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wonderful work Fiona did for her pupils
over that time. She enjoyed a fantastic
rapport with the boys and she was an
excellent colleague, always the absolute
professional. Now that she is able to spend
more time with her grandchildren, we
send our very best wishes to her and her
family. Taking her place in January, Nicola
Donne was already familiar to many of us
from her earlier incarnation at Summer Fields (1998-2003) as Nicky
Stewart-Clarke (NCSC), when she was a First Year class teacher.
The archive of
Summer Fields
magazines abounds
with details of long-
serving members
of staff and two
more names can
now be added to
the list. In October
Emily Galloway retired from the catering department, having started
here in 1967. Since then, she has looked after countless boys and
staff in the dining room and will be fondly remembered by them
all. Equally devoted to the school has been Roger King, our longest-
serving member of the ground-staff. In April, following a period of
illness, and after over 53 years at Summer Fields, he finally decided
to retire. A familiar figure tending to the lawns around the front of
the school, as well as other areas, he is estimated to have covered
with his lawn-mower approximately 5000 kilometres – a distance
that would take him from Oxford to Lagos.We would like to thank
both of these Summer Fields legends for all their hard work and
loyalty and we wish each of them a long, healthy and very happy
retirement.We welcomed Paul Drummond to take Roger’s place,
joining Martin Freeman (whose arrival in August 2013 somehow
went unannounced in these pages) and the brothers Graham and
Stewart Person – Graham is now the longest-serving employee at SF
with 44 years of service.
Meanwhile David Langdon (DML) has now been associated with the
school for over 50 years. GIJP writes:
“Music at Summer Fields and the name David Langdon have become
almost synonymous and he is the man responsible for initially shaping
the Music Department into one of the most successful in the prep
school world. Having joined in 1965, he oversaw the building of our
Department in 1979; the number of instruments offered rose from
just three (piano, recorder and violin) to over twenty; and, hardly
surprisingly, a school orchestra and various groups also appeared
under his leadership. Regular Music Scholarships and higher grade
ABRSM passes bore witness to his commitment and remain a part of
his legacy. Since his retirement he has continued as a visiting piano
teacher and occasional organist.When I took on the post of Director
of Music in 2001 I made sure that the ‘father of prep school music’
would stay closely connected to SF.”
Richard Balding (RGRB), formerly Head of Science at SF until his
retirement in 2004, has since then been one of our peripatetic music
teachers. He has now decided to call it a day finally, and we wish
him many happy hours on the golf course. The saxophone will, no
doubt, remain his main passion and we hope he might return to give
another Big Band concert on some occasion in the future.
Further to the snippet of
‘late news’ in last year’s
magazine, when we
congratulated Clemmie
and AndrewWidgery on
the safe arrival of Hebe
Isobel Rose, it can now
be recorded that the
happy event took place
on 21st September 2015
and the weight was 7lb 10 oz. Thea Hesperides (Hesper) Jennings
exceeded this by one ounce some
months later – on the 31st May
2016, to be precise – and we
congratulate her parents, Michael
and Zoe. The following day brought
another happy event in the music
department: Oli Whitworth (one of
our guitar teachers) and his wife,
Layla, were delighted to announce
the birth of William, a grandson for
Dr JohnWhitworth who was for
many years a Summer Fields guitar
teacher of great renown.
Damp weather and moist eyes as Sophie Palmer (SCP) married Mike
Rickner in the Scottish Borders in August 2015.
The 2015 Gappers (listed inside the front cover) were given a
good send-off just before Christmas, with the usual tributes and
anecdotes expounded by RBL, and we are grateful to them, as ever,
S u m m e r F i e l d s
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