Andrew Mowll by Ashley England
Rosa West by Laurell Milton
Andy joined the Dulwich College Maths Department in September 2019 coming with one of the most impressive references I’ve ever seen — I was initially convinced he had written it himself. Over the past six years Andy has lived up to all that promise and delivered even more to the College and the Mathematics Department. Shortly after arriving, Andy was appointed as Head of Middle School Maths, a role that he has really shaped into his own. When I met with him and the other two newly appointed Heads of Lower and Upper School Maths before they were due to officially start, the other two were slightly taken aback when Andy presented two years of completely rewritten and fully resourced schemes of work. I knew at that stage Andy was the right choice to really manage the Middle School provision with increasingly little support. He has run a fantastic enrichment club every week, where he has really stretched and developed some of our
Rosa joined the school after relocating from Edinburgh, where she served as Deputy Head of English at Merchiston Castle School. With her literary prowess and experience working at an all- boys school, Rosa quickly established herself as a pillar of the English Department. Since she joined, her commitment to her classes has been unwavering. She didn’t just teach lessons; she ignited a love for the subject in her students, with many opting to choose English for A Level. Her teaching extended beyond the classroom, often helping students who found English concepts challenging to grasp with patience and clarity. Not only did she bring warmth and academic rigour to her lessons, but she also applied her Scottish grit to the role of form tutor in the Upper School — a position for which she is well respected. Students felt secure and heard, with their language and perspectives of the world challenged, whether in wellbeing, registration, the corridors, or their lessons — be it from her teaching Curley’s Wife in Of Mice and Men or sexual desire and transgression in Chaucer’s The Merchant’s Tale . It is during her lessons that, as one student quoted, “my mind was blown” as she engaged in political, sexual, and social politics. Rosa engaged with Middle School Further English outside the classroom, bringing The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to the line-up, with students rushing out of the lesson to attend the Wednesday afternoon session. The question on all the students’ lips was whether they dared attempt a Scottish accent, as that role was reserved for Miss West only. Her engagement with literature beyond the canon kept the students constantly debating areas in literature: her LitSoc on Jilly Cooper’s bonkbuster novels or John Mulaney’s inability to tell a good joke. Rosa is more than an exceptional teacher; she’s also a fantastic colleague. Besides her open curiosity
about the texts we taught, her quick wit and sharp tongue were always ready to defend any student deserving of a mark in their timed writing, argue why good sourdough bread was worth anyone’s existence, and comment on when something was just “wild”. As our resident walking food guru, we cannot overlook her astounding knowledge of top-rated restaurants and cafés worldwide. Her culinary skills and excellent taste in food were exemplary and a core part of Monday mornings, as she brought chocolate cake, rocky road, baklava, and many other delicious treats to see us into the week. She had an incredible way of reminding us that our mental and physical health was important as she headed to a Barry’s or Pilates reformers class, spent a day with the horses, or returned to the flat for a Peloton (those 6:30am Friday walks are a staple of my Dulwich College routine). Rosa will be greatly missed by the English Department and the students she taught. We wish her all the best as she returns to Edinburgh to teach at Edinburgh Academy, armed with a coffee cup and annotated texts. ◎
best mathematicians through the Middle School, and their success in the Upper school and beyond is in large part down to all the investment of time he has put into their Maths early on. He has also developed an excellent support programme for those who don’t find their GCSE studies so easy, and has worked closely with the pastoral team to help secure the best for all our students. Andy has contributed to the College in so many ways but probably his lasting legacy will be the work he has done in developing two online learning tools. Several years ago he approached the Department with an idea for an online version of the physical tiles we have used to teach parts of algebra. He turned this into algebratiler.com with a gamified part to it that harnessed the students love for mobile games and pointed it firmly at learning maths. This led to students collecting Mathematician cards like Top Trumps and then the coveted “Mowll Coin” which could be used to power up your Mathematician. The boys were hooked! Students enjoyed this so much they were learning far beyond their usual age and Andy had to add more levels. The next year he moved onto developing Maths Generator: a much more ambitious platform to support learning with thousands of questions written by himself and the department. This has proved equally successful and Andy presented his work on it at the International Boys’ School Coalition last year. Andy has been a stalwart at Friday night football and has played in many of the school’s staff charity football matches. Most recently Andy has served at Assistant College Timetabler, following a long line of illustrious DC Mathematicians in the role. We have very mixed emotions seeing Andy move on to become Head of Mathematics at Eltham College. We know he will thrive in the role but will miss his contributions, good humour and the fun he brings to the College. ◎
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