Gail started at KEVICC in 1983 when she
was first employed as a PE and Geography
teacher. Within a few years, Gail started
to teach Religious Studies and was then
appointed Head of Religious Studies in
1988. You could say she is a jack of all
trades as she has also taught Drama; was
in charge of General Studies in Kennecott and became the Head
of PSHE! Gail has been an amazing Head of Department, mentor,
colleague, friend and surrogate mother to me. As a department
we are like a family and I know I am going to miss her so much.
She has been an inspiration to many students, as well as staff,
and is always there if you need her. Even when Gail was ill with
breast cancer, she was still in school throughout her treatment
and had the department’s interests at heart as she wants the
best for her school and the best for her students. She really does
care for every student she teaches and will offer them as much
time as they need. She is amazing in the amount of additional
hours that she has always put in, especially during the exam
period. She is so committed in everything she does. I know that
I would not be the teacher I am today without her guidance and
support, and only hope that I can one day have the same impact
on students that I know she has had on so many. She is the life
and soul of the RS department here at KEVICC and is going to be
a huge loss. I know that she will continue to do what she does
and be a huge success wherever she is and I know that even
though I have lost her as a colleague, she will continue to be a
big part of my life.
As Head of Religious Studies, she has been phenomenally
successful and her exam results speak for themselves. Most
years she has had students with the some of the highest results
in the country, as well as having departmental results that are
above the national average. In 1994 she was awarded with the
Farmington Trust national award for teaching of Christianity and
also asked to produce the teaching resources to be published
nationally. And, not to blow our own trumpet, but under Gail’s
leadership we also get the some of the best results in the College.
Gail in the classroom is always about making sure the students
are working hard and also making sure that they enjoy and have
fun with their learning. She has taken part in staff pantomimes
and been a huge supporter of helping raise money for charity.
She is one of the most caring tutors I know and really does treat
her tutees with love and respect – always looking out for, and
wanting the best for, them.
Abi Newman, RS Department
Page 33
Art
Staff Leavers
Wendy retires this summer after 36
years with the KEVICC Art Department:
an invaluable colleague and friend
to numerous Heads of Department.
Wendy has, without fuss or ego, been a
superb teacher and mentor to countless
students. Whether teaching a Year 7 class
during Activities Week or an A-Level Textile group, she had the
remarkable ability to have the same degree of passion, focus and
empathy for both. As a result, many of her students have gone
on to achieve great things as teachers, designers and curators.
Wendy has increasing taught within the Art & Design
Foundation Course where she has established a very effective
printmaking workshop. Wendy has expected from the students,
and subsequently got, the highest standards. Her intrinsic
understanding and vast experience of art and education will
be greatly missed by her colleagues. In retirement, Wendy will
continue to be a passionate supporter and practitioner of music,
singing, painting and education. She is simply part of the glue
that holds the wider Totnes community together!
Bruce Timson, Arts Foundation
If you were to pick the ideal teacher Wendy Newman is just that
teacher. Her enthusiasm for her subject and her students has
never diminished over the years. She never makes a fuss and lets
her work do the talking. A few weeks ago I met an art teacher who
had been taught by Wendy at KEVICC and she wasted no time in
telling me that Wendy was the person who inspired her to be an
art teacher. She said: 'When you have someone like Wendy who
comes into your class with a smile and a clear love of what she
was doing, it made me realise that this was something I wanted
to do.' This has been the hallmark of the person throughout
her career, be it in the art studio or with her choirs. Her work,
and that of the all the students she has taught, has been of the
highest quality. She is irresistible. Stephen Jones, formerPrincipal
When Wendy started teaching at KEVICC, it was her first job. She
passionately supports the College which has been 'like a family'
and her own children have been educated here over a remakable
period of 30 years. She was appointed by that talented artist
and committed believer in Art Education, Colin Bigwood. He
appointed Wendy largely on the strength of her own Art porfolio.
He was very keen that his department should continue to develop
their own practice and she is a highly talented and prolific
painter and print-maker, well known through her many group
and individual exhibitions in the area. It has been a particular
pleasure for her to end her teaching career in the highly regarded
Post-18 Foundation course at Kennicott where she has been
helping to develop highly talented young artists and designers.
As a teacher, she is committed to inspiring and challenging all
students, irrespective of their ability. She believes that you have
to work hard to develop skills and many generations of students
will be glad that they have passed through her hands.
Wendy has also made a great contribution to the musical life
of the College. Early in her career she worked with Michael Lane
to involve KEVICC students in the Dartington Community Choir.
Her contribution to College concerts,particularly at Christmas,
will be long remembered.
She also worked with Drama, helping to support any musical
components in productions. She gave up a good deal of her time
to Set and Costume Design, often imaginatively incorporating
design work into the Art and Design Curicullum. She organised
many trips and workshops for the Art Department itself.
She has been a very positive and generous colleague who has put
her many talents to the best possible use. She is also a person
of integrity. She believes strongly in the value of education and
in the essential place of art in the curriculum. She has been a
tower of strength in her 36 years at KEVICC.
Chris Killock & Tim Wightman, former & current Heads of Art
I taught with Gail from 1983 to 2010. It is not possible to
adequately sum up her long teaching career at KEVICC and the
tremendous impact she has had on the RS Department. The
respect students have for her speaks volumes – she can hardly
move around this area without meeting an ex-student who says,
'You taught me RS at KEVICC and I so enjoyed the subject and
all the fun we had.' Gail is a great friend and it was a privilege to
work with such a committed teacher. She is a wonderful, multi-
talented, special teacher with a phenomenal desire to do her
best for the students. KEVICC will surely miss her!
Chris Anderson, former RS teacher
Visitors to the College on certain days would be surprised to find
a wedding party waiting to go to church with a beautiful bride
and groom and their guests in finery or to chance upon a Hindu
wedding or, in my case, be greeted by a Roman salute as the
'Supreme Commander' by year 8 students. No-one in the College
blinked an eyelid. It's been a crazy, talented and perhaps the
most successful Religious Studies department in the country,
led by the equally crazy Gail Snodin and her partners in crime.
Their classrooms are the most dynamic learning spaces, with
constantly changing displays of students' work and photos. I
had the privilege to work with her and her merry gang for some
years and it was a joy.
Stephen Jones, former Principal
Wendy Newman ~ Art
Gail Snodin ~ RS
