The Abingdonian 2019

100 The Abingdonian her year with us, Jackie also ran a very successful day of business competitions for local prep schools and organised a sixth form trip to the Mini plant in Cowley. Jackie was a fantastic colleague and she now leaves us to complete a PGCE in chemistry at Oxford University next year. She will undoubtedly be missed and we wish her all the best of luck with this next step in her teaching career. Adam Hepworth Duncan Miller Duncan Miller joined the English Department in September 2018, having previously taught English at Shiplake College. He quickly established himself as a creative, dynamic teacher, always keen to try new things in the classroom. These attributes also served him well in his role as Head of Key Stage 3 English, taking steps to marry up the first to third year curriculum with the new GCSE specification, working with Graham Gardner to generate reading lists for students and organising the visit of author Martin Stewart for World Book Day. Outside the classroom, Duncan threw himself into Abingdon School life. A keen triathlete, he helped with school athletics and in the Road Relay saved the English Department team from the ignominy of last place with an excellent time. He also coached rugby and football and made a significant contribution to the boarding programme, as well as winning the 2018/19 prize for ‘shortest commute’, with his back door visible from his classroom desk. We wish Duncan all the very best as he returns to Shiplake to develop his skills in Learning Support. Matthew Coolin James Latham James has been a superb member of the Sport and PE Department for the past three years. When James joined in September 2016 as a Graduate Sports Assistant he had just returned from a year in Australia where he was playing for Morningon Cricket Club in Melbourne, prior to this he had studied Human Geography at Leeds where he also represented the university at 1st team level in both cricket and hockey. In his time here James has coached numerous rugby, hockey and cricket sides and has certainly been able to pass his knowledge of all three sports on to boys from the Lower School all the way through to the 1st teams. He has driven up the standards in the U16 hockey and provided an excellent platform for the boys into the senior sides. In James’ second year he was instrumental in the wider use of the refurbished fitness suite and the greater focus on Athletic Development. He not only enabled more boys to access the fitness suite but he also made the environment welcoming to all ability levels; we are already seeing fitter and healthier students at Abingdon because of his hard work. To this day James is still playing representative cricket back in Hertfordshire and is a keen golfer when the busy schedule of an Abingdon teacher allows. There are many unforgettable moments surrounding James and his time at the school and I am sure we will not forget his ‘shocking’ blonde hair on return after an Easter break — we have never been able to confirm just how natural his hair colour has been. James leaves us as a well-rounded sports professional who is looking to explore new opportunities in the city as well as continuing to expand his personal training business. We wish him well for the future. Pete Bignell Nelly Petrov Nelly Petrov joined Abingdon in 2010. She came from Kennet School in Reading, where she had worked as a lab technician, before training as a teacher. She quickly proved herself as a very good and hard working teacher, who really cared about her pupils. With her youthful outlook and Gothic temperament she brought a breath of fresh air to the Physics Department, keeping us in touch with current affairs and news from Reading Festival! She was particularly inspiring and enthusiastic with students who found the subject difficult, always taking the time to help the weaker students achieve their full potential, and her results with lower ability sets were particularly impressive.