Valete

Since joining Pipers in 2019 Katia has shown exceptional commitment to her role as one of the two School nurses. Katia has been a highly valued member of the pastoral team and many of us have learnt from her wealth of experience as well as benefitted from her support and friendship. Katia has been a rock to many pupils. Her calm, consistent care and endless patience and support will be sorely missed. Katia has liaised well with parents and when necessary outside agencies, tirelessly chasing them to get the support the student needed. For Katia it is always about the students and her empathy for and focus on them has enriched many lives. Katia has loved working at Pipers she says but sadly the commute to New Zealand where she will return with her family just won’t work.

Karen Ingrams | Teacher of Physics

Karen joined Pipers Corner in 1999, initially as an assistant science technician and was promoted to senior technician in 2001. She was inspired to train as a teacher in 2007 and Pipers were delighted to welcome her back as a qualified physics teacher in 2010. Karen is a highly committed, considerate and organised teacher with a meticulous attention to detail. Her dedication and commitment to the students and the school is second to none and this was particularly evident when she stepped up as acting head of Physics. Karen has taught students from Years 6 to 13 and has led the STEM Crest awards at school for many years, encouraging students to think independently and get ‘hands on’ with STEM projects. She has inspired many students and has a wonderful rapport with all age groups. Karen has also played a wider role in the school community accompanying many students on ski trips, twice to Italy and once to America.

Karen is a keen gardener, and we hope retirement will allow her time to indulge her passion whilst spending more time with her grandchildren. Karen will be hugely missed by everyone in the school.

Alison Field | Teacher of Modern Foreign Languages

Alison Field joined Pipers almost 20 years ago! In her early days, life was so different for this new German teacher. There was a different Head Teacher. There were Boarders. There were no Interactive White Boards and reports were not written on ISAMS! She has championed the virtues of German almost single-handed and promoted the students’ appreciation of the Germanic culture with her regular Osnabrück Exchange trip organised each year in collaboration with the RGS. In the face of diminishing numbers nationally taking up GCSE and A Level German, Alison continued to fly the flag for the subject in spite of its minority status. She rose to the challenges of the digital world and continued to move the German

Department forward embracing the many and varied changes at GCSE and A Level. She inspired the girls and proudly developed a niche and special group of students. She has weathered the storms of change and leaves a very different school than the one she joined with the recent relief as we all emerge from a life-changing Covid experience. She leaves Pipers for pastures anew in the next chapter of her life and we wish her well in her retirement with her husband Joe and her two grown up children; a new chapter which holds the excitement of becoming a Grandmother for the first time.

Jake Dewar | Teacher of Biology and Assistant Head of Lower School

Jake joined the school after travelling around much of Asia and he is now once again leaving for pastures new, albeit this time maybe a little less far afield. With his youthful appearance he lowered the average age of the Science Department significantly and throughout his time here he has approached the challenges of teaching Biology and Science with his customary energy and enthusiasm. He has always incorporated this into his lessons, which have regularly benefited from his innovative ideas and originality. Highlights which many of us will remember have been his custard powder fireball and his demonstration of osmosis using Haribo, now a staple of Open Morning demonstrations.

Throughout his time at the school Jake has always been greatly supportive of the students that he teaches, being prepared to spend extra time with them outside lessons in order to help them with their understanding of the topics. He has continued this commitment to wanting the best for his pupils into his role of Assistant Head of Year for Years 7 and 8 and I am sure that these students in particular will miss him, as will the Science Department. We all wish him the very best. continued →

Neil McKain | Head of Religious Studies

Neil McKain joined Pipers Corner as Head of Religious Studies six years ago. Known for his sharp suits, love of all things Hamilton (the musical) and great sense of humour, Neil has led his department through successful inspections, taken countless trips in the UK and Rome and inspired many students to question the unexamined life. As an active Twitter fan (@ neilmackain), we will continue to follow Neil’s various tweets about Natre (National Association of Teachers of Religious Education), SACREs (Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education), epic one liners from Line of Duty, going viral in his Year 12 lesson or sharing how proud he is of his students and their academic achievements. His Sixth Form will miss his regular ‘Spec Check’ along with McKain’s Iconic Quotes and his GCSE classes will miss his emotional stories and deep and meaningful discussions. We all wish Neil the very best as he moves to his new school and know that he has made so many of his students think deeply about life, the world and beyond. A true advocate of Socratic dialogue, Neil has inspired many to question the question.

