Ollie Gardner BY COLM Ó SIOCHRÚ AND JAMES WISSON
Dulwich. Much of that can no doubt be attributed to a se- rious-minded engagement with economic scholarship. But Ollie’s ability to inspire, engage and entertain owes just as much to the breadth of his cultural horizons and the determination to keep expanding them: from Caravaggio exhibitions visited and Hanya Yanagihara novels devoured
In early 2021, as he was discerning a vocation in teach- ing, Ollie must have watched with interest the decisions then emanating from the educational leadership team in Government. In just the first two months of the year, they announced that schools were Covid-clear and safe to open – and that Petri dishes needed to close with immedi- ate effect; that all exams were cancelled – but that maybe ‘mini-exams’ could be taken to help determine ‘deserved grades’ (a position quickly and ignominiously abandoned). It was this kind of strategic clarity and ethical integrity that lured Ollie away from a healthcare technology firm run by a now-disgraced Tory megadonor, who openly mused to his staff that Diane Abbott ‘should be shot’. Union bosses who worried that Gavin Williamson was bad for teacher recruitment clearly lacked a sense of perspective. Ollie was different from the outset. Few would have the confidence (or subversive irony) to use, in an interview lesson on financial crises, a clip from Mary Poppins – but then few would have the chutzpah (or subversive irony) to patrol the corridors of the Lord George Building at first break, vigorously enforcing the uniform policy on errant Removes whilst sporting a fluffy neon cardigan probably last worn by one of the Golden Girls circa 1992. The confidence, of course, is entirely merited. He wears it lightly and entirely unpretentiously, but Ollie’s formida- ble intelligence is admired by staff and revered by boys. He took to teaching so quickly and naturally that his resources were soon being snapped up by departmental colleagues; the notice board in the office is cluttered with reminders of drinks owed for yet another lesson-plan furnished or topical article bookmarked; and many Upper School boys rate him the best teacher they’ve had at
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