Taylorian 2020

12 It would be foolish to try to list everything that Dom added to the department, as he accomplished so much. From embracing the idea of using technology in the classrooms to helping to promote ‘flipped learning’, it was clear that Economics would be forward-looking under his stewardship. He also gave students opportunities to take control or experience the subject first-hand, from giving the boys more freedom to organise talks as part of the Alfred Marshall Society, to helping to set up the Backbench magazine, to running the first – highly successful – Economics trip to China (I think everyone involved will remember staying up until 5am to watch the World Cup semi-final on a mobile phone whilst travelling by sleeper train!). I know that everyone involved with anything that Dom was part of appreciated his efforts to make them run as efficiently and successfully as possible. His colleagues, however, will mostly remember him as the boss who regularly brought in Italian chocolates and croissants, someone who organised the end-of-term drinks, and someone who was always there to support you or cheer you up when necessary. Though the chocolate and croissants often did that anyway. Dom was also someone who fully embraced the wholistic nature of the school. A keen athlete, he was always willing to throw himself into new things. Whether it was ‘skinning Fothers’ during staff football on the MUGA, cricketing at a mediocre level with the Trumpers, wearing too much lycra when cycling, or losing his glasses in the lake whilst canoeing, Dom enjoyed getting involved. He was always getting the department to try new things and could often be heard laughing as, like always, the department’s competitive nature took over (often led by Mr Garvey). I think it will be a long time before we forget the moment when Economics Department’s croquet match became less than gentlemanly. A kind, enthusiastic, and approachable individual, Dom quickly became a favourite amongst the students, and not simply because they thought he looked like a cross between Andrew Garfield and Daniel Radcliffe. The students always appreciated his intellectual rigour, high expectations, and ability to repeatedly throw and catch a ball whilst explaining the intricacies of quantitative easing. I know that they, like us, have missed him since he left in January. He has now moved to Ireland to support his wife, and, now that he finally has his Irish teacher’s licence, we wish him all the best in the future. Dr M I Beacham Nina Turton Nina joined Merchant Taylors’ from Mill Hill County High School in 2015. She was Second in Department at MHCHS and before that at Fulham Cross Girls’ School, where she completed her Teach First qualification. This followed undergraduate and master’s degrees in Economics and Art History respectively, leading me to say confidently that few Maths teachers have as rich or interesting an academic background as Nina possesses. Over the past five years her skill and dedication as a teacher, not to mention her good humour and wit, delivered with an unmistakably American twang, have been key to making MTS Maths great again. Nina’s thoughtful, well-planned lessons have been to the benefit of all the boys she has taught in her time here. A very considerate and reflective classroom practitioner, Nina has always sought to provide the best lessons she can, consistently enriching her teaching with new techniques and resources. She has cultivated a well-earned reputation as a caring and helpful teacher, always happy to spend considerable time during the Quarter and the Hour to help those boys she teaches with their individual mathematical difficulties, particularly at A Level. She has run the Monthly Maths Challenge for the last couple of years, and under her guidance this has become a useful tool for keen mathematicians to stretch themselves. Nina has had a lasting impact on the Maths Department more broadly. Besides serving ably as its unofficial social secretary, her fondness for a ‘pop quiz’ led to the addition of quizzes, standing apart from tests and exams, to both our professional vocabulary and our classrooms. It is surely rare that a single teacher’s idiolect helps to shape an entire department’s assessment policy. Nina’s contribution here has gone beyond the scope of theMathsDepartment. She has always been keen to get involved, leading to a broad and varied extracurricular offering, including organising trips for the Lower School to Bletchley Park, leading a Duke of Edinburgh group, and coaching the long jump. In her first year with us, she helped with the 4th form Rugby Championship admirably, despite her South Carolinian roots ensuring she was a complete stranger to the game. A particularly important role that Nina has filled has been as the school’s North American universities adviser. Over the last three years she has advised and assisted the growing number of boys considering study in the US and Canada, and I know that those she has helped have been hugely grateful for the time and effort she has put into assisting them with their applications. Nina has been an excellent colleague in the Maths Department and she will be missed as she leaves to take up a post at South Hampstead High School. We wish her, Otto, Ralph, and Ivo all the very best. Mr S F Hardman