Staff Departures
Al Saralis
Churcher’s is blessed with many things and having its own Peter Pan, the person who never grew old, is one such blessing. It seems somewhat incongruous to be writing in letters and words about someone whose life is almost entirely about pictures, but Al Saralis, Churcher’s very own Peter Pan as one person describes him, deserves accolades both pictorial and written. Al is certainly not one who believes ability or success is pre-determined. He was never going to allow the passing of time to dampen his spirits or erode his enthusiasm and energy. Likewise, Al believes everyone has the ability to draw; it is just that some need to believe in themselves a little more and have the encouragement and guidance to draw that talent out. There are many aspects of Churcher’s College that make us stand out from the crowd and Art is recognised as being particularly special here. Al has been at the Art helm at Churcher’s since 1996 and his legacy hangs on
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many a wall both within school and in the homes of pupils past and present. The foundations he has created and, from those, the extraordinary exam results we have enjoyed, will, I am sure, carry on for many years to come. I remember my first experience of Churcher’s and admiring the quality of art here. I had assumed it was just one of those fortunate moments; a kind of planets aligning moment when the school was blessed with an unusual number of talented artists. But the quantity of such stunning quality did not stop after just one year; there is a perennial smorgasbord of artistic brilliance on display here. Every wall, every corner of the school carries evidence of it and with it Al’s influence. Al would be the first to admit he is a hard task master, he expects much, but so many generations have delivered so much and with such reward for themselves and for us observers as a consequence. Of course, art success here is not down to a one-man band; Al is adamant that it is a team effort, the
The Churcherian 2020
ideas and inspirations came from all within that team, not one person. As a proud Welshman he remembers, and rightly celebrates, the decades of rugby brilliance and how that arose not from one soul but from synergism of those in the scarlet shirts; likewise, the art here. That Al is retiring surprised many, not least because they didn’t think he was old enough to do so; that his personal, professional artistic career has taken off and that he is in big and growing demand from galleries, even in foreign climes, is probably less of a surprise. Over the 24 years Al has been here there are many who have benefitted hugely from his tough love approach to art. There is abiding evidence on many a wall of the stunning art created by many of his charges because of his encouragement, guidance and inspiration. A man more passionate about his subject, those he teaches and the Welsh rugby team is hard to find!
