Students, staff, governors and friends dedicated a tree to the memory of a former teacher who taught thousands during his 33 years at Spalding Grammar School.
Peter Wasley (pictured), who died earlier this year at the age of 62, was remembered during a special commemoration service at the school he joined as a young French and German teacher in September 1978.
Colleagues remembered his “outstanding” skills as a teacher, preparing students to achieve excellent results and inspiring them to explore and grow to love foreign cultures.
Two previous headteachers contributed to the commemoration. Nigel Ryan reminded the audience of Peter’s lasting contribution to the school through the curriculum and the buildings, a tribute affirmed and extended by Michael Stewart, who commented that Peter “took the school forward with giant strides in the realms of technology, educational thinking and curriculum development”.
A spokesman for the school said: “The commemoration was deeply sad. However, there were moments of humour too, including a former student’s reflection on the impact of Peter as a teacher and later a colleague.”
After the commemoration, current headmaster Steven Wilkinson and Dr Peter Gorton led guests to the business block garden for the dedication of a magnolia tree in Peter’s memory.
The last word went to Peter’s first headmaster, John Fordham, who summed up Peter’s service to the school as “an excellent man to have on the staff”.
After leaving the school, Peter moved to France and later returned to Oxfordshire, where he was living with his wife Catherine at the time of his death.
