Valete
GOODBYE
Roger Patterson
Marie was not just the perfect PA, she is an amazing
daughter, mother and grandmother. Her sense of
balance, her pride and pleasure in giving her best to
family and work are an inspiring example, and
I know I am not alone in wishing her and Chris the
happiest of times in their new life of walks and art
in Northumberland.
Katy Ricks
It was a sad day for the department when we
discovered Roger was heading back to Australia after
five years with us. Unflappable, calm and intelligent,
Roger approached his work with an authority of a man
who has all the answers, although he was never too
keen to write them down! A veritable colossus of a
mathematician, Roger was always on hand to support
students and even staff, especially with extension-
level problems.
we also say goodbye to:
Alberto Amoza Davila
Roger was influential in many areas; HL coordinator,
EE coordinator, IA consultant, and UKMT master.
He was able to extend the most able pupils in the
school, but also equally adept at supporting those
who find maths challenging – a rare versatility. He
contributed to hockey and chess, and was a popular
Lower School tutor. He helped mastermind the
timetable, solving logistical problems in a calm and
considered manner. Roger will be sorely missed within
the school and we wish him all the best.
Guy Howden
Alannah Russell
Always enviably elegant, even in Sevenoaks staff PE
gear, Alannah brought apparently effortless style to
the Modern Languages department. Friendly and very
warm, she quickly gained the respect of staff and
students with her excellent French and hardworking,
professional approach to teaching classes from Year
7 to Higher Level IB. All Alannah’s pupils and Upper
School tutees benefited hugely from the hours she
spent carefully planning and executing lessons,
especially from the care and wisdom she gave to each
individual. In her five years with us she led several
successful French exchanges to Lyon and following
her first love, Italian, enjoyed accompanying the study
trip to Italy. Efficient and highly computer literate,
Alannah spent hours generously helping colleagues
and she relished discussion and debate on all
aspects of culture. We all miss Alannah and her smile
immensely but wish her and Guy very well in bringing
up their delightful son, Arthur.
Alison Maynard
134
VA L E T E
Stephan Andrews
Sofia Aneiros Breijo
Caz Bishopp
Matthew Burnett
Marie Thomas
Sabrina Shah
Sabrina made an immediate impact at Sevenoaks,
setting up a new drawing club. Dramatic inky drawings
of crabs and squid emerged and soon she found the
studio was too small for all the number of students
attracted. Sabrina rapidly generated a fiercely loyal
body of pupils who appreciated her genuine
interest in their work and the breadth of her
knowledge and experience.
Students immediately relaxed in her company and
were able to sound out and explore their ideas, secure
in the knowledge that Sabrina would support and
engage with them. Her quietly but fiercely burning
passion and her endless patience will be much missed.
As a colleague, her gentle nature and willing
enthusiasm for her subject made her valued and
respected by all in the department. Her determination
to spend time with individuals, bring out their
creativity and set sky-high standards will be great
assets in her new role running the Art Department
of Rugby School, Thailand.
Charley Openshaw
Marie said she never thought she’d stay so long –
thank goodness she did! I had never had a PA before
Sevenoaks, and certainly never had to select and
appoint one. Fifteen years on, I can truthfully say:
good choice!
Marie is everything one could possibly want in a
PA – and in a friend. Always cheerful, an amazing
listener, always resourceful in the face of challenge,
and able to move from drafting papers and speeches
to choosing nail polish colour at a second’s notice.
Marie’s efficiency and gatekeeping strengths are
well known by all; her chic elegance admired by all.
Multilingual and international, her outlook and life
experience made her perfect for Sevenoaks (her
children had even been taught by Sevenoaks
teachers in Brazil!).
She did provoke a moment of terror in her first year,
anxiously indicating there was something she had to
tell me. I thought she was going to say she couldn’t
stand working for me a moment longer, but thank
goodness it was the much more important and joyful
news that she was dating the Head of Art, and was it
OK?! Reader, she married him – though quite possibly
Marie and I spent more hours together than with
either husband.
SEVENOAKS SCHOOL 2017-2018
Stephanie Byard
Kimberley Chan
Roger Chitty
Janet Collcut
Tilly Creed
Lucy Dollman
Anna Firman
Scott Glynn
Mickael Goldschmidt
Georgina Harrison
Jim Hawkins
Kathryn Hodgson
Linda Kilgallon
Hélène Lacroix
Ralph Lyle
Sheela Mahadevan
Kevin Meng
Alison Roberts
Jonathan Routledge
Raquel Santome Parada
Katya Soldatova
Veronica Speiser
Yulia Vershinina
Vicki Wood
Jinzhang Xu
135