11 minute read
Valete
Mike Ponsford
(CR 1987-2021)
Picture the scene: a bright-eyed young (Welsh) English Beak strides into Court on his first day. An elder member of Common Room delivers the following welcome, ‘So you’re the new boy, are you? Well, watch your back!’ Since the arrival of Dr Michael Ponsford, the College’s induction of new Beaks has, fortunately, moved with the times, yet it is instructive that this rather alarming anecdote is close to the surface of Mike’s memory; kindness and inclusivity lie at the heart of the extraordinary service he has given over thirty-four years. MJP soon established himself as a truly outstanding English teacher, combining the sharpest of intellects and deepest subject knowledge with a warmth that soon radiated well beyond the confines of North Block. He took on the running of Poetry Society, encouraging Sixth Form English pupils to engage with the language and luminaries of this world. Mike arranged Own Verse evenings, endorsing and promoting creativity from within the community and also sharing poems from his considerable personal collection. It is no surprise that Mike’s talents were quickly identified in the boarding community, and he became the first RHT of the new C3 in 1989. He had been in post for just four terms when he was appointed Housemaster of Barton Hill, the start of fifteen very happy years. Together with Sue and their young family, Mike created a supportive, nurturing environment. When I took over Mike’s classroom in 2005, a postcard outside the door read ‘Some teenagers need a good listening to’ and this aptly crystallises his pastoral skills. The end of Mike’s tenure in BH was a boon for the English Department and, whilst the move away from House mastering undoubtably left a hole, Mike quickly immersed himself into the return of a full teaching timetable. Mike continued to offer pupils the benefit of his great pastoral wisdom in addition to his academic expertise. Mike was tempted back into residential life in the summer of 2010 to become RHT of B1. Here, he became Doccy P: avuncular, approachable, always interested in the boys, and an invaluable sounding board for this HM. Sue’s appointment as Dame of B1 in 2011 committed them to the House and they have given remarkable service to both B1 and New Court. As they begin retirement, Mike and Sue will split their time between Wales and Spain, visiting grandchildren, writing and walking. John Carroll (CR 2005-)
Alison Sharp
(CR 1990-2021)
This year brings Doc Sharp’s long and distinguished career at Marlborough to a close. Ali’s career has seen her make enormous contributions not only to Marlborough College here in Wiltshire, but also to Marlborough College Malaysia. I think if I were to characterise Ali’s input throughout her career, I would say that she has been a pioneer whose determination to challenge accepted norms has been instrumental in developing the Marlborough brand that both schools trade on so successfully. Ali arrived at the College in 1990, just as Marlborough was experiencing the upheaval of becoming fully co-educational. Ali quickly established herself as an excellent classroom practitioner who, on the back of her PhD experience, was imbued with the importance of making the learning of Biology a very practical experience. As Ali’s portfolio of responsibilities grew, so did her reputation as a trail blazer: she was the first female Contingent Commander
Valete
not only of Marlborough’s CCF but of any CCF across the country. She was at various times Head of Shell and Resident House Tutor in both Summerfield and Millmead and it was only a matter of time before she took on a boarding house – New Court. After her stint in New Court, she left the College to experience life in Singapore and found a job at the United World College. Later, when Bob Pick (CR 1980-2012) started up Marlborough College Malaysia, it was to Ali that he turned to head up the important business of establishing an admissions department. Ali worked tirelessly to recreate many of the features of admissions back in Wiltshire.
Ali returned to Wiltshire and initially worked at Dauntsey’s School, but it wasn’t long before an opportunity presented itself for a return to Marlborough. Ali has continued with her characteristically energetic, innovative approach to teaching over the past five years: this was no more evident than during lockdown, when she produced teaching resources to deliver over Zoom. Ali has always thrown herself wholeheartedly into College life. Both Marlborough College Wiltshire and Marlborough College Malaysia have been enormously lucky to benefit from the service she has given. Neil Moore (CR 1996-)
Andrew Gist
(CR 1993-2021)
Andrew’s extensive career at Marlborough has seen him occupy several significant academic positions, and he is regarded equally highly as the inspirational teacher he has been to generations of Marlburians. When I started at Marlborough in 2007, it was a time of progressive approaches to learning under Andrew’s leadership as Director of Studies. Form was in its exciting infancy and developing alongside it was the College’s adoption of the International Baccalaureate. It was an invigorating academic era at Marlborough, with Andrew at the helm.
Andrew’s first experience in teaching was in Newham, East London, followed by six years at Trinity School of John Whitgift, Croydon. He became Head of English under Edward Gould (Master 1993-2004) at Felsted, and it was Gould, in his early years as Master, who brought him to Marlborough as Head of English. Gould’s tenure at Marlborough was a time of profound improvement in discipline and staff morale. Andrew was a significant force in modernising and reorganising not just the English Department but the wider academic offering. After two years, he was appointed Director of Studies, a post he held for thirteen years. In recent years, Andrew has continued to work at developing innovative approaches to education. He has been an ISI inspector for eighteen years and is a key figure in developing the Prep School Baccalaureate; a charity that helps develop children’s learning skills. It’s no surprise that Andrew should be at the forefront of such a progressive and increasingly popular concept, and he remains a trustee in retirement.
