Farewell Mike Fry, an extraordinary teacher at Haydon Bridge High School

“A good teacher is like a candle – he consumes himself to light the way for others.”  – Author unknown

“All human knowledge is precious whether or not it serves the slightest human use.” – A.E. Housman

Mike Fry

How many people do you know whose influence on you has lasted more than a decade? Your parents will probably come top of the list, and I’d guess for many a teacher comes close second.

One of those who will stay with me forever was Mike Fry, my drama teacher at Haydon Bridge High School in Northumberland. He died in a nursing home in Witham early on Friday morning of cancer, having also suffered a stroke.

Those of us who were so deeply fortunate to have been taught by Mr Fry remember his passion for his subject, and his desire, sometimes desperate, to see his pupils succeed. Those who weren’t taught by him remember him too – for who he was, for his values. An old school friend said today “I never knew him through drama, but through his amazing ability to walk up and down mountains all day and do fell-runs in the evening, all the while shouting “Well done chaps!”"

There was no front with Mike Fry, no act when he was teaching – he was sincere and generous with his praise, quick too to show when he was feeling dark. He had an incredible ability to carry his entire class along with his mood. When he was excited, and inspired, and enthusiastic – which was most of the time – so too were his pupils.

As well as an extraordinary teacher, I knew Mr Fry to be a batchelor who professed eyes only for Judi Dench and Maria Callas; a clergyman;  a pillar of the community; and a friend to those who needed a friend. A complex man with simple, admirable values which shone through in all he did – Generosity. Admiration. Humility. Passion. Kindness. Sincerity. Care. He couldn’t even walk to school without stopping to pick up every bit of litter he could see.

Whenever I have seen or heard Alan Bennett’s play The History Boys, I have been tempted to draw  parallells between aspects of Bennett’s character Hector, and Mr Fry. He brought scripts and books to life so that his pupils would know drama and literature, but more importantly he  taught us the importance of believing in what you do, of daring to be passionate, to stand out from the crowd, and to do what you believe to be right. Above all, he taught us that life is precious, that we should use whatever gifts we have to the full, and that we must never let life slip through our fingers. Don’t waste a single day. He never did.

Finally, I’m not as prone as I used to be to quoting scripture, but this passage from John 14 seems fitting:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid. You heard me say, ‘I am going away, and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.

There will be a Service of Thanksgiving at 11.00 on Saturday 19 September at St. Cuthbert’s church, Haydon Bridge. Tributes are flooding in on Facebook. Thanks to Bex Holliday for posting the photo I have used.