120 I was already at Brentwood when Mary joined our Department. She began as a part-time teacher, and, as there wasn’t much space in our Department room, Mary was told that she could work in the book room at the end of the corridor whenever she had a free period. Soon, a desk and chair were arranged neatly, then books appeared, then more resources, then newspapers, then a kettle and a tea caddy... In around a week, in her corner of the book room, a small, but perfectly formed office had been created. I thought to myself “this teacher means business”, and I think that my initial reflection was proved correct. Mary soon became full-time, then became a Head of Year and later also took on the role of Head of History. Her office became a proper room and in that room she must have had thousands of conversations, marked thousands of books and won over the hearts and minds of thousands of colleagues, pupils and parents over the years she worked at Brentwood. As a colleague, three things stand out. Firstly, Mary was always on your side. You knew that she would always support you and if you asked for her help, she would do everything she could to make it better. This was the same for the pupils that she looked after either as Head of Year or as a History teacher. She knew the pupils so well, and, having worked at the School for some time, often had a great knowledge of whole families. I know that many parents welcomed her wise counsel and would ring her for advice. She was excellent at the one-to-one - whether as a teacher or Head of Year. She knew that listening to pupils and giving them her undivided attention, even for just a few minutes, would pay dividends. Pupils and teachers always knew where they stood with her, and welcomed her honesty. They might not always like what she said, but they knew it was coming from a good place. She would spend a great deal of time trying to make things work for everyone. She always had a plan. a tribute to Mary Belsham
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