Staff Leavers

Vanessa Kennedy

I feel very privileged to be able to write this short article to celebrate and thank Vanessa for her career and contribution to Aylesbury Grammar School.

I spent just over five years of Vanessa’s 32 years working with her and I am sure that the other fantastic people that she has worked with would do an amazing job of capturing the impact Vanessa has had on their careers and that of the School.

On the 20 June 2019, about six months before her retirement, Vanessa passed 1 billion seconds as an employee of AGS. Vanessa’s relationship with the School began on 12 October 1987.

Three days after joining the School the Great Storm hit the UK on 15 October. A time when the then weather presenter, Michael Fish, live on BBC Oner explained to a viewer that a hurricane wasn’t coming. The next morning we witnessed the devastation of one of the worst storms in UK history. I am pleased to say, the calming influence of Vanessa in all her roles across her career here has ensured that we have grown from strength to strength. Before joining the school, Vanessa was a student at AHS. A first-class student for reading, spelling, English and arithmetic, all essential parts of her roles. At Aylesbury College of Further Education Vanessa found her niche in shorthand where her report says she had a ’natural aptitude’, something she maintained throughout. In 2014 I was very proud to be appointed as the School’s Headmaster and began a very special partnership with Vanessa. One we both took time to appreciate and learn. We found a few rules along the journey: make her laugh three times before 9am; make her tea (although she rarely wanted one); and she had to correct my grammar and constantly proofread communications, something she did with masterful accuracy. Vanessa made the transition to the role of Headmaster so easy for me. She was proactive, understanding and always supportive. When people say that it is the administrators that run the school, they are probably right. I couldn’t fulfil the role without her.

In our office, the dividing door is nearly always open. This creates the right atmosphere, apart from the fact that Vanessa speaks to herself a lot. Never knowing if she is speaking to me or trying to understand another technical challenge. With the door to the corridor always open, Vanessa is constantly saying hello to staff as they arrive each day. We both grew adept at recognising people before they appear from their footsteps – a unique skill that Vanessa had, probably attuned from her appreciation of good shoes. My favourite welcome was always ‘Morning Mrs K’, ‘Morning Mr K’ when Mr Kemp arrived in School. Vanessa certainly wore her heart on her sleeve and that is the finest of qualities. There were tears and lots of laughter, which made the role and our office such a great environment to be part of. I asked some of the staff to describe Vanessa in one word and here are some of the responses: caring, persistent, humorous, approachable, on-it (if that is now one word), intuitive, efficient, supportive, kind, priceless, fierce, stylish, professional, joyous, reliable, linchpin, sassy, wise, welcoming, all-knowing, gutsy, remarkable, loyal, shining, indispensable. From me, it is friendship. Our friendship has grown and I’d like to thank her for being my friend, at some really difficult times and some really great times. To see the dedication Vanessa has given to the School has been a privilege. She showed everyone the right level of care and attention. She deserves her time in retirement, from the years Vanessa looked after her mother, the way she speaks about David, her family and her love of dogs; retirement, I can sense, will be all about family, shoes, and hotel visits across the country. Vanessa so deserves it.

Jane Pearson

We are sad to be saying goodbye to Mrs Jane Pearson who will be sorely missed as she leaves

to enjoy her retirement. This

dedicated lady has given 24 years service to Aylesbury Grammar School and we are very grateful for the contribution she has made and the care and support she has provided for our students and as a valued member of staff.

Jane has been pivotal in the success of the department, giving up her free time and expertise to help students reach their potential. Over the years Jane has accompanied numerous Art enrichment activities. Annual visits to the Royal Academy of Art and the Tate Modern will never be the same, especially when it was time to take the group photo which she avoided with a passion! I have felt very lucky and privileged to have worked alongside this caring and hardworking professional who has given such a lot to the teaching profession. It is always hard to capture in goodbyes the impact staff have had on the whole school but I am certain her presence and experience will be truly missed. We wish her many happy years of retirement but hope that she stays in touch and comes back often.

Mrs L Tangi

Spencer Bowden

As a mature entrant to the teaching profession, Spencer Bowden brought with him both a raft of skills from his previous career and a passionate desire to teach Physics to the highest

of standards. As Head of Physics, Spencer worked hard to ensure that both students and teachers were well supported. In terms of the learning environment, he collaborated with all parties, ensuring that the first waves of the science refurbishment delivered high quality, well-resourced Physics laboratories. He would also ensure that regular curriculum changes were well considered by the Physics department, leading to well targeted, high quality teaching and exam results that reflected this.

Both in terms of his personal teaching and his leadership of the Physics department, Spencer had extremely high standards. He was keen to ensure that all students had the best of learning opportunities and were motivated and encouraged to take personal responsibility, even before the formalisation of these ideas in the AGS Learner.

In his latter years at AGS, Spencer stepped back from his leadership role, reduced his hours and taught a small amount in the Maths department, whilst continuing to teach within the Physics department. Spencer was always passionate about mathematics and the Physics of the Universe; indeed, it may be true that on occasion, students would ask him to explain an astronomical conundrum and then sit back to see just how much of the lesson that they could listen for. I’m sure that these students, perhaps inadvertently from their point of view, were stretched and enriched by the depth and breadth of Spencer knowledge and understanding. Although a sadness, to lose such a season professional, we wish Spencer well in his retirement. Time to spend with his family, time to ponder further the mathematics of the universe and time to continue to work through his grades in the clarinet. Thank you Mr Bowden, for your many years of dedication.

