STAFF NEWS
STAFF LEAVING UPPINGHAM
NEW APPOINTMENTS TO HOUSES
Julia Broughton Teacher of English and Housemistress of Johnson’s from 1994 to 2003, which she ran with her husband, Mark. Julia always balanced empathy and authority expertly and, above all, was incredibly kind, not only to the girls, but the House staff and tutor team she counted as her friends. She was loved by all her pupils, who never failed to wonder at her enthusiasm for her subject. We wish her well in her retirement.
Louise Escott is the new Housemistress of The Lodge. Louise joins the School after a position as Deputy Head at the British International School in Moscow.
Anna Merrett The Merrett team, Anna and Nic, arrived in Uppingham in 1990 and, from 1993, Constables became their home for the next 19 years, during which time Anna was instrumental in the changeover from the House taking boys to girls. After that, Anna took up a resident tutor role in New House and also played a passionate part in the School’s Charity Committee, working with all of the Houses to raise funds for The Mango Tree and other worthy causes. Her commitment to Uppingham has spanned 30 years and we wish her a very happy retirement. Chris Howe Chris arrived in the Physics Department in 2004; his contribution to Science in general has been immense and, as an all-round sportsman, countless boys and girls have benefited from his wealth of experience. He was a valued tutor in School House for his entire time at Uppingham. He also joined the CCF when he was appointed to the staff, and his previous military experience greatly enhanced the training programme. He assumed command of the CCF in 2013 and continued in the post until his departure. We wish Chris the best of luck in his new role at Eastbourne College. Kate and Alex Boyd-Williams Joined Uppingham six years ago as joint Houseparents of The Lodge. They built a community in the House based on three principles: love, laughter and respect and offered calm and considered wisdom to the girls. We wish them well in their new roles at Framlingham College.
Tom Hollyer takes over from Jim Reddy (Hf 89) as the Housemaster of Fircroft, teaching Geography and Wellbeing. Tom’s previous role was the Head of Boarding at Caldecott School in Hertfordshire. Jo Welch succeeds Katharine Gaine as the Housemistress of Fairfield. She joins us from Witham Hall School where she was Head of Boarding.
IN BRIEF… Uppingham’s Design and Technology department was pleased to support the NHS in its fight against Covid-19 by making much needed face shields for front line staff. Clive Simmons, Head of DT, used the laser cutter in the Leonardo Art Centre to produce many hundreds of visors. The OU Charity Fund was pleased to contribute towards the cost of materials and the purchase of an additional machine to increase production.
After a sabbatical year fulfilling his recording and performance commitments with Sony, Alexis Ffrench returned this September to the Music Faculty. His album Dreamland reached No. 1 in the UK Official Classical Album Chart. Following on from the worldwide success of Evolution, Alexis told us that he was honoured and grateful to have achieved a second UK No.1 and wanted to thank everyone at Uppingham for their support. Malcolm Tozer’s latest book Puddings, Bullies & Squashes tells the story of 20 early public schools’ football codes, drawn from nineteenth century versions of the game. Many of the games were fashioned by the space available to them, whether grass or stone, large or small, kicking or handling. All were robust, vigorous and hazardous. Malcolm’s wide-ranging book gives a true flavour of the variety of those early codes before the nationalisation of the game by the FA from 1863 and the RFU from 1871, which ended the arguments about whose rules should take primacy. Thring introduced football to Uppingham – before that hockey was the winter game – and the School played its own code until 1888, the year after his death. Published by Sunnyrest Books, it’s available to purchase on Amazon. Dr Tozer was on the staff from 1966-1989 teaching Physical Education and Physics and Housemaster of The Lodge 19751989. In 1989 he left to be Headmaster at Northampton Grammar School. He has written a series of scholarly books on Uppingham and Thring as well as many articles.
Dr Neil Gavins (LH 80)
Staff News 63
