Spotlight on Martin Preston

Spotlight on

Martin Preston

The Rev James ‘Martin’ Preston was a student at St Dunstan’s in the 1940s and, later, Head of Religious Studies at the College for many years. In addition to his teaching and pastoral responsibilities, he directed countless dramatic productions at the school with boundless energy and enthusiasm. The announcement of Martin’s death in December 2020 at the age of 89 prompted an unprecedented flood of tributes from Dunstonians. Below are extracts from some of those personal tributes, which testify to Martin’s extraordinary kindness, warmth, wit and humanity, and to the positive influence he had on so many students during their formative years: ‘Martin Preston was a kind and gifted man and, like many of his colleagues in the Masters’ Common Room of the ‘70s, a very fine teacher. He was forbearing, quick-witted and notably brave, indispensable traits when coming out as gay in front of an entire boys’ school during this time. He was one of a group of teachers who opened up the world of art and culture to me (I “acted” in his production of Beckett’s Waiting for Godot) but without snobbery or a trace of elitism. He was an ordained, practicing minister of the Christian church who wore his faith with lightness and grace. As the official School Chaplain, he was a distinctive presence, personable, considerate and civil. He was a “modern man” of his time who played a unique role in the life of the school as it adapted to the progressive challenges of the 1960s and 1970s and was a prominent and much-loved member of a distinguished and exceptional teaching staff for two decades. Above all, Martin Preston set an extraordinary example of tolerance, social liberalism and enlightened values long before it was fashionable to do so as an educator; he was a remarkable man. I am very sad indeed to hear of his death’. ‘…above all he taught me the importance of caring, understanding and tolerance for those different to oneself’. ‘Martin ran the community service alternative to the CCF. A fellow student and I would visit and talk to one particular old lady each week. One time Martin visited her and we talked later. What struck me was that he really and genuinely cared deeply for her. Obviously care and compassion are traits one develops with age, but learning from the example of a dedicated school teacher when you are 15 left a deep impression on me...’ ‘Martin was the first person to instil a social conscience in me’ ‘I am one of many of Martin Preston’s pupils whose lives have been greatly enriched by his teaching and warmth’. ‘I was lucky enough to be taught by Martin Preston back in the day and he was certainly a massive positive influence on me’. ‘He was truly an inspirational man in so many ways and he had the courage to challenge a lot of the prevailing norms about life and values in an all boys’ school at that time, which cannot have been easy’. ‘Martin Preston was an inspirational teacher and influential lead for the dramatic arts at St Dunstan’s’. ‘Overall, my enduring memory is that Martin always seemed welcoming, smiling, a teacher one would go out of one’s way to talk to (and he to talk to you), and a great educator. He treated pupils as young adults’.