St Edward's Rhubarb Issue 5

ST EDWARD’S r h u b a r b

23

Common Room Obituaries

ever-helpful presence in the classroom, with a particular concern for those who did not find the subject straightforward. A formidable plant-collector herself, she discovered one hesitant pupil grew cacti and succulents. Sharing his interest, she coaxed him through his GCSE Mathematics. Long after he had left the school, she was continuing to water and propagate his gifts on her home windowsills. She was a spectacular cook, and loaves of nourishing brown bread still warm from the oven would be given to her friends. Products of her cookery often found their way into her Mathematics lessons too, and at the end of the Autumn term Fermat would become the first stage of a mince-pie production line. Initially she just taught to O level (and then GCSE), but she was eventually persuaded to teach Lower Sixth classes as well. The class photographs became a standard item on the display boards in her room, which were joined by a selection of posters designed by pupils. In the 1980s, Jeanie played a full role in the department’s involvement in a series of curriculum changes: the introduction of calculators, assessed course-work for a new joint O level-CSE syllabus (a precursor to GCSE), and the growing use of computers in the teaching and learning of Mathematics. Jeanie helped us all through a period of considerable change, sometimes urging caution, but always being very supportive to colleagues and pupils alike. Other skills were brought into play behind the scenes in many school drama productions, where her calming influence could be relied on in the make-up room or the wardrobe. Gardens at home in Middle Way and Lonsdale

O B I T U A R I E S

Jeanie Bee

BEE – On 10th December 2015, Jeanie Carolan (formerly Bee), (MCR 1977-2000). The following obituary has kindly been provided by David Cundy, Charlie Baggs, Linda Lyne and Pauline Ely; Jeanie came to SES to teach Mathematics part-time in January 1977, and with two breaks for maternity leave, stayed until 2001. A Mathematics graduate from Hull University who had been brought up in Manchester, she brought a good dose of northern common sense, and she was an important pioneer in the movement to co-education. When she joined the Common Room there were no girls among the pupils at St Edward’s, and just a handful of women in the Common Room. Life was not always easy for them, and Jeanie was quietly determined, seemingly unruffled by the situation and provided judicious advice in supporting her colleagues. She was warm and funny, with a mischievous sense of humour, the raising of a wry eyebrow, and a lightness of touch in dealing with potentially annoying situations. Her common-sense wisdom was rooted strongly in her family values and her conviction of the worth of all shapes, sizes and shades of humanity. Her many pupils will remember her

Richard Bradley

The following obituary has kindly been provided by Former Sub-Warden, Malcolm Oxley, and was originally printed in an issue of the Chronicle ; Richard Bradley, who died on 25th March 2015, succeeded the Seventh Warden, Frank Fisher, in 1966. Fisher was a hard act to follow and though Bradley had a classic public school background both in his own education (Marlborough and Trinity College, Oxford) and in his career as an outstanding Housemaster at Tonbridge, his was a very different temperament from his predecessor. Though enthusiastic and talented as a games player, his interests were distinctly academic and cultural. The son of a Prison

Road were re-designed. Then, in retirement, Jeanie and Malcolm lived at Kingston Bagpuize, where Jeanie created another wonderful garden. The gunnera, which had dominated the rather small garden in Summertown, was now put in its place, competing for attention with many other interesting plants. Sadly her husband Malcolm, who had been Head of the Economics Unit at Oxford Brookes University, died in 2007. A few years later Jeanie met, and married in 2013, Paddy Carolan, a fusion physicist at Culham, and moved to Boars Hill, where another garden benefited from her attention. It was a wonderfully happy marriage, all too short, for in mid-2015 she was diagnosed with myeloid leukaemia, and died before the end of the year. BRADLEY – On 25th March 2015, Richard Bradley, Former Warden.

Commissioner, Richard was a naturally thoughtful and sensitive man with a

pronounced social conscience. His approach to education was