Andrew calculated that he had completed over a thousand duty nights as a tutor in Mill Mead and C2. The facts are still being checked as to whether this represents a record, but he is certainly a contender for longest serving. Typically, Andrew was a generous and considerate tutor, always willing to listen to his tutees and generous with his time.
Within the mighty heart of North Block, for nearly thirty years and in a range of significant roles, Andrew has devoted his career to the education of generations of Marlburians. They, along with his colleagues, are the richer for it. Nick Gordon (CR 2007-)
Gary Shearn
(CR 1998-2021)
Gary’s career at the College and the life of the IT Department have developed in symbiosis from the start. IT was still a very novel and unfamiliar thing in schools in those days. Gary had the advantage of coming to teaching from a previous career in industry, so he had a rather better understanding than most teachers of what capabilities could and should be developed.
Gary spent 15 years as Director of what became known as ICT. As well as training staff and pupils in the essentials of using computers and software to enhance their educational achievements, he was responsible for the design and maintenance of the entire ICT network and infrastructure. Gary’s enlightened approach to IT in school was always to ‘educate not regulate’. As the capabilities and demands of ICT changed, Gary’s role was restructured. Network systems and security were handed over to a team of full-time technicians and engineers, leaving Gary to develop the teaching of Computer Science. Gary introduced both the GCSE and A-Level in Computer Science. Like all members of Common Room, Gary has undertaken many responsibilities in other areas of school life. He spent the last seven years as House Spouse supporting his wife, Sally (CR 2010-21), as Housemistress in New Court. Gary was always on hand to provide Saturday night hot dogs for the Upper Sixth and run all the BBQs for parties in the garden for the girls. Before that, he tutored in Barton Hill, in Cotton and in B1. Gary did 15 years of full-time Summer School service. His commitment to the community is also demonstrated by the several years he spent as Chairman of CSSC, coping with the often-challenging task of ensuring that working and living conditions for Common Room were optimised. He is looking forward to commuting in retirement between houses in France and North Devon. He plans to read, do more crosswords, Sudoku, gardening and to enjoy the outdoor life: dog walking, (e-)bike riding, surf canoeing and trying to improve his accuracy with a shotgun. Matt Blossom (CR 2001-)
Claire Page
(CR 2007-21)
Arriving at the College as Head of Learning Support in September 2007 from the Island School, Hong Kong, must have been something of a cultural transition for Claire. But if she missed the glamour of weekend travel and evening cocktails on skyscrapers, she gave no indication of this, and directed her energy and focus into revitalising the Learning Support department. Under her guidance, the department was expanded to include an EAL post and introductory learning and revision sessions for the Shell and Sixth Form. space for positive life changes. Her one-on-one work within the Learning Support department must have been a weekly oasis for her pupils, helping to counteract the academic pressures and intensity of the Marlborough school year. However, wishing to contribute more widely to pupil wellbeing, she also shared her expertise and training in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Mindfulness by running Sixth Form electives on Listening Skills.
It is a measure of her inclusivity that amongst the (Covid-limited) number of guests at her leaving party were not only members of her department, but current and former members of College staff from the library, exams office and Summer School, along with family members and a neighbour. This personifies Claire – her warmth and friendliness extend to all, and she is always ready with a quick smile, wise words of encouragement, and a genuine listening ear. She leaves us to focus on the challenge of developing her counselling career and has already established her own private practice and been offered part-time positions at Malmesbury School and Colston’s School, Bristol. She is in fact holding true to her own values – a belief in human resilience and the ability to change and grow. Cathy Walsh (CR 1996-)
Sally Shearn
(CR 2010-2021)
Sally began her Marlborough career in 1998 as a non-Common Room tutor. She went on to tutor in Elmhurst and then New Court. For her first fifteen years, she also had a wonderful time teaching a variety of courses for both children and adults at Summer School. She joined Marlborough to teach Learning Support in 2010. Sally’s attention to detail and boundless energy were apparent in all she did, and she brought an eclectic portfolio of talents to the College. Her artistic background and eye for design, quickly made her invaluable to the Drama department. Happy to help wherever she could be utilised, she has coached hockey, netball and athletics and has been involved with the polo. Initially, as a Tutor in New Court, it was clear that she would be an ideal HM and so she stepped up to the mark, stamping her unique artistic influences on the HM flat and the house as a whole.
Sally’s patience and her ability to bring the best out of pupils, combined with her artistic experience, resulted in a growing number of successful Portfolios and Performances. She tutored dissertation entries and the number of pupils gaining full marks in their projects is a testament to her talents and understanding of how to teach and tutor the Extended Project. Sally has had more full-mark projects than any other Tutor and has had straight A*s from her tutees on a number of occasions.
As new members of staff have joined the EP teaching team, Sally has been on hand to guide and has given advice to other tutors who have picked up non-dissertation projects. It is a mark of her expertise that two members of staff will now be required to cover her work. We should all acknowledge the huge contribution that she has made to life at the College and wish her and Gary a very happy retirement, though I have no doubt that ‘rest’ is not in Sally’s vocab and there will be very many extended projects of her own to plan and execute.
