Life Before RHS – Jess E
Back with the final edition of Life Before RHS, until the next half of this term. What’s in store for readers this week? A member of staff who thought about becoming a priest, was a house master at a previous school before RHS, and finally, decided to round his article feature off with a quick fun fact about the school DH. Read below to find out more!
Mr Dixon – Second Master
Favourite Memory Before RHS?
‘My favourite job before RHS was definitely being a Housemaster. I ran a boys’ boarding house for 8 years and I loved every minute of it. My wife and I really enjoyed the involvement we had with the boys in the house and we feel very fortunate that we still see some of them now as friends after all of these years. My house won the inter-house rugby competition for the first time in over 50 years while I was housemaster which was a happy surprise.’
What Was Your School Career Like?
‘I went to a very ordinary state school in Northumberland. I was good at maths and chemistry and was very lucky to have some teachers who helped me realise my potential and encouraged me to apply to Oxford University. The school I went to didn’t have anything like the sorts of co-curricular opportunities you have at RHS but I did do a bit of acting which I enjoyed. I joined the local ATC (there was no CCF at my school) which was great fun and I have all sorts of happy memories of doing all kinds of adventurous things like night exercises, shooting, flying, marching(?) and my tent collapsing under the weight of snow while halfway up Scafell Pike.’
Did You Always Want to Work in Education?
‘When I was young, I wanted to be a train driver. I thought about medicine, banking and for a while even about becoming a priest! But there has always been a part of me that knew I wanted to teach. When I was at college I was very into rowing and through that I started coaching rowing which I really enjoyed. I remember having a conversation with one of the dons at college about becoming a teacher and he said something along the lines of, why not give it a go for a couple of years and if you don’t like it, do something else… And thirty years later I’m still here trying to get you guys excited about balancing equations and VSEPR Theory.’
Something Not Many People Know About Me…
‘I used to work in a hospital for people who were suffering with acute mental illnesses.’
A Fun Fact! (Not so much about Mr Dixon but instead a comment for pupils)
‘The cups in the DH have already been washed: there is absolutely no need to rinse them out before you fill them with water.’
That’s it for this week on ‘Life Before RHS’ if you want to know more secret insights into the life of your teachers before they became a part of RHS, come back in two weeks, after half term, for an insight into another member of staff!
Enjoy half term!!
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