A N N O U N C E M E N T S

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Congratulations
In Memorium

Chris Hedges
Shaun Lightman
Peter Moore

 

Peter Moore

The first time I drove into Royal Russell School, I was apprehended by Peter, who was busy supervising a fire drill in the drive by the Prep.   He informed me not to move until he said so -- and that has pretty much been the case ever since! Peter was directly responsible for the management of the academic staff and pupil discipline, a task which he performed very efficiently,

but with a good slice of humour! He was a great fan of Monty Python, and in the spirit of ‘What did the Romans do for us?’, I ask the question:‘What did Peter do for Royal  Russell?’

The staff will not forget his outrageous jokes in the Common Room at break; I’m still dreading further punchlines of the Hunchback of Notre Dame joke.  Equally, I am concerned how we will maintain staff morale without the wave of elation that passed through the Common Room on the day he announced that he had ironed his last shirt of the term!  He was renowned for the originality of his anagram and caption competitions for the staff , the winners always being suitably rewarded with a bottle of fine French wine.  His colour-coded ties enabled staff to know whether it was an Entrance Exam day or not.  And who could forget his annual decree to the School on whether the snow was suitable for snowballs?

Yet all this pales into insignificance when compared with his enormous contribution to the cultural life of the School as he succumbed to his annual desire to dress up in a startling array of costumes in the staff Christmas Review.  He relished the pantomime atmosphere: ‘Oh yes he did!’ The only thing I won’t miss is the ‘speaking thermometer’ which would start each day by telling me the temperature in Nice.

On a more serious note, the pupils’ health was always close to Peter’s heart,  and the smokers will miss their regular meetings with him in the bushes around the grounds.   Peter’s work with detentions often made him unpopular with the pupils, but we must be the only school in the country to get public recognition in the form of the Croydon Environmental Award for litter collections in local roads by detainees under his direction.  As I sit I my corner office, I shall certainly miss the reassuring sound of a high-pitched engine followed by a blur of French number plates –- designed to confuse the witnesses and speed cameras -- as Peter set off round the grounds in pursuit of a hapless miscreant whose number was up!

As Peter set off at the end of the Summer Term to walk to his home in the South of France, the staff were pleased to equip him with the striped pullover, beret and string of onions required to integrate with the natives.  I am most envious of his chosen location for retirement, having visited him there in the past.  His house is just out side Grasse and has a delightful balcony that looks out over the rolling hills leading down to the Mediterranean Sea in the distance.  Once settled in France, he will be free to pursue his love of rocks, wine and lobsters; but even he admits this may not be enough to fill his time, so he has been trained as an inspector in the new structure of school inspections and will return to England to harass those of us left at the chalk face!

His love of the great outdoors may also inspire him to reappear for our A level Geology field trips, Year 4 walks on the South Downs and, perhaps, another World Challenge trip, just as long as it includes a trip down a gold mine!

I am sad that the time came round so quickly for Peter’s retirement. Peter is a distinguished mathematician and an excellent Deputy Head.   We all benefited from his extensive experience, his hard work and his commitment, which were  essential ingredients in the success the School has enjoyed,  with improving exam success and HMC membership.  Peter was an excellent colleague and friend throughout the ten years I have been at Royal Russell, and I am sure that it won’t be long before I find an excuse to drop in on him in France to make sure that he is managing to fill his time constructively.  

Dr J. R. Jennings

 

 Shaun Lightman

Shaun arrived at Royal Russell  thirty-three years ago, four months before the School so nearly went bankrupt: I don’t think the two events were connected. He has played a major part in the renaissance of the School since his arrival.

Over the years he has taught PE and RE, his original subjects, as well as History, Social Studies, Economics and Public Affairs, Citizenship, PSHE, and Commerce. He also, of course, set up and ran the highly successful Business Studies Department.

One of his major contributions has been on the pastoral side of the School. He was House Tutor and later Housemaster of Transition House, the house for Year 7 and Year 8 students only. He was Boarding House Tutor of Oxford – appointed one day before the beginning of term and expected to move in within twenty-four hours! Later, he became Deputy Housemaster of Crispin and Housemaster of Madden – then situated down in today’s Prep School.

Then there were the many activities he helped with or ran: Young Enterprise, Cross-Country, Dancing Club, Chapel and many sports teams,  including of course his  beloved athletics, where he was spotted every year in his Commonwealth Games jacket.

Apart from Shaun’s many, many achievements  at Royal Russell, he remained our most eminent sportsman. And what a record:  1961 world junior record holder; 1967 British 50-kilometre champion and ninth in the World Championship; eighteenth in the 1968 Mexico Olympics and  sixth  in the 1970 Commonwealth Games. He has kept going, coming fourth in the world over-55s in 1999 and breaking the 5,000-metre Polish all-comers’ record for the over-60s in 2004.

Shaun will be just as busy in his retirement as President of the Surrey Walking Club, Day Chaplain at Southwark Cathedral and much more. We wish him the best for the future.           

Simon Keable-Elliott