ECONOMICS AT THE RGS GEOFF RILEY

During Summer 2021, Geoff Riley returned to RGS to wander the halls and reflect on his 10 years of teaching Economics at RGS, before leaving us to join Eton as Head of Economics and Politics. Geoff muses on some of the colleagues and Old Novos who made RGS the place he will always call home…

ECONOMICS AT THE RGS

BY GEOFF RILEY FRSA (STAFF 88-00)

Graduates fresh out of university often arrive at a new school all guns blazing thinking they truly know their subject, although little about the nuts and bolts of teaching it. I fell firmly into that category when Alister Cox (Staff 72-94) appointed me to relocate to Jesmond in the summer of 1988 still soaking wet behind the ears from my degree at Cambridge. That said, with the benefit of hindsight, if you were to hand-pick a school, community, and a Common Room perfect for launching a teaching career now stretching well into the fourth decade, life and work on Eskdale Terrace could simply not have been bettered.

In truth, it was a little intimidating at times. The department was led by the charismatic Trevor Regan (Staff 74-90) along with Jon Punshon (Staff 82-86), Richard Hughes (Staff 86-88), and the legendary Gerry Keating (Staff 72-04). My early timetable involved an eclectic journey around the labyrinth of the old science

department and nearly every classroom adjoining school hall. Only David ‘Dusty’ Rhodes’ (Staff 6794) Geography schoolroom was sacrosanct, and I quickly learnt to walk past it in hushed tones lest I interrupted the great man from his intricate board work. But the RGS was, as I suspect it always has been, a hugely supportive platform for pedagogical trial and error, a school that nurtured passion and which prized deep subject knowledge. There have been many golden ages of staff at the RGS, but when I look back, how fortunate I was to join at a time when the school was blessed with colleagues such as Pete Wilson (Staff 89-20), Ollie Edwards (Staff from 89), Mike Downie (Staff from 89), Tim Clark (Staff 84-17), Steve Watkins (Staff 88-18), Judith Vivian (Staff 87-96), Wendy Collins (Staff 89-17), Simon Crow (Staff 93-02), Alan Seaton (Staff 89-98) and of course our great and much missed friend Neil Goldie (Staff 89-03).

Indeed, it was Neil who proofread my application to become Head of Economics in 1990 at the tender age of 26, when Trevor Regan left for the riches of Citi Bank. Thrust into a new role with limited –and I suspect barely adequate –experience, the decade that followed were truly some of the best years of my teaching career. We appointed Jim Keefe (Staff 90-95) straight from finishing his degree at Newcastle. His no nonsense, direct and authentic approach was a wonderful help to me as student numbers grew and our Oxbridge aspirations flourished. Then, when Jim moved to King’s Macclesfield in the mid 1990s and latterly to a series of headships, and Jon Punshon took up a pastoral role at a local state school, we were incredibly fortunate to find Roger Loxley (Staff from 1995) and quickly after we convinced Peter Shelley (Staff 97-22) to move from Winchester College to help build the momentum still further. Roger’s extensive city connections provided the inspiration for the first of the London Tours and I sure it is a source of great pride within the department that they have flourished across the decades.

Those long nights in the City Hotel at the Barbican or epic suppers at Pizza Express in Moorgate live long in the memory for staff and students alike! A few months back, I took my octogenarian mother to see her cancer specialist for a regular check-up. She called him Mr Wetherspoon which I took either to be a sign of advancing years or confirmation that my Mum has a taste for their greasy all-you-can-eat breakfasts. But no, it became abundantly clear a few moments into the consultation that her specialist was none other than one of my former students Rob Wotherspoon (92-99) and our conversation soon pushed back the years to tales of rookie north-eastern students discovering the delights of London in between rigorous sessions at Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, or HM Treasury. The long-term value of these trips cannot be underestimated, and I think of the Tour as one of Roger’s immense legacies to Economics at the RGS. The RGS left an indelible mark on me, it is part of my DNA and I long for Eton halves to finish so that I can motor up the A1 and renew my acquaintance with the breath-taking Northumberland coastline”

I left RGS in the summer of 2000 to become Head of Economics and Politics at Eton where I have remained ever since whilst at the same time co-founding, with twin brother Jim, the tutor2u business and brand which now counts tens of millions of users each year. Eton attracts quite a sizeable number of students from the North East, many of whom have deep-rooted Northumberland family histories or who apply for our summer schools and Sixth Form Orwell scholarships. Hearing a wonderful Tyneside lilt or working as a part-time translator for scholarship boys from Hartlepool reminds me of my spiritual home and one to which I will return. The RGS left an indelible mark on me, it is part of my DNA and I long for Eton halves to finish so that I can motor up the A1 and renew my acquaintance with the breath-taking Northumberland coastline.

One of the great joys of teaching is to witness former students cutting their own successful career paths in the profession. Mike Smalley (85-95, Staff from 05) has given huge service to the RGS inside and outside of the classroom and Ben White (89-99) is now Housemaster & Head of Economics and Business at St. Peter’s School, York, part of a formidable team of teachers that reminds me very much of the RGS days. There are legions of former students for whom Economics at the RGS provided such a rich foundation for their future careers in the markets, in business and in academia. Mike Metcalfe (83-93) my Hockey captain is now Head of Macro Strategy at State Street Global Markets. David Raw (92-99) is Head of Banking and Credit Team at HM Treasury. Chris Peacock (82-92) leads the education department at the Bank of England. And Nick Fawcett (93-00) is Vice President at the BlackRock Investment Institute at BlackRock after positions with Goldman Sachs and the Bank of England.

We celebrate 60 years of Economics at the RGS this year. The department has a proud tradition of developing students blessed with intellectual curiosity, independent thinkers and people who see and value the bigger picture beyond the narrow boundaries of an A Level specification. I am sure the next generation of teaching colleagues arriving on Eskdale Terrace will be as excited as I was all those years ago.