I was saddened to read about the death of Mr Bird. I had been thinking about him only recently as my eldest daughter embarks on her last year at school.  I joined SGS in the lower sixth (year 12) from a small girls’ school, one of a handful of girls to join in 1994.  In those days Mr Bird, his deputy Mr Dixon and the proctor Mr Ashcroft wore their black academic gowns much of the time. There was a palpable sense of tradition and adherence to standards which was somewhat at odds with my previous school experience where uniform standards were lax. However, SGS proved to be everything that I hoped a move to a large co-educational school would be.  

I loved my teachers in the Geography, French and English departments, and even grew to like maths as part of my General Studies classes (a subject I had previously been terrified of – thank you Mr Boulding). Mr Howson was not only a brilliant teacher but a superbly supportive form tutor. I saw him at a London Old Stops event a few years ago when he was interviewing Marianne Elliott OBE. And then, serendipitously, Marianne and I were in the same exercise class for a while. I admitted that I recognised her straightaway as I had attended an event where she was the star attraction. 

SGS gave me a platform to grow in confidence through drama, debating, and Model United Nations, alongside boys and with male teachers (something that was new to me).  And Mr Bird championed opportunities for me to try things outside school, including Royal Navy Officer Selection in the weeks before my A-levels. He also supported my application to read law at Cambridge.  I recall him telling me how much he had enjoyed his time reading Geography at St John’s, and playing rugby.  He must have been so proud that in the year I left, and he retired, 19 students received offers from Oxford and Cambridge (including Professor Rachel Oliver OBE who was profiled recently). 

After I went up to Cambridge in 1996, and Mr Bird had retired and moved to East Anglia with his wife, they met me for tea in town and we exchanged Christmas cards. The far reaching positive influence of teachers and leaders at school can manifest itself in so many ways.  Mr Bird was a headteacher from a different educational era, and yet the qualities he valued and his ambition for his students are timeless.