OBITUARIES
Peter McGregor , far right , with the Chemistry department
PETER MCGREGOR 1948-2019
Peter joined Willie Bleyberg ’ s Chemistry department in 1970 . He had studied Chemistry at the University of East Anglia and trained as a teacher at King ’ s College London . Peter thrived on hard work and before leaving the school completed another degree , this time in Physics .
He stayed at the school for five years . Not only was he expected to teach his subject well ( he was an excellent teacher ) but he immersed himself in the life of the school . He became a House Tutor at Johnsons , ran the Duke of Edinburgh ’ s Award programme , organised first aid training and was responsible for the school ’ s fire precautions .
As a boy living close to the North York moors , Peter had loved the outdoors , and he became a keen cross country runner . He pursued this at Sevenoaks and was in charge of cross country . In 1972 he established the Knole Run which has grown into the most prestigious school cross country event in the country . It gave him great pleasure to come back and
watch the race , and well into his fifties he ran it to mark the 30th anniversary of the event . The McGregor Cup named in his honour is still awarded to the winning team from outside Kent .
After leaving Sevenoaks he kept in touch with the school through his four children , Alasdair , Abi , Amy and Alex , who all attended the school . He moved to become Head of Science at Darrick Wood School before becoming Deputy Head of Ramsden Boys School in 1982 . He then moved from schools to be the Science Adviser for Bromley . Life was busy but he somehow found the time to study for a Master ’ s in Education . When the government began reforming local authorities Peter became an Ofsted Inspector and subsequently set up a highly regarded company specialising in teacher training and school inspections .
Peter set himself the highest standards . He led from the front . He was passionate about science education and his career was dedicated to giving young people the best possible life chances .
Mike Bolton
128 ALUMNI REVIEW