AFTER 34 years of teaching games and PE, accompanying students on sports trips around the globe, and always bringing a touch of humour to his role, Bill Hudson has retired from Dame Allan’s Schools.
Bill was just 26 years old, and three-years into a teaching career down south, when his childhood sweetheart Jane, herself working in Newcastle, cut out a Dame Allan’s job advert in the Evening Chronicle in the Summer of ‘87 and encouraged him to apply.
Jane’s insistence, and Bill’s successful application, paved the way for a long, rewarding and successful career within the Schools, where his enthusiasm and dedication meant he was loved and respected by students and staff alike.
Bill has been the longest-serving PE and games teacher at Dame Allan’s, while also taking roles as a form teacher and lower school maths teacher during his time here. Between 1996 and 2013 he was the Head of Boys PE and Games, until the department merged with the Girls’ School and appointed a Director of Sport.
His involvement in sport, particularly as master in charge of rugby, has seen him accompany teams on trips around the world, including rugby tours to Europe, South Africa and Australia.
An accomplished skier, Bill ran the Schools’ ski trips across Europe and to the USA and Canada for many years. He also accompanied cricket teams on tours to Barbados.
Closer to home, Bill has taken countless teams, in all major and minor sports, to local, regional and national competitions and became particularly focused on developing the Schools’ athletics and cross-country squads.
Speaking about his time at Dame Allan’s, Bill said: “PE and games have changed a lot over my years here. The department has grown, the range of sports available to students has increased, and the facilities have continued to improve. The opportunities here and the ambitions of the pupils have always amazed me.
“I have so many fond memories here, and hundreds of anecdotes owing to the great nature of both staff and students. One inspector once noted ‘humour is ever present’ when referring to the Boys’ PE department.”
Jon Benn, who has worked with Bill in the sports department since 1990, said it had been an honour to work alongside such a great sportsman and friend.
“Bill has always been fantastic at forming great relationships with students and keeping things fun. I’ll never forget the time he climbed up and reached behind a set of lockers at the swimming baths to retrieve a boy’s lost tie, only to slip right down behind them and become wedged upside-down, superman style,” laughed Jon.
“The young boy said ‘Mr Hudson, shall I go and get Mr Benn to help?’ to which Bill quickly replied ‘Absolutely not. Under no circumstances do I want Mr Benn to see me like this!’”
Bill grew up in a family of teachers. His father was also a PE teacher, who like Bill attended Loughborough University, while his mother taught in a primary school and his sister taught home economics.
He married Jane, who he met as a 16-year-old at sixth form college in Stockton on Tees, and together they had two children, Jenny and Thomas, who both attended Dame Allan’s Schools.
A keen fisherman and birdwatcher, Bill intends to enjoy the great outdoors in retirement and take in plenty of sailing, cycling and walking. He and Jane also plan to travel, and visit daughter Jenny in Melbourne, Australia.
Bill said: “Retirement will be a huge change for me. I know I will miss the structure that school life brings, the buzz of teaching a great lesson and the competitive excitement of a sports fixture, but I feel incredibly proud and privileged to have been here for so many years.
“Jane has been a constant support for me during my time at Dame Allan’s and herself took an active role in the parents’ association. That support allowed me the time to take on all the extra-curricular commitments, trips and tours. I’m looking forward now to our time together, with the opportunity to take on new interests and travel outside of the school holidays!
“I will, of course, be sad to say goodbye though. My lasting memories of the Schools will be of the warmth and friendships that have enriched my life here.”
