Mary Sharp
After 8 years as Assistant Head, 6 of those as Director of Sixth Form, Mary Sharp is leaving us to explore exciting new ventures. Mary is a pas-sionate and vociferous advocate of the education of young women and their right to take their place in the world wherever they choose. She has the rare gift of stimulating debate by putting the opposite view – playing devil’s advocate is her favourite pastime. Leading the sixth form team she promoted intellectual rigour and the girls were encouraged to debate and question. She brought the same skills to her English teach-ing, encouraging a love for literature and the sheer joy of reading. As a colleague on the Senior Leadership Team she will be sorely missed as she often encouraged us to look at problems a different way or be more creative in our thinking. Mary and I had many a hearty debate on subjects as far ranging as feminism, shoes and A level subjects but she and I shared a love of the same Tennyson poem, “Ulysses”. As she leaves us to explore new worlds then it seems appropriate to quote from this very poem to express our thanks and good wishes to her:
Come my friends,
'T is not too late to seek a newer world.
. . .
To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield.
Amanda Meredith, Deputy Head