Danielle Edwards | Assistant Director of Drama

Danielle leaves the Drama department after five unforgettable years, which have seen her move from Drama Assistant, through the QTS programme, to fully qualified teacher of Drama, to Head of House, to Assistant Director of Drama. This is in no small part due to her immense skill as a teacher, the empathetic way she communicates with young people and the drive she has to make a difference in the world of education. No matter the ridiculousness of the task, Danielle took it on with her trademark deadpan sense of humour; whether that be figuring out how to gut a photocopier or choreographing a

kick line for sixty nuns, there was nothing that phased Danielle. As a Head of House Danielle’s sense of competitiveness drove Mandeville to victory on more occasions than is probably healthy and filled her wardrobe with shades of green that she will probably never wear again.

We will miss Danielle’s humour, kindness, positivity, sporadic food intolerances and her ability to achieve the seemingly impossible. Danielle may be leaving Pipers, but she leaves a legacy for always as a part of the Drama department.

Andy Robinson | Teacher of English

What many people do not know is that well before students arrive, Mr Robinson can be seen running through the fields and woods to school, bags of marking on his back, and back again in the evenings: dark, rain, shine, wind, snow …. If not quite the Shire, the English hallways saw Mr Robinson dressed as a hobbit for Founder’s Day. In his trademark calm reflection and emphasis on inclusion in the classrooms and Department, he was perhaps more Gandalf. Mr Robinson has encouraged the voice in all, in all ages across the Senior School, in his Forms, up to preparing A Level coursework at the highest academic levels. Mr Robinson was about to launch Pipers TV, an area of personal expertise, when he decided to leave to allow his wife time to develop her career. For three years, and especially while acting as Second in the Department, even during the most challenging treks through the Land of Zoom, even unto Mordor, Andy has been a trusted, positive, empathetic, caring colleague and team player. It will be a fortunate class, Form, Department and school to have our colleague and friend.

Nicki Hartley | Director of Sport

Nicki Hartley joined us in September 2019 as Director of Sport. She very quickly stepped up to the role and ensured developments started to happen in both curricular and extra-curricular PE. Lockdown One brought many changes to the department and the busy sports hall and astro-turf soon lay silent, but Nicki made sure that PE could still be delivered to all students and so started a series of activities and challenges that could be completed in either very small spaces or with limited equipment. On our return to school in September 2020, sport was hindered in many ways with restrictions being placed on spaces, changing and equipment to name a few, but Nicki continued to push for separate training sessions and InterHouse matches to keep our students engaged. She continued to ask, ‘Can we start fixtures yet...?’ at every opportunity and when given the go ahead in June 2021 they returned with gusto. In such uncertain times, Nicki has always led with enthusiasm and a passion for sport. She leaves Pipers to take up her new post as Director of Sport at Sir William Borlase.

Carys Thompson | Teacher of Engish

One of the first things we learned about Carys was her playing Goneril in King Lear. This says much to her acting ability; I cannot imagine anyone less alike to those nightmarish daughters. Carys is the epitome of gentle kindness in the classroom. Far from those two who cast people out, Carys would include, encourage, warm, enthuse. I saw Carys light up as her classes discovered the book: any teacher-student boundaries would disappear, and those wonderful moments one wishes for of shared adventure were a common feature of her classes. Carys’ love of reading, books, literature animated the Department’s Radio Podcasts on whatever theme. For her students to see beyond the covers of a book, to see the themes and setting integrated into our own experiences was her gift to hundreds of students through her five years at Pipers Corner. Though more honestly like Cordelia, there was perhaps a trademark wicked delight in playing Lear’s daughter, the vicious ‘ungrateful child’. The Department is losing a close colleague, fellow bibliophile and friend. continued →