Mr J Kemp

Sarah Giddings

Sarah has worked at AGS from 2001 -2020. Both of these years have marked significant global issues that have forever focussed

the way we view the world. The

wake of change from 9-11 in 2001 may now be receding but the effects of global pandemic in 2020 will continue to affect us for many years to come. Sarah’s contribution to AGS has similarly had a significant effect on the lives of both students and her colleagues. As a tutor she accompanied two groups to the Ardeche in France on PGL activity holidays. She continues to take an active interest in the lives and fortunes of her first tutor group. She has managed and designed the teaching of resistant materials from 2004, designing new projects year by year at each Key Stage. She has also been seamlessly in charge of running Key Stage 3 D&T since 2008, no mean task in a rotation of 4 subject specialisms. She produced numerous challenging work booklets that oversaw the design education of 3,400 boys. A legacy for the department and in boys’ lives. In 2016 Sarah took over the EES scheme, winning the Innovation Award. She has been a supportive colleague to many of us and will be much missed. All the best Sarah in your new school.

Mrs M Wilkinson

Louise Pollard

Louise Pollard joined Aylesbury Grammar School as an NQT in September 2001. She settled effortlessly into the History Department and her sense of humour brightened many a departmental meeting and our Friday breaktime cake

sessions. Louise taught across all year groups with a passion and a real insight for her subject. After several years working within the History Department she took on the additional role of Head of Politics, where students relished the lively debates about modern Britain and America in her lessons. Louise had a unique ability to bring both a sense of fun and enjoyment into her lessons, whilst also focusing on the many serious topics involved in her teaching. Furthermore, Louise taught and supervised many Sixth Form students taking an Extended Project Qualification. In addition to her academic teaching Louise played a vital part in the pastoral life of the school in her role as Head of Year, primarily in Years 10 and 11. Countless students benefitted from her advice and support as they progressed through the Upper section of the school. Never one to stand still, Louise completed an MSc in Teaching and Learning at Oxford University alongside her teaching at AGS.

Louise also loved to participate in a wide variety of educational visits. She led trips to Poland, including memorable and sobering visits to the Auschwitz concentration camp, whilst she accompanied countless trips to locations such as the First World War battlefields, Eastern Europe and the United States. Louise was a regular member of staff on the AGS ski trips to the USA, which she particularly enjoyed. After 19 years of service to the school, Louise has decided to move back to Yorkshire, to be nearer her family, where she will also begin a new career in educational tutoring. She will be greatly missed by the History and Politics departments, all her other colleagues and the wider school community and we wish her every success with her return ‘up North’ and the next phase of her career in teaching.

Mr J Barrie

Sarah Longbridge

Sarah Longbridge (née Bridge) joined the History Department at Aylesbury Grammar School as an NQT in September 2010.

Sarah quickly settled in to life at AGS as an extremely diligent and enthusiastic member of the History team. After the birth of her first son, Theo, Sarah returned to teach on a part-time basis. It was quite clear that Sarah established a strong rapport with her students who appreciated her enthusiasm, passion and expertise. Her teaching of our Key Stage 3 classes was a great asset to the department. Each lesson was meticulously planned, using a range of innovative resources.

Sarah organised a number of competitions such as building castles, whilst her Year 9 students produced outstanding project work on aspects of the Second World War and the Holocaust. During her time at the school Sarah also taught in the Geography and Classics Departments. In the summer of 2019 Sarah gave birth to a second son, Rory. We wish Sarah and her young family all the best for the future and we will greatly miss her outstanding teaching and her cheerful and supportive presence in the Department.

Mr J Barrie

Adrian Twissell

Adrian Twissell joined Aylesbury Grammar School in September 2007 as Head of the Design & Technology Department.

Throughout his time here, he has had to show a wide knowledge of various aspects of DT including graphics, resistant materials and electronics as well as some knowledge of Food & Nutrition. When GCSEs were reformed he had to develop that versatility further with the introduction of Engineering at GCSE which has become very popular with students over the past three years. As Head of Department, not only has he been able to pass on to students a wealth of experience in this variety of areas, he has led and trained others in the department to do likewise. Others in his department have expressed this appreciation of Adrian’s depth of knowledge and understanding of his subject. He has also been a valued member of the school’s tutor team having been one of our Year 7 Induction Tutors for a number of years. During his time at the school Adrian has been passionate not only about the learning of his students but his own professional development as well. This has shown itself most obviously through his interest in educational research – during his time at the school he has completed a Masters and a PhD (very well done on that one Dr Twissell) all based around action research at the school. He has also been an active member of the school’s research group over the last two years appearing in the school’s internal research publication. Not satisfied with being an expert in all things Design and Technology, Adrian taught Critical Thinking at A level for a number of years and obviously missed this aspect of teaching when this A level was lost during the government’s A level reforms. To replace it he has taken up teaching A level Psychology for the first time this year and has clearly enjoyed the experience because it is to Psychology teaching that we lose him as he takes up teaching this subject more fully at Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School next year. We wish Adrian all the best in this new role and hope to see him from time to time given that he is just moving to the other side of Aylesbury.

Dr K Smith