O B I TU A RI ES
Such was Peter Woodward’s vision and drive that
within a short time the orchestra numbered 70 and
chamber and junior orchestras had been formed. In
addition to a Wind Band there was a flourishing choir,
Choral Society and Sennocke Consort. Record numbers
of pupils were learning musical instruments. In fact
there was so much music-making that the Aisher Hall
had to be enlarged twice to cope with demand. The
highlights of the year were the Alan Adler concert
and the closing concert of the Summer Festival. This
involved Peter conducting the school band and the
Band of the Royal Engineers playing Tchaikovsky’s
1812 Overture in the forecourt of Knole.
After National Service he went to Oxford on a
scholarship to read English Literature. Oxford was, he
was keen to point out, an extraordinary place in the
early 1950s, full of ex-servicemen keen to forge a new
post-war society through the power of education.
John was appointed as Head of English at Sevenoaks
in 1966 after teaching at Oxford, the Shakespeare
Institute in Stratford and then Malvern College and
Bristol Grammar School. Attracted by Sevenoaks’s
radical tradition of experimentation in education he
found an immediate fit both intellectually and within
the community. John was a scholarly and challenging
teacher, but in the classroom he had the talent to
compel and enthuse his pupils with a desire to do
better than they ever thought they could. Central to
his teaching was the demand that everything was
questioned. Hugely well-read himself, he knew that
his vocation was to give his students the power and
responsibility that knowledge yields. In a bid to open
up the oppressive hand of the examination boards
John worked with a group of other schools, including
Bedales, to create a new examination both at O-level
and A-level. John went on, with his wife Jo, to run
Johnsons and then found the GIH. Jo was fully as
important to the running of the houses as John – for
them, young people were the future and they felt
strongly the need to run the houses as family units.
As music grew stronger in the school a steady flow
of students went on to music colleges and some
gained places in the National Youth Orchestra. One
outstanding pupil, Emma Johnson, became BBC Young
Musician of the Year in 1984.
Peter Woodward 1931-2017
Peter Woodward joined Sevenoaks as Director of
Music in January 1974 and held the post for 19 years,
during which time he transformed music at the school
and created a thriving and successful department.
His own musical career was shaped by his connections
with the army. He sang in the choir of the Royal
Military College Sandhurst and played the clarinet and
saxophone in the band of the Devon Regiment during
national service. He subsequently trained as a music
teacher at Goldsmiths College before taking diplomas
at Trinity College and the Royal College of Music. He
made his mark at three south London state schools
before Sevenoaks.
At this time the Music department needed renewal.
The Aisher Hall had been in existence for six years
but most concerts continued to be held in the
Johnson Hall and the department was seriously
under-resourced. Even its one grand piano belonged
to the teacher Peter Young.
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Peter would have been the first to acknowledge the
assistance he received from other colleagues and in
particular the loyal support of Peter Young. By the
time he retired he had built up a strong team of 36
visiting music teachers including Jane Pamment, John
Brightwell, Elizabeth Moore and Lorraine Praeter.
Peter retired in 1993 and, before the onset of
Parkinson’s disease, led a busy retirement with his wife
Olive. At Sevenoaks he had become an authority on
the teaching methods of Kodály. He was fascinated by
the architecture, history and culture of Hungary, and
learnt to speak Hungarian fluently.
A wonderful Service of Thanksgiving was held in
St Botolph’s Church at Chevening. The church was
packed with family, friends and former pupils and
colleagues. An anthem was sung by Sevenoaks pupils
led by Chris Dyer as well as contributions from Peter
Young, Elizabeth Moore, Ian McLauchan (OS 1978)
and Mark Holmes (OS 1994).
Peter was a man of excessive modesty but he would
have been touched by the warmth and range of
tributes paid to him.
Mike Bolton
Undermaster 2003-2012
John ADAMS 1928-2018
In 1941 John, along with his entire school, was
evacuated from South London to the Welsh Rhondda.
John lived with a miner’s widow and was left with an
abiding affection for the valley community and deep
gratitude for the kindness he met. The experience
was key in his understanding of the need young
people have for the love and security of family and
community, especially if they are away from home.
John retired from Sevenoaks in 1993. For many years
he taught with the Open University and continued
writing plays, several of which were published and
performed on Radio 4. Moving to Aldeburgh in Suffolk,
with Jo, allowed him to continue to enjoy his great
passions of music and reading. While the Alzheimer’s
of later years stole some of his intellectual prowess he
remained devoted to the crossword and his family, and
whenever I went to see him one of his first questions
would always be, ‘And how’s the school?’
SEVENOAKS SCHOOL 2017-2018
Jane Henshaw
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