Nicola Rogers | Teacher of Modern Foreign Languages

Nicola Rogers joined Pipers in 2018 as another member of staff who had happily defected from John Hampden Grammar School (like her Head of Department!). Nicola brought with her the experience of her time spent at WHS and JHGS to principally promote Spanish across all three Key Stages. She always approached her teaching with a calm and gentle demeanour backed with a solid subject knowledge and attention for detail. She was a team player and always showed warmth and kindness for her students and department colleagues. She has helped raise the profile of Spanish in the Senior School and was also involved in the delivery of French in the Prep Department. We wish her well in her new venture as Head of Department at the Royal Masonic School.

Andy Setchell | Network Manager

Andy worked at Pipers for over 10 years and was responsible for the management of the school network for the majority of this time. He once joked that he was probably responsible for most things in the school that had a plug on them, including kettles. Whilst that is not strictly true, it transpires that he was not far off.

Over the last 10 years he (and his team) have been responsible for setting up every single PC, laptop, chromebook, iPad and even telephone handset; installing all the network switches, fibre optic cables and the wireless access points that connect them all together and the vast majority of the software and online services that we run on all this technology every day. In fact nearly every device in the school today has been purchased, configured and installed by Mr Setchell and his team.

Mr Setchell has left Pipers to serve his ambition to set up a guided mountainwalking company in Wales having recently qualified as a Mountain Leader. Mr Setchell has therefore moved on to another IT job based in Wales, enabling him and his fiancée to start their mountain guiding adventures where there are some actual mountains!

Colin Horlick | Reprographics Manager

It would be wrong to say that Mr Horlick has been part of the furniture at Pipers even though this is true, because the magnitude of his character, and the impact he has had, makes him so much more. He is, in fact, part of our shared heritage and exemplifies in so many ways our enduring community values.

Mr Horlick retired this year having been the only member of staff on record to have celebrated his 90th birthday whilst on team. As Reprographics Manager he had seen technology change so much over the years. This last role masks the fact that he once been an IT engineer before the advent of the Windows operating system and even served as an RAF pilot after the Second World War. A man full of stories and with an enduring sense of humour he would often regale staff with these whilst humbly ensuring his department continued to serve the school well, and the stapler was returned when borrowed!

His kingdom in school was a stationery shop, a reprographics room and the keeper of paper supplies. His impact on the students and staff has been so much more. It is fitting that a student in Art chose to make him a focus of a large-scale art portrait and that every student in the school managed to share in his 90th birthday cake. Whilst he left the school team during a period of national restrictions it was lovely that the Headmistress’ goodbye to a man who has seen so much was broadcast to so many people within our school community via the new-fangled wonder of Zoom. We wish him continued good health as he now has more time to spend with his family.

Louise Frost | Teacher of Science

Louise Frost joined the Science Department in January 2020 bringing with her a wealth of knowledge and teaching experience. She has taught across all the year groups in the senior school delivering biology, chemistry and physics lessons. Louise rose to the

challenge of teaching in Lockdown, with good humour and a smile on her face. When Louise joined the school, she would never have guessed she would be embracing such a novel way of teaching from home! Her beloved dog, who was a regular special guest in most of her lessons has enjoyed her Zoom lesson nearly as much as the students. Louise’s warm approach to her students has made her a very popular member of the science teaching team and she will be missed next year. We wish Louise all the very best in her future endeavours.

Emily Harris | Assistant Registrar

Emily fulfilled a new role for us at Pipers, and from the moment she interviewed for the role, her warmth and engaging personality shone through. We managed to steal her from Wycombe Abbey, where she once worked as a finance assistant. She transitioned to Admissions there before joining us at Pipers. We were sad that she only stayed for about 18 months, but excitingly for her and her husband, Emily left us to head West for a new life. We wish her every happiness in Devon.

