FAREWELL GEOFF By Jon Mutton, Deputy Head Pastoral
G
eoff Thurman leaves us as the longest serving member of the lay staff, having arrived in the Valley in September 1986 after starting his teaching career in Wednesfield High School. Thus, he has educated boys and girls at Ampleforth for a remarkable 108 terms! On joining the Games department, Geoff worked under Games Master John Willcox before taking over as Head of Department in 1988. A keen sportsman himself, he has always been dedicated to his vision of Games and its place in the wider life of Ampleforth College, taking great satisfaction from students representing the College in all sports. Nevertheless, he will be best remembered for his love of rugby, where he supported numerous students who subsequently went on to play for representative and even international teams, and cricket where he ran the 1st XI side for numerous years, working with cricketers who showed outstanding commitment and enthusiasm. Geoff ’s ability to attract large crowds of students, staff and parents down to the Pavilion is extraordinary.
As Games Master when the school introduced girls for the first time in 1998, Geoff helped the transition to co-education and worked closely with an array of colleagues to ensure equal provision for girls in sport. Under his aegis the Games Room was always a popular hub of staff life, not least because Geoff encouraged so many colleagues to participate in extracurricular sport. Many OAs will remember him as a part of their Ampleforth experience whether in the Valley or on the various tours he ran and supported, including to Australia, India and Sri Lanka, as well as to Ireland and a regular London tour. In the History Department Geoff is something of a legend. Regarded by all with affection, not unlike the way in which the nation regarded the Queen, and having taught History here almost as long as she was on the throne, in the department, he has been the model of reliability and consistency, teaching generations of Amplefordians with his characteristic enthusiasm and commitment. What he teaches matters to him, be it the First World War, the Russian Revolution or what happened
20 | AUTUMN 2022 | AMPLEFORTH DIARY
in Germany between the wars, and he wants his students to understand the importance of these events too: one can sense this palpably when in his lessons and the students he has taught, decade after decade, will have sensed this too. Equally, he wants everyone he teaches to do well and to this end he helps them develop the knowledge and skills they need for success. Geoff has taught students of all abilities and even though all have done well with his guidance, it is perhaps those less confident in their own abilities who have thrived most in his care. Geoff is a great explainer, a patient teacher with the wonderful ability to make complicated things clear and comprehensible to all. Many students have gained huge self-confidence from his teaching, as well as a love of the subject, and I am sure they will always be grateful to him for this. Geoff will be sorely missed in the History Department; he will leave a hole that will be difficult to fill. Between 2013 until 2018 Geoff served as Co-ordinator of Outreach, travelling up and down the UK visiting prep schools where he inspired students to look at Ampleforth