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Matt’s ability to bring a passion for both his sport and for global travel into the classroom was quickly evident, and his reputation as an inspiring teacher grew rapidly amongst the boys. During his six years at the College, his teaching has made a lasting impact across all year groups, and he has thoroughly embraced Dulwich’s co-curricular ethos. Fieldwork trips have seen Matt enjoying fish and chips and ice cream along the Jurassic Coast; embracing the cold and rain whilst counting pebbles on Brighton beach; wowing students with his historical knowledge of shipping at the Surrey Docks; and exploring the cultural Geography of post-communist Cuba. He has also enjoyed school conferences in Vancouver and Baltimore, funded by the International Boys’ School Coalition, which led him to complete an Action Research Project into collaborative learning. Matt has not only brought teaching and learning expertise to the department, but also a great sense of humour, which has made the Geography office a wonderfully fun place to work. Even on grumpy days, he can still find time to make a witty joke and make us all laugh. He has done an amazing job at promoting Geography across the school. In particular, he took over the running of Geography Society, and through his leadership the society has grown in terms of numbers of attendees, and has flourished in terms of the different geographies the boys have explored. It will come as no surprise that Matt has led a wide variety of talks. A particular favourite of staff and pupils alike was his presentation entitled ‘Arctic Surfing’, during which he shared some amazing photography, as well as telling stories of trekking across Norway to find the perfect isolated beach and then spending six weeks surfing and living in a remote hut. Extremely hard-working and genuinely committed to the academic and pastoral welfare of his pupils, Matt has been responsible for developing and leading a range of curriculum
areas and overseeing the immense challenge of remote learning during the pandemic, when he took over as Head of Geography. Matt has led the department well and done a great job at tailoring whole-school curriculum areas to a new style of teaching. In terms of his co-curricular contributions, Matt has taken on Lower School rugby teams and, most notably, rowing. At Dulwich College Boat Club, Matt started off as the 2nd VIII coach and made a huge difference to those athletes who didn’t quite make the 1st VIII, in what is one of the most difficult of coaching roles. Before becoming Head of Geography, Matt was a regular on the rowing Games sessions and he always gave up his Easter holiday to attend the annual training camp in Amsterdam, a sign of his willingness always to get stuck in and to go above and beyond. DCBC are sad to lose him; the coaches hope to see him on the river, when he starts his new job at St Paul’s. Matt has been a form tutor in both the Middle School and Upper School and many students have benefited from his guidance and support. He is a careful listener, and has a depth of empathy that has allowed him to support his tutees, guiding them through what can be the difficult years of adolescence. Matt has stepped up to take on the role of Head of Geography twice now, first as a maternity cover and then in his own right from April 2020, when he quickly put his own stamp on the department. Over the last extraordinary 18 months, Matt has really come into his own, guiding the department skilfully through the transition to online learning, blended teaching and now Teacher Assessed Grades. Matt leaves us to take on the role of Head of Geography at St Paul’s Boys, Hammersmith. We will miss you, Matt. Enjoy the exciting new challenges ahead! Bruce has been a pivotal member of the art team over the last five years, showing commitment to and helping to shape the department’s vision and ideology. An outstanding teacher, in the truest sense of the word, Bruce has a magical ability to marry his own contemporary art practice with progressive thinking, creating a relaxed and safe space in the classroom, where his students can experiment freely and fearlessly. Totally pupil-centred and exceptionally patient, Bruce enables pupils to flourish under his nurturing approach and he will be sorely missed by those who have been guided by his genuine interest in their talents. It is beyond the classroom, however, that Bruce comes into his own, where the lines between teaching and free learning become blurred in all the right ways. At Bell House, his solo show, ‘Duets’, became a workshop series conducted ‘in partnership’ with students from Dulwich and our SSLP schools. The way students were allowed to engage with artists, teachers and each other as free and equal partners was fundamental to the project’s success. During the workshops, the term ‘duet’ took on a new resonance, with Bruce’s own work being re-imagined, reconfigured and re-curated by the student ensemble. Unconstrained by syllabus or examination, this project stemmed from the passion Bruce exudes; this is what free learning truly looks like.
Bruce has been a huge player in the Upper School Symposium series. In 2017, Bruce and his student team designed visuals under the theme of ‘Uncertainty’, collaborating with jazz trumpeter Mark Armstrong on a live performative art piece. Bruce’s confidence with the creative unknown made this a perfect match. While collaborating student artists and musicians improvised in real time, only Bruce would have thought of putting the overhead projectors on wheels, so the visuals moved freely with the music, literally. He just has this knack of taking the students on an intuitive journey with him! Another Symposium workshop, this time based on Ikebana, the Japanese art form of flower arrangement, found Bruce’s students combining exotic blooms with artificial and manmade objects to create architectural and unexpected forms. This was an original and unforgettable lesson in the formal elements of design, and led to perfect Art College portfolio material. The self-curated exhibition ‘Humdrum’ perhaps defines Bruce at his absolute best, bringing together a group of artists who address the mundane, overlooked and sometimes boring aspects of daily life across diverse creative disciplines. ‘Humdrum’ invited the viewer to look at the everyday world with fresh eyes, prompting our students to re-think their relationship
with mass-produced objects, with technology and with familiar places, and it was a truly inspiring and accessible experience for all year groups, leaving a lasting legacy. Although student learning was at the heart of the term-long project, we teachers have also learnt so much from Bruce’s approach. Bruce is that rare commodity within the profession: one of a kind. A beloved classroom teacher and a caring form tutor, as well as a practising artist, he has been brilliant at drawing something creative out of any situation, and his influence will be long-lived in the department. Despite this, he remains refreshingly modest; the traditional notions of student deference towards the teacher do not exist with Bruce. The apprentice is encouraged to contribute to the work of the master; the apprentice and master inspire and guide, challenge and question each other. Surely this is what we all aspire to, as educators, and as we embrace the challenges of the modern classroom. Bruce leaves us for the south coast, where the full-time studio life of the artist beckons. As part of an established creative community, Bruce will doubtless find ways to immerse himself, drawing on his selfless energy and genuine creative spirit, while here the Ingram-effect will long continue to echo throughout the department.
DARIO DUO
Lexi Kelly
Mary Jo Doherty BRUCE INGRAM
Dario arrived at the College in September 2016 from Whitgift as a teacher of Physics. He made his mark immediately with students. A fantastic form tutor in the Upper School, Dario created a supportive environment for every student entering his classroom. Armed with a PhD in Theoretical Physics from Queen Mary, he swiftly took up the mantle as the expert. If anyone had a question, he could be trusted to have the answer. In his first year at Dulwich, Dario embraced the supra-curricular Physics activities. He ran the Muon Project, the International Young Physicists’ Tournament, the Physics Olympiad competitions and Further Physics, all these activities being well-attended by our best and brightest at A level. Walking into Dario’s lab, you quickly get a sense of the intense research which takes place. The boards are covered with Muon Project posters and all of the
cupboards are filled with student apparatus for IYPT problems. Putting in countless hours during and after school, Dario constantly pushed the students to further their knowledge beyond the A-level syllabus and to produce work of exceptional quality. Under his tutelage, the IYPT team from Dulwich was able to compete on the World Stage three years in a row (Singapore, Beijing and Warsaw). His work in Further Physics has resulted not only in excellent Oxbridge numbers over the years, but also in a large number of offers to high-calibre universities such as Imperial and Bristol, as well as top US institutions. In his third year, Dario stepped up to take on the role of second in department, where his efficiency was much appreciated. No one could whip up an impressive spreadsheet more quickly, or more accurately, than Dario. His organisation, efficiency and
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