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Joan Essenhigh
Joan retired as laboratory technician in December after more than thirty years of efficient service. She continues to do evening duties in Park House and has been seen in the village looking after Rachel Fielding's baby. It is the intention of the society to honour Joan's efforts for the school when she finished all duties. David continues to play an important role coaching sports but they have moved out of Rendcomb to a very pleasant cottage in Compton Abdale.
Joan and David came to Rendcomb in 1968. When their children had grown up in 1973 Joan took on the job of physics technician, under Jack Fell, and brought her organisational skills to bear on the equipment, much of which was home made. As a new teacher in the seventies, I certainly appreciated Joan's support for the equipment intensive junior science courses. It was a time when teaching was less key stages and the second form were entered for national competitions and did very well on several occasions. From physics she moved to biology in 1983, having done some biology since 1979. Given Joan's experience in hospital labs in London, this was a sensible move for her and the school. So it was in biology that she remained under a variety of heads of department, namely Andrew Potts, Charlie Hannaford, Bridget Goldsmith (whom she knew from Marlborough) and James Stutchbury. Her efficiency was always a hallmark of her work and the pupils found her helpful and friendly. Joan also enjoyed visiting the records office for the geography department. It would be remiss of me not to mention her contribution to activities and sport in previous years. She passed on her love of archery to many Rendcombians and for many years she provided a sport for those who were not necessarily so good at team games.
We hope to see Joan at Rendcomb for some time to come but meanwhile we are most grateful to her for her massive contribution to the science department.
Chris Wood
David Hawkswell writes:
"When I arrived at Rendcomb in 1973, Joan had been working with Jack Fell for a couple of years so she had some idea of the task involved in arranging the rooms in the Stable Block to deal with the increasing numbers of students. In my first year we had 24 physics students in 6B, all in one set! Together we had to clear rooms, cupboards and boxes. Jack never threw anything out so Joan became expert in packing rubbish securely so Jack would not see what we were getting rid of! No job was too hard for Joan; she dealt with the problems of rooms at opposite sides of the Stable Block and shifting apparatus backwards and forwards with her usual cheerful good spirit.
Many O.R.s will remember Joan from buying electronic components, batteries and tapes at the electronic store. She quickly mastered the jargon: BC108, p-n-p transistors, colour codes etc and made my job easier by organising the store and the ordering. Eventually Joan moved over to the biology department when the computing side grew so that a full time technician was needed. Joan was a great person to work with and her qualities were respected by staff and pupils alike, but most of all, by me!"
Friends like These
Last summer, as a result of a bet, Sam Maylott (91-98), Harvey Davies (93-98), Chris Scarth (91-98), Tristan Sharman (91-96) and Tony Abbott (91-98) took part in the game show Friends Like These hosted by Ian Wright. The competition pits 5 girls against 5 boys and tests how well they know each other.
The introduction had the boys filmed at the college sliding down the banisters in Clock Hall and having a food fight in the dining room. They were subsequently described as the boys from Cheltenham while the team of girls were from Sutton Coldfield.
The first round of the game takes successive members of each team and puts them through a challenge against their opposite number. Sam, Chris, Tristan and Toby ran the gauntlet of a jigsaw wall, buzz wire, spot the alien object and complete a zigzag path for a robot. The boys triumphed winning 3 out of the 4 challenges. It was then left to Harvey to roll up the five balls along a ramp and into the centre of a revolving disc. Unbelievably he achieved this feat making it impossible for the girls to match their score. This meant that the boys were then able to play for a group holiday in the Bahamas.
Most competitors found the second round the most testing and failed to answer personal questions accurately. The fact that the Rendcomb team answered all their questions correctly not only showed that friendships formed at Rendcomb are as strong as ever but also sent the lads off to their holiday in the Bahamas.
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