No . 138 The Trusty Servant
Valete Steve Rich ( CoRo , 09-24 ; HoDo H , 18-24 ); Olga Rich ( CoRo , 14-24 )
Matt Dedynski ( CoRo , 14- ) writes :
I have the pleasure of writing about Steve and Olga Rich , to whom we are saying goodbye after a combined total of 25 years of service to the College .
The pair met during Steve ’ s year abroad in 2002 in Siberia in Krasnoyarsk , where he clearly charmed her : she moved literally halfway around the world to start a new life with him , and they married in 2006 .
Steve had a stint as a trainee tea-taster , a skill for which he is well known . Once I casually asked whether he liked PG Tips . The disgust on his face was clearly visible as he simply replied , “ No , it ’ s got to be Yorkshire tea .” He was also an inspector of exotic furs . He claims still to be able to tell a high-quality mink fur amongst a pile of duds .
They moved to Winchester in 2009 with their eldest child , Sasha , at the time a toddler . Steve joined the Russian Department and contributed new life and vigour to a department that , led by the formidable Nicholas Fennell , welcomed his youthful enthusiasm .
Adeline Lombardo remembers one of Steve ’ s French lessons from those early years . Steve had illustrated the use of the future tense with a snippet of the Lord of the Rings . The boys left the room shouting “ Vous ne passerez pas !” with glee at each other , showcasing his creativity and sense of humour .
Steve then became head of Russian and shortly after the head of Modern Foreign Languages , a role in which he was clearly popular .
I joined the school in 2014 and was delighted to be starting at the same time as Olga Rich .
When you ask pupils about Olga they say she is approachable , kind , engaging and always willing to help in her role as Russian language assistant . It is little wonder the top year pupils consistently score extremely highly in their oral exams . We even had one English boy scoring full marks on the speaking element last year , a testament to Olga ’ s hard work and expertise .
Russian is one of the few subjects that Wykehamists start truly from scratch . There are not one but two completely new alphabets to learn ( one for printed letters and one for handwritten ), six cases , verbs of motion , irregulars and stresses on certain syllables . There are so few high-quality teaching materials for Russian that we have been spoiled by Steve and Olga ’ s amazing work producing alphabet booklets and textbooks . The Russian department has had huge Oxbridge success , including four boys gaining places in one year from a set of just eight pupils .
When I asked the Trantites how they would describe Steve and Olga , they used the words “ kind ”, “ approachable ” and “ a good sense of humour ”. Steve and Olga have been in Trant ’ s since 2018 and anyone who has been in that position knows the dedication and sacrifice that it entails . If you are still being described in such positive terms after years of having to tell teenagers what to do , then you must have done an excellent job .
Jan Hepworth ( CoRo , 11-24 ; Head of Spanish )
Callum Barnes ( CoRo , 13- ) writes :
Jan is someone who puts everyone else before herself . I am forever thankful to Jan for her mentorship whilst I completed my QTS . Through this experience , I too got to see what it was like to be taught by one of the best . Jan knows how to get the most from people . I also had the pleasure of accompanying Jan on two school Spanish trips to
Seville and Malaga , not because of my linguistic talents , I should add . It was during these trips that Jan ’ s desire to please shone through , always worried about how to keep the pupils happy .
Jan is also a champion of the underdog . She is not one to give up , and goes above and beyond what is required . This again was true on the trips , championing those less able to feel confident in their abilities to converse or to try new cultural experiences , and helping them to not take the easy option of giving up .
When the Covid 19 pandemic stopped much of the world , one person it didn ’ t stop was Jan . She coordinated the College ’ s efforts in the delivery of our PPE , and took it upon herself to phone the various agencies in Winchester to work out where the college community could best be put to use . This included turning her home into a temporary food bank drop-off point , collecting clothes for Trinity House and the Nightshelter , delivering vital prescriptions and medication to support local care homes , paramedics and GPs , and most impressively coordinating a strong volunteer workforce , including herself , to shop and deliver for the vulnerable within our local community . Her desire to serve others is unquestionable , and in a time of general uncertainty , Jan was sure what she needed to do .
Her colleagues within the Spanish department say , ‘ Jan is the reason I stayed here for more than the initial term I was contracted for . Her warmth , her welcome , the joy she took in teaching here and leading the Spanish department . This translates into her teaching . She has fun in the classroom , and so do pupils , but she is demanding , rigorous in her desire and requirement for them to learn the vocabulary and structures of Spanish , and really understand the language they take into exams , so that it also works for them in the real world , so that they can
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