It is with great sadness that we wish a fond farewell to Dr Elizabeth Gerry, a jewel in the crown of the MFL Department. Liz takes her leave of us for a job leading the largest Modern Languages Department in the country, at our esteemed neighbour Cheltenham Ladies’ College. Liz has been appointed chief blue sky thinker and visionary – a role that will fit her like a glove.

A woman of many talents, Liz’s overriding characteristic is her extraordinary brain capacity. This woman’s intellect could power a large European nation and we are so grateful that she was content to educate and enlighten our young people for these last 10 years.

Coming to College via Oxford, Harvard, a four year stay in Brussels and a vast array of experience in academia – from a junior fellowship at St John’s College, lectureships at both New College and St Edmund Hall, a job with the Oxford English Dictionary, Liz had even published a book. College was not the natural next step on this illustrious career path.

In fact, when Liz arrived in the summer of 2013, this Bluestocking was a windfall and the Department couldn’t believe its luck. She had no experience of teaching teenagers but nurtured by Carrie Smith, Duncan Byrne and Ester Leach among others, she honed her craft on the job and of course, turned out to be a natural. Teaching the full ability range from her Oxbridge groups to the bottom set inaugural Foundation tier pupils, Liz approached every pupil with the same commitment and ambition and imposed the same high standards and rigour. A firm believer that languages are for everybody Liz made inclusivity her mission.

Taking on her own PGCE belatedly with a placement at Archway School in Stroud and mentoring our own ECT pupils, Liz channelled her energies into developing top pedagogical insights and introducing strategies to bring us on as a Department. As Acting Head of French, she has shared great practice and left a legacy that we will honour.

Outside the Department, Liz enriched College life through Upper College tutoring and we exploited her superior understanding of the UCAS and Oxbridge application process. We also benefitted from her time running Lower College Society, her invaluable work with Community Action and her contributions to Orchestra and trips abroad.

Fortunately, as close neighbours, we fully expect to see Liz regularly. We already have a date in the calendar for CLC to smash us to smithereens in the Debating competition in November (it’s a tradition) and look forward to collaborating on projects to promote languages among our pupils.

Liz will be a huge loss and we will miss her influence deeply. We wish Liz all the very best in her new job and send her off with our love and luck for this next adventure.

Helen Powell