Brentwoodian 2019

111 Dr Evans joined Brentwood School in 1988, thirty-one years ago and rumour has it that one of his first pupils was Mr Bowley! He was an English teacher for twenty years and then took over as Head of Department in 2008 and during that time, he saw the introduction of IB, IGCSE and numerous changes to the A Level curriculum. He worked tirelessly to ensure the English curriculum across all the years is exciting, stimulating and challenging. He was involved with the Drama Department and most memorably directed a musical version of The Bride of Frankenstein to much critical acclaim. In his time here, he touched the lives of many pupils and instilled in them a love of literature. He is, beyond doubt, one of the most well-read of persons, and it is this breadth of knowledge which he carried with him into every classroom. He could deliver a lesson on King Arthur to the First Year and switch to explaining the rudiments of Romanticism to the Sixth Form without missing a beat. Dr Evans always had the pupils’ best interests at the heart of everything he did at this school. He will be missed by colleagues and certainly by the pupils. He is one of those teachers you will always remember. Dr Evans will be moving to Wales where he wants to focus on his own writing and hopefully become known as ‘The Poet in the Woods’. Simon Evans Miss Gellard worked at the School for four years and is headed off on a new journey in the summer. She involved herself in many aspects of school life; from organisation of the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, to her service with the CCF and her tremendous dedication to the work of the students. Her students described her warmth, her incredible enthusiasm and her selflessness when giving up her own time to support them. Her generosity and humour will be very much missed. Miss Gellard always had a passion for travelling; spending her holidays trekking, hiking and exploring new places. She leaves us to travel around the world, returning to teaching in the next year, and we wish her a very safe journey and every success for the future. We feel sure we will see her again soon and look forward to her tales of adventure. Katie Gellard As many will know, Mr Gonsalves is a native of the hot, but humid, Indian Ocean paradise that is the Seychelles. Mr G. (as students and staff fondly refer to him) first came to the UK in 1994 to read Chemistry at Bangor University, where he obtained first class honours and multiple awards and prizes. It was whilst in Wales that he fell in love with the cold and rain of this country. He joined the School in 2004. Throughout his 15 years with the School his passion for teaching Chemistry was evident to the pupils and his colleagues. He demonstrated the highest levels of and commitment to the pupils, encouraging them to gain a mastery of the subject. Without a doubt he is a master of the skill of ‘promoting the desire to learn’. When trainee instructors in the CCF are asked about the qualities of a good instructor and the teacher that they wish to emulate, Mr G. is consistently cited as a role model. His willingness to ‘go the extra mile’ is exemplified by the number of weekly after school support sessions, especially for the IB, that he would run. A hugely popular form tutor for Fourth and Fifth year, Mr G. was often responsible for helping boys of the School to navigate challenging situations and so to mature into fine young adults. His timeless expectations of old-fashioned values of gentlemanly conduct: to be polite, prompt, and pleasant, is a code by which he lives. All will miss his easy charm and kind sense of humour. It is a great loss to both the School and the profession, but Mr G. has decided it is time to return to the Chemical industry. Steve Gonsalves Mr Walland joined the School in 2016 as a Teacher of Design Technology. He set up a STEM club, which developed into Robot Wars. Working with the pupils they competed in Scotland and overseas in China. We wish him all the best in the next step of his career. Thomas Walland