What has prepared you for becoming Head of Science at Bryanston?

I’d like to think that I’ve got a sound insight into the workings of the school as I arrived here twelve years ago as a Physics teacher and resident in Salisbury House. I’ve been Head of Physics for ten years before embarking on my new role this September. My wife is the Housemistress of Purbeck House so I joined that house team when she took over five years ago.

And prior to Bryanston?

I spent seven years at Cambridge University studying Engineering and then researching for a PhD in Aerodynamics. I was sponsored throughout that time by British Aerospace who I then worked for. I was a senior aerodynamicist developing and researching guided missiles. Yes, I was a rocket scientist!

What particular strengths do you believe you bring to Bryanston?

As with all teachers here, I get involved with a number of different activities at the school. I also teach navigation to budding yachtsmen and go sailing in the holidays when I can. I have been a singer for many years, singing at Cambridge, then in church choirs and as a semi-professional soloist, working with local choirs first in Bristol and then Dorset. I have also sung in close harmony groups for many years, even touring in Japan and Uganda with one particularly successful comedy singing act. Some may also know me as scorer and statistician for the Bryanston 1st XI, producing pages of statistics each week to confound and possibly inspire. Others will know me as a cookery teacher and author of the Middle Eastern charity cookbook.

You keep busy then!

I also try to find some time to spend with my family. My daughter, Evelyn, is eighteen months old and is the most precious thing. Every day with her is a joy and watching her grow and develop is quite the most extraordinary time of my life.

Back to your main job. Why do you now teach science?

I teach science because I believe that the day we stop asking why something happens is the day we die as a species. To seek an understanding of what is around us is the highest calling we can have. We may express it in many different ways, not just as equations, but also as prose, poetry and music, but we are still seeking to explore our surroundings. I spent time as a practising engineer and enjoyed many aspects of the job. But it was ultimately unfulfilling as I learnt that I needed to work with people just as much as working with things.

What’s the future of Science at Bryanston?

The new Science Centre will be a wonderful resource for developing research projects by students as part of a science club. We can also use our lecture theatre to entice speakers from all areas of science to give lectures and demonstrations. I would love to see students presenting some of their work alongside the top scientists in the world, all sharing in the quest for knowledge as I mentioned earlier. I also want us to reach out to prep schools with a selection of lectures by Bryanston staff, workshops on specific topics and an essay competition on topical science issues.

So the new Building will make a huge difference?

It will in terms of our day to day lives in that the teaching labs are double ended. I mean there is a more formal teaching and bookwork end and an experimental end with space to move around and work freely. The assignment spaces are going to be especially good. They are light and airy with science staff accessible should a student find an assignment a bit tricky. But we also want to use the finishing of this project as a launch pad for some of the ideas I have mentioned above.

When will the building be finished?

It will be finished around Easter 2007 and we will move in during the summer term. There may be some lessons in there next summer, but we will start in earnest in September 2007.

An exciting time.

Yes, very busy and very exciting.