The School says goodbye to several long-serving and highly-valued members of staff this term. Among those retiring are teachers Mr Jon Cook and Dr Tim Leary who are retiring after a combined 67 years of teaching at Hampton.

Historian Mr Cook, has been both Head of History and Head of Cricket, coaching the 1st XI between 1990 and 1997 and introducing the first overseas cricket tour. Dr Leary joined Hampton in 1989 as a Classicist and progressed to lead the Classics Department from 1998 to 2007. Dr Leary, the author of several scholarly works, took on the role of Archivist and has collated a remarkable record of the School’s history.

Hampton has been a lively and happy place to work throughout these past 37 years, and my small corner of it – the History Department – has always been especially full of fun and laughter. Long may it continue to be so.

Mr Jon Cook

Most enduring will be my memories of the many extremely caring, talented and devoted colleagues with whom I have been privileged to work, and the many bright and stimulating pupils I have taught.

Dr Tim Leary

 

Also moving on this term is our current Head of Careers and UCAS, Mr Richard Worrallo, who has been at Hampton for 27 years. Mr Worrallo is moving to Brighton College to be nearer his family and we wish him all the best. A History teacher and key member of the Common Room, Mr Worrallo has headed both First and Second Year, coached several sports teams and run the Talk! programme.

What I will take with me most of all will be the personal relationships forged in the classroom and on the sports field; the sense of humour and common purpose we share at a school like Hampton. It has very rarely felt like an impossible task and more often than not it has been a genuine pleasure to teach, to help, to support and to guide.

Mr Richard Worrallo

Two other members of staff who have clocked up more than 58 years service to the School between them are Mr Mel Jarvis who has been a much valued member of the Maintenance Department for over 38 years, and Mrs Ludmilla Wilson, our Russian Language Assistant who has helped dozens of boys master the notoriously challenging Slavic language over the years.

The Hampton community expresses our gratitude to those featured here and all other members of staff retiring or moving on to pastures new this term. We wish you the very best!

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