Over three decades in front

Jim, who is a former pupil of the school, graduated from the New University of Ulster at Coleraine in 1977 and in the same year returned to Foyle College to start teaching after a decade in the manufacturing industry.

“I was lucky. My cousin before me was the biology teacher in Foyle and he was appointed to Coleraine High School and I took over from him teaching biology, with some music to fill up the timetable,” he said.

Jim had worked in DuPont for 10 years before taking up the reins from his cousin: “The last few years in DuPont I knew I wanted to do something else , so I trained for the Degree, and I have to say I loved every day of the 34 years I spent at Foyle. I never got that ‘Sunday night’ feeling.”

As a boy Jim went to Foyle College when it was on Lawrence Hill, and has clear memories of the ‘Prefects Club’ who were sticklers for ensuring the uniform was worn correctly - including wearing the school cap. Defaulters were taken to the Prefects’ room where they had to stand before a panel of Prefects and account for themselves if they were found lacking in some way.

“Back then you didn’t get new books, you had to buy them and I remember that on the first day of term there was a second-hand book sale organised by the pupils, and there was a lot of wheeling and dealing done by the pupils. I also remember the teachers used to walk around in their gown all day, but now they only wear them for formal occasions, and it’s the same with the school song. It used to be sung at every opportunity, but now it only seems to get an airing on special occasions,” he said.

Jim also recalled how boys were taught to waltz with imaginary partners in the run-up to the school formal.

“The lessons were given by the PE teacher, Roy Seddon, who played for Derry City as a left winger. He used to put on a scratchy record of Aker Bilk’s Strangers on the Shore and we imagined that we were dancing with someone and practiced the waltz steps up and down the Assembly Hall with invisible partners,” he says chuckling at the memory.

As a teacher Jim recalls the introduction of music tuition as ‘a big thing’ in the College, and when he came back to the school initially both the orchestra and the choir were small in number.

“I started Foyle in 1957 and just missed the era of the great Foyle Operatic performances, which took place in the Guildhall, and which were enormously popular and were sellout successes. I could not wait to get to Foyle to take part in them, but as soon as I started that era died out,” he said.

However, in his first year at the school he did manage to land the leading role in Benjamin Britten’s The Little Sweep, so perhaps his disappointment was tempered somewhat.

Although the current hue and cry is for the new build process to speed up, back in the ‘old days’ there was no such thing as a canteen, and Jim well remembers he had to get the bus home to Collon Terrace at lunchtimes in order to satisfy his hunger.

“I was a bit of a fussy eater,” he said coyly, adding: “I think I still am.”

Rousing hymn singing in assembly, local clergy visiting the school on a Tuesday to give religious instruction, pupils being called by their surname (unless they were in bother) and the annual cross-country run which was mandatory for all pupils irrespective of ability, are all packed safely in his memory, giving him “very happy memories of Foyle” as a pupil, but he is also equally fond of the memories he has had of being a teacher.

“Initially it was strange going back to be greeted by colleagues who had taught me. That happened in half-a-dozen cases, but I must say they were all very welcoming, and my one abiding memory is the friendliness of the staff. It was a great school and great community,” he said.

Engaged primarily as a biology teacher, he recalled that the subject was only really starting to get going in the late 1970s, having been regarded as more or less natural history up to that point.

“It was not as academic a subject as it is now and we had lots of field trips. I enjoyed getting my class or my sixth form together and just heading off to Moville or wherever. Now you have to plan trips for months in advance and negotiate for time off for the pupils from other classes and do risk assessments and all the rest.”

It was the year before Jim started at the school as a teacher that it was amalgamated with Londonderry High School to form Foyle and Londonderry College. The prospect delighted him for one personal reason.

“The exciting thing for me was now I could form a mixed choir with sopranos, altos, tenors and bass. That choir was very popular and it was this that led to all the musical shows that I started doing. They laughed about the shows in school saying I would be called in to help, but I had started scaling down before I left, so in recent years David Keown has been producing and Brenda O’Sommachain has been directing the music.

“I must say it has been nice being able to marry my two interests and bring music into the school. The school entered a number of competitions and in the Sainsbury’s Choir of the Year once we got through to the finals in Manchester.

“The school also formed a close relationship with Howard Goodall, the composer, who does a lot of TV work and was responsible for the music for Vicar of Dibley. He has visited us several times,” he said, continuing: “The Limerick Choral Festival was an annual event that a lot of us looked forward to. I think the carrot for the choir was that they got to go away for the weekend, and we also got to perform at the London Barbican in a special concert to mark the Millennium, organised by the Merchant Taylors, who were involved in the formation of the school in 1617.”

The many local festivals that saw the school take part included the Londonderry Feis, and similar competitions in Coleraine, Portstewart and Bangor. The choir is now in the charge of Emma Barr.

“Among my special memories are the Christ Church Concerts at Christmas and Spring, and I must say there were many outstanding pupils who went on to have successful careers in music having started out with us,” said Jim proudly.

In addition to teaching biology and slipping in as much music as he could into his curriculum, Jim also found time to teach chemistry and physics and he reflects how even this department grew, with Tom Shaw at the helm as head of department, followed by Ingrid Hannaway. That department now has four teachers.

“I was also heavily involved with setting up our Ness Woods day for Year 8 pupils, as well as our Castlerock Project for the Year 9s. Both of those have been running now for over 20 years and I like to think we have encouraged people to be more aware and respectful of their environment as a result of what they have learned,” he said, adding: “For several years we took part in the European Action for the Environment project, which was run on a cross-border and cross-community basis with schools from Assumption Ballynahinch, Monkstown and Tallagh in Dublin. Ann Watson worked with me on this venture and the highlight was the Brussels visit which was part of this.”

As well as his teaching role within the school, Jim joined the senior management team in the early 1990s, and was assistant to Jean Wilson, who was head of the junior school in Springtown. He was asked to become head of the middle school on the Duncreggan site in the mid-1990s, and he remained in that role until his retirement.

“I had great pleasure in working under two headmasters: Hugh Gillespie, now retired to Hillsborough, and Jack Magill, who has worked tirelessly to ensure the building of the single site school at Springham Campus in Caw.

“I have very happy memories of teaching at Foyle. It was a very happy school community of teaching and non-teaching staff, and especially I have fond memories of our wonderful pupils.The most memorable feature of the school to me is the school climate, and at Foyle I always found it to be a really warm, co-operative and respectful relationship that existed between the teachers and pupils,” he said.

Thanking all the staff at the school for their friendship and support, Mr Goodman also said he was humbled by their generosity to him on his retirement, with several dinners and presentations, and for the gift of a greenhouse for his garden.

“The grandchildren have bought me a notice ‘Grandad’s work room, keep out’,” he said laughing.

The hankies have been brought out on several occasions, but the one which left the biggest lump in Jim’s throat was the Easter Concert at which he was asked to play ‘Hey Jude’ on the piano as a bit of a swan song. As the tune progressed the school jazz band joined in, then the orchestra added their might, followed by the various choirs, building to a hugely emotional ‘moment of theatre’ that proved too much for many.

“If I had known so many people were going to say so many nice things about me, I would have retired years ago,” quipped Jim.