Jo Selleck | Marketing and Admissions Assistant

Jo joined the School in 2014, during which time she fulfilled a number of roles within the department. Most recently supporting the marketing department, but there can be no doubt that she was most at home answering admissionsrelated questions from prospective parents lower down the School. Jo is a naturally warm, caring and thoughtful person, who after loyally serving the School for a number of years, found the lure of returning to the recruitment industry too appealing. We haven’t lost Jo, as she has taken on the role of Front of House supervisor, but we wish Jo all the very best with the next stage of her career. continued →

Sue Neale has served the staff of the school for over 10 years in the school Reprographics department and now starts a new chapter working in the family business. She has smiled almost constantly as she has prepared 1000’s of teaching resources for Heads of Subject and has always been on hand to support staff in preparing worksheets, fixing photocopiers and even displaying work for students. As an ex-teacher herself she has also worked with our youngest students regularly supporting the Pre-Prep department in caring for their children after school in the creche.

Mrs Neale remains heroically calm through the turbulent periods of the school year (for example preparing for summer examinations) and she has been a continuous source of positivity in the school. We wish her well as she starts this new phase of life and are warmth and kindness will be missed

Catherine Tebb | Head of Textiles

Catherine was a valued member of the Textiles Department at Pipers for nearly 19 years and has certainly created an impressive legacy to leave behind. Her leadership skills have been hugely valued by the teaching and supporting staff working with her as well as the students who have benefitted greatly. Catherine’s ability to always give you her time and attention to support and guide, will be sorely missed. She has not only been a valued colleague and mentor but also a good friend to many over the years.

Catherine’s vast subject knowledge has meant that students have been able to realise their most ambitious creations under her expert guidance. She taught Design Technology textiles for many years, with highly successful outcomes. More recently deciding to change the GCSE course to Art and Design Textiles, in line with the A Level course. Catherine’s lifelong thirst for learning and

knowledge means that she has thrown herself into this new direction and embraced the challenges it brought. The staff and students have been inspired by her own attitude to discovering new ideas and techniques, as she strived to always move the department forward and keep it current.

Catherine’s high expectations for both behaviour and quality of work, have meant that the practical outcomes are of the highest quality. The students can compete at university level, many skipping the Art Foundation stage before heading into higher education courses.

Catherine’s dedication over the years has meant she was involved in making costumes and set designs for past school productions, entered and won many competitions and took countless school trips, both residential and for the day. Her impact was not just felt in the Art and Design Department, she also served as Head of House and a tutor as well

Catherine did not seem to ever turn off, often finding resources and inspiration for students in unusual places. Her astonishing ability to know each of her students individually almost instantly, will remain inspirational. Catherine will be hugely missed by both her colleagues and students. We wish her a very happy and healthy retirement and best wishes for any of her future projects Sue joined Pipers as our Librarian in October 2019. From the very beginning she had a hugely positive impact on the Library function and staff. In the year that she has been with us, Sue has brought many new professional methodologies to our Library, to enhance the School’s offering.

Sue has facilitated a series of lessons to establish a ‘habit of reading’ in our Years 7 and 8. She has masterminded a complete overhaul of the Library’s extended research resources, both online and in hard copy. She leaves us with a program to help our students develop research, referencing and citation skills, building up through all year groups to eventually prepare them for university and life after Pipers. Sue is regarded with huge respect and great affection by her colleagues and although we will miss her, we wish her all the very best with next chapter in Devon.

Eruptions of Volcanoes from the dawn of time have Only Led Us to The I Of Now?

Pipers Lane, Great Kingshill, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP15 6LP theschool@piperscorner.co.uk 01494 718255 www.piperscorner.co.uk www.facebook.com/PipersCornerSchool @PipersCornerSch www.aliciawright.london | 06/2021