clients and revealing them to the public.

Some time later, Michael started to notice how badly he was behaving. He decided to return Jean's notebook and went to the Milburn house. Jean let him in, and the two started talking. Michael began telling Jean the story of his parents and his strict father, which was the main reason he became a bad person. Michael thanked Jean for the therapy session and then left.

Appearances[]

Episodes
Season Total
One 8
Two 8
Three M 7
Four 8
Total 31
Books
Sex Education: The Road Trip Sex Education: A Guide to Life
- M
= Appeared M = Mentioned
- = Did not appear P = Pictured

Memorable Quotes[]

Vaginas! Bloody vaginas!
— Michael yelling at Moordale students[src]

They're children, for God's sake! They don't know what they want.
— Michael yelling at Romeo and Juliet spectators[src]

I like this bowl.
— Michael to Peter[src]

Trivia[]

  • He is the second character in the show to appear on-screen, but only from behind.
  • In episode 5, Headmaster Groff is clearly shown wearing an Arnold Air Society Cadet 2nd Lieutenant Pin on his left collar. Arnold Air Society is an extracurricular organization for United States Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Cadets.
  • Prior to being principal at Moordale, Michael was a History and Geography teacher.[1]
  • In episode 2.8, Michael was seen sleeping in this office.
  • He was the headmaster of Moordale Secondary School in 2011-2021.

Gallery[]

Gallery
Sex Education Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Michael Groff.


Promotional Images[]

Episodic[]

References[]

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