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fundraising events including the ever-popular PHAB Revue. After taking the reins as Head of PHAB in 2021, Matt has led several cohorts in raising over £35,000 for the charity. He also initiated the new residential trip at The Pioneer Centre after the usual format at School was made impossible by Covid; he was able to envision a new format, ensuring that every guest had the best possible experience. Many would have backed away from the challenge, but Matt turned it into something even better than it had been before. He worked tirelessly to ensure that not only were guests’ needs met, but that expectations were exceeded. Matt has done it all at Merchant Taylors’ and has positively influenced so many. We have no doubt that our loss is Brighton College, Dubai’s gain. We wish Matt and Mairead all the very best; they will be sorely missed at School by pupils, parents, colleagues and friends. Mr I. McGowan Philip Harrison Philip joined the School as Head of Classics in 2012. He had graduated from Oxford, taught English in China, worked for Oxford University Press, studied a PGCE at Cambridge, and taught Classics at St Swithun’s and Highgate School. Thus there arrived in our midst a cultured and highly intellectual colleague whose scholarship has been matched only by his humility and gentleness. Philip took over the Classics Department with kindness and acumen, ever accommodating the unexpected and finding a pragmatic solution. He has led us with a light touch, offering professional trust and generosity of guidance, always taking the time to consult and collaborate, so that we felt heard and we moved forwards with confidence. Under Philip’s aegis, the Classics Department has retained its status as a flagship of Merchant Taylors’ academic weight. He has been responsible for a huge range of initiatives, such as offering the opportunity to visit the Classical world to all year groups in the School, starting with the Thirds and Upper Thirds Naples Trips to maximise their immersion in the Cambridge Latin

a positive culture in the hockey programme. Matt has never been too busy to give up his time to coach his side. He has accompanied so many sports tours, all of which have benefitted from his pastoral, travel, and sports expertise. I know he has many cherished memories from each. Matt has always seen his involvement in the extra-curricular life of the School as equally important as his contributions in the classroom. Indeed, it has extended to the OMT community where he has been a coach and player for OMT Hockey Club, representing the 1st XI for a number of seasons. He has stepped back recently, not to spend more time with the now Mrs Flower, but to play more golf at Sandy Lodge Golf Club. Matt’s impact on the School does not stop there. He was the driving force behind the introduction of World Challenge. The first trip to Madagascar in 2016 saw twelve boys complete three weeks of travelling, and the pre-expedition fundraising was just as impressive. Matt and the pupils organised an amazing Poker Night at Moor Park Mansion, as well as the less glamorous 48 hours of cycling on the running track, where boys and staff cycled the equivalent of the length of Madagascar! Mr Fothergill, who accompanied Matt on the trip, described him as the perfect blend professional, funny, fair, straight-talking and nurturing. It is this sense of humanity that is surely Matt’s greatest gift to School life. He has been a superb Head of White House for eight years: boys see Matt as someone who will listen, but also give them strength – he is a man who embodies both empathy and action. As Head of Middle School, James Manley noted that he even connects with boys he does not teach, does not coach, and are not in his House: they are boys who have approached him because they have heard he is a good person to speak to. This humanity also characterises arguably his greatest achievement at MTS – his leadership of PHAB. He played a key role in launching the first PHAB Club in 2016; he has found time in his saturated work schedule to visit guests and their parents to make them feel comfortable; he has overseen the organisation of many

course. He also introduced the creative solution of Gratin to the Fourth Form, and therefore secured healthy numbers of Greek pupils taking GCSE. More recently, he has overseen the introduction of Classical Civilisation as a wildly popular Fourth Form option. Having studied Greek Philosophy at Oxford, Philip has regularly chosen to teach the Plato option for Greek literature. In terms of his Classical interests, however, Philip describes himself as a generalist; he can turn his hand to anything. Ever a scholar himself, his greater interest in Greek art and architecture was sparked by teaching Classical Civilisation; this fed into his passion for Classical travel. For many pre-pandemic years, he spent part of his summer holidays in the intense August heat of Athens, introducing international students to the delights of the Classical world. On his last Naples Trip in 2023 he was pleased to be able to visit the Graeco Roman settlement of Paestum on the Amalfi Coast, a stunning archaeological site, enthusing pupils and staff alike in the world’s best surviving Greek temples. Above all, Philip values thinking, reading and research. Reading weekends at Ascot Priory became a unique feature of the Classics Department, providing space and a scholarly setting for Classics pupils to carry out research and present their findings. He has hosted Classics conferences for teachers, and maintained a steady programme of external speakers, including such big names as Richard Hunter, Philip Hardie, Alan Sommerstein and Stephanie McCarter. More recently, he invited Dr John Kittmer, the career Classicist and diplomat, to speak at an online lecture titled “Our Man in Athens”. He encouraged pupils in the Divisions and Lower Sixth to prepare and address questions to John, who engaged the boys and explored their ideas. This is typical of Philip’s style, inspiring young scholars and Classicists alike and building their confidence. He is never happier than when he is exploring ideas with curious minds. Many of you will recall him representing Scholarship for a video on the School website, considering you imperiously in slow motion as he looks up from some

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