“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” – Albert Einstein

Schools have an institutional memory, but it is rather shorter than might be imagined. We all remember our own experiences, but the memory is not always shared. People move on, changes occur, and we don’t always remember what or who was involved.

This week we celebrated the life of a BSP teacher. Mr Marcelo Gimenes was our Senior School subject leader in Computer Science. Indeed, the first person to hold the post. He lost his life to cancer earlier in the month and was celebrated on Wednesday afternoon.

Those who enjoyed Mr. Gimenes’ classes were impressed with his air of quiet, scholarly authority and his clear concern for his pupils. He came to us from the UK where he had competed his teacher training and his early years of teaching. I vividly recall our first meeting, at interview. I was excited to meet a candidate whose referees had described in such glowing terms. His PGCE tutor described an “exceptionally motivated teacher who demanded high standards of both himself, and his pupils.” I was not disappointed. As all who knew him will recognise the words on the page were in many ways but a pale indication of his true erudition, commitment, and desire to communicate his love of subject. Quietly purposeful, he quickly established himself at the BSP as being an educator of the highest calibre and we regret that we did not enjoy his company and stimulation as a colleague for longer.

That Marcelo understood the capacity of computers was evidence, his expertise in the creation of electronic music was as profound as his appreciation of the other areas of computing. His academic record was distinguished with some forty published articles to his name. He did not confine himself to one academic field, nor draw a distinction between the academic and the creative, he pursued excellence in both.

If we are to learn from Marcelo’s example it is that we should be ready to acknowledge the importance of developing not only the strictly academic but the creative too. Despite his illness, he never lost his enthusiasm for school, and he remained engaged with the development of his subject. He continued until the end to talk about returning to the classroom, his commitment to the transmission of learning unbowed.

But perhaps the final word should be with Marcelo. When he wrote to me in application for his post, he stated that “every pupil must have the opportunity to grow as whole individuals, intellectually, socially, morally and physically.” His commitment to and skill in inspiring young people to grow in character was a hallmark of his approach. Put simply, an inspiration for us all.

Nicholas Hammond

Headmaster