We were informed Mr David Blow, Head Teacher, that Peter Thompson, Deputy Head Teacher, died on Saturday 21st May;

The funeral arrangements were for family only and there would be a memorial service on Friday 24th June, a Service of Celebration at St Paul’s Church Dorking to which all were welcome.

 

Peter Thompson - celebratory events

Assemblies

During the week beginning 20th June (noting that the Monday itself is an INSET Day), there will be special assemblies

- Tues 21st: Assembly for L6th in Common Room p.3&4

- Thurs 23rd: Assembly (at 1.55 in Hall) for Y7 and 8

- Fri 24th: Assembly (at 1.55 in Hall) for Y9, 10 + any members of Year 11 (some of whom will be in school anyway for 6th Form Induction Day)

Upper 6th students were welcome to attend on either day, or to attend the Service

Mufti day

There was also a themed mufti day on Thursday 23rd (moved from Friday) (football shirts & international theme).

Service of Celebration

On Friday 24th June, there was a Service of Celebration at St Paul’s Church Dorking at 4.30 to which all were welcome.

For a map and comments re parking click here.

Do please pass on this information especially to former students who may wish to attend. The website will be updated with further details.

Sponsored Cycle Ride

We are considering a Sponsored Cycle Ride perhaps towards the end of the Summer holidays. We are aware that there are considerable logistical issues, and so would welcome expressions of interest and comments to see if it is viable. One idea from Preston to Ashcombe (probably 4 days for 270 miles so perhaps over the Bank Holiday weekend: Fri – Mon or Sat – Tues); it would be ideal if we could tie it in with a Preston North End home game – the fixtures are released within the next week or so. However, that is a long journey. An alternative would be the Coast-to-Coast which was a favourite of Peter’s. Or we could go for a single day locally. Please contact Ms Sheikh on yas@ashcombe.surrey.sch.uk if you are interested in participating or helping to organise.

Sponsored Walk

There will also be a Sponsored Walk on Friday 23rd September 2011 (which will be similar to previous Sponsored Walks the school organises every two or three years).

“Accent”

The latest edition of “Accent”, paying tribute to Peter, has been sent to the printers and was issued during the week beginning 20th June. The next edition of Accent in the Autumn Term will include photos of events in school to celebrate Peter’s life.

Tanzania link and the BuildAfrica Uganda project

His family have asked if donations in his memory could be made to support the Tanzania link and the BuildAfrica Uganda project. Peter Thompson’s final school activity before his recent death was to undertake a preparatory visit last August to Uganda with BuildAfrica to support a rural school in memory of James Rosser who died in Rwanda in 2008. This will now become a joint memorial to Peter and James. His family have asked if donations in his memory could be made to support the Tanzania link and the BuildAfrica Uganda project, and so the Memorial Fund set up in 2008 will become a joint memorial fund.
The fund has already supported the new covered area (James was very involved with the planning of this project), and will continue to support the links with Uganda and our partner school in Tanzania.

If you wish to make a donation, please see our website (Home page > The Community > Ashcombe Trust ) because if the donation is done through Ashcombe Trust as a charity, the tax can be reclaimed.

We very much hope that these events will be a fitting tribute to Peter.

 

 

Ashcombe School : Peter Thompson

Sunday 22nd May 2011

Dear parents

Peter Thompson

Peter passed away peacefully on Saturday afternoon at home with family and close friends present. You will have been aware that Peter had an operation in August to remove a tumour from his stomach, and received treatment since then as unfortunately the cancer had spread. There will be a private funeral shortly for just family and close friends by invitation only, and then there will be a service to celebrate his life a few weeks later, probably in Dorking. We will send out information about this once arrangements have been made, as we know that there will be many former students who will wish to pay their respects.

Peter joined the school as Deputy Head in 1989 having been Head of Modern Languages and then Assistant Head at George Abbot School, Guildford. He took a lead on the teaching of Spanish which was his speciality (in which he had been a Chief Examiner), and set up the Spanish exchange. He was also responsible for setting up the Tanzanian exchange with Tambaza High School, Dar-es-Salaam which has been running since 1996 bi-annually. As a result of the experience, students have had literally life-changing experiences whether it be deciding to study Swahili at university, work for a development agency or instilling a passion for Africa. When the school became a Language College in 1998, he introduced Mandarin Chinese to the school, supporting the teachers and then working with the British Council to set up the Chinese links with ChangZheng School initially and then widening it to other schools in Putuo District, Shanghai to enable a Surrey Putuo link. This has been formalised with the support of Surrey C.C., and there are now 40 schools (primary and secondary) in Surrey which have links thanks to Peter’s continued commitment, perseverance and hard work. Just as with Tanzania, the experience has shaped the future for many students with some studying Chinese or related subjects at university and others working there later in life. Most recently, he did the preparatory visit for the Build Africa in Uganda link so that a group of students can visit this summer.

Peter has played in key role in the school’s links with the PTA, the wider local community and the business community across Surrey . The school’s International Business Week won the top prize, the Mary Glasgow Award, in the European Award for Languages 2005. The week involves students learning Chinese and Italian, and then with the support of many business volunteers, the Year 10 pupils prepare CVs, are interviewed and then work on business games with an international dimension. Peter’s enthusiasm meant that we have had continued support from many people and firms, which also enabled the success of the bi-annual Careers Fair.

There will be an area in the Ranmore New Foyer for tributes to Peter. We are printing off condolence cards for people to record their memories of Peter, and these will be available soon, and will also be downloadable from the website. A special page has been created on the website, which will include a link to send tributes electronically, and where we will also give more information about the service to celebrate his life. We will be informing pupils on Monday morning, but are aware that some Lower 6th and Year 11 students will not be in school.

We are all greatly saddened to have lost a highly regarded colleague, teacher and friend.

Yours sincerely

D.J. Blow