A while ago I was asked about Ken - I had a call from the Head of Science at St. Paul's School. Ken had applied to be Head of Physics there, and indeed that is what he will be from September 2001. Presumably, therefore, my acquaintance at St Paul's didn't take too amiss my initial description of a red-Cordura clad (I said leather, in fact, but it isn't) biker with a pigtail on a big BMW 750 bike. Of course descriptions like this are a bit of a risk, but their Head of Science knows me and I knew perfectly well that what St Paul's was after was a first-rate physicist to run their department, and that indeed is what they have got. My later comments did run to this, I ought to add.
Ken(drick) came to Westminster in September 1997, having been an experimental physicist, a Junior Research Fellow at one of the other Royal Colleges, Christ Church Oxford. One of the great strengths of Westminster (long may it be so) is its attraction for the quirkier members of the teaching profession, and it was quickly evident that Ken would not be any anonymous mediocrity. To write of his Physics and his abilities in it would be presumptuous, so I won't other than to say that the science department has been much the richer for it. In that arena Ken has also been the managing editor of 'Hooke' since 1999, as well as having produced web pages for the Education Guardian, articles and letter in Physics Education, and contributions to New Scientist and to Photonics Spectra. 'Hooke', you may not realise, is a pretty unusual publication; few schools can match it, and it is an important vehicle for tyro science writers. Certainly under Ken's guidance the high standard of its writing has been more than maintained. Contributions to other areas of the school's life abound. He has tutored in College; he has run Upper School expeditions to Skye and to the English Lakes; he has been master-in-charge of fives since 1999. There's been U15 cricket coaching - and juggling, but probably not at the same time. Ken also re-introduced the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme this year. In the options programme he has offered British Architecture as well as cryptic crosswords - as if they weren't cryptic enough.
Hagiographies don't ring true, so where's the downside? Well, I do have to say that Ken once told me more about the green laser at Greenwich than I really wanted to know. He managed to escape garlic butter being tipped over his head when he said something that offended my wife - and sent a most marvellous bunch of flowers the next day. Oh, and there's that dark custard-coloured jacket... If that's all the criticism I can dish, it's a pretty good record for the past four years. Indeed Ken's record has been much better than pretty good. I am sad he is leaving; colourful people are worth having around, and the trite 'our loss is their gain' is true. To Ken we wish every success at St Paul's; to Ken and Jess and Zack and their pet python we wish every happiness in Barnes.
Rod Beavon
It is hard to believe that it was only four years ago that Guin arrived fresh from a year's teaching in Jamaica, confident that her experiences there would equip her for anything that Westminster could put her way. She quickly established herself as part of the Westminster scene, joined the Storey's pub coterie and has not missed a single social event of any significance since. She has also become a fine teacher. No matter what time you arrive at the RHSC in the mornings, you will be sure to encounter a lone figure hunched over a pile of marking with bowl of cereal in one hand and a red pen in the other. Soon a stream of breathless boys will start to arrive with late preps or to retake a test! Guin has always been meticulous in her preparation and thorough in her teaching. No student is ever allowed to get away with a poor test result. Remove classes will have enjoyed her scholarly approach, which provides a good grounding for their future university courses.
Apart from teaching biology, Guin has participated in and contributed significantly to a wide range of extracurricular activities including both the rowing and sailing stations. She has been on every possible expedition, including Alston. Perhaps she will be best remembered as the teacher who didn't allow Alston to burn to the ground! She has particularly enjoyed her boarding tutor role and has taken great pains to get to know the students in her House really well. She has contributed to the smooth running of the Sixth Form entry programme and recently launched a Sixth form option in knitting. This has been hugely successful, and the sight of several of the most obviously laddish of lads bent low in intense concentration over some double stitching is not one to be missed.
I am very sad to be saying good-bye to Guin as she leaves us to take up her post in Bogotá, Columbia. It is quite a wrench to lose the only other female in the department, especially as she has become a friend as well as a colleague, though I can totally empathise with her desire to do this. Guin also has mixed feelings about leaving Westminster, and hopes that any of us who travel to Bogotá in the next couple of years will look her up. We hope that she won't get herself kidnapped, as I'm not sure that we could raise the funds to pay her ransom! The Colombians will probably be mystified by her origins; is she Australian or is she Celt?
Jenny Lambert