Brilliant teacher

ON RETURNING from holiday, I was saddened to hear of Derek Fowle’s passing and delighted to read about how his fantastic commitment to youth football in Newport had been recognised and appreciated so much. I was most surprised, however, to find that very little mention had been made about Derek’s wonderful contribution as a school teacher. 
He was an excellent schoolmaster in the fullest sense of the word. He was interesting and stimulating in the classroom where his relationship with the youngsters he taught was excellent and as one would expect he was highly involved in many extracurricular activities. It was commonplace to come across youngsters with some problem or other looking for “Mr Fowle”. 
He was always very generous with his time spent in this way and in the many activities he organised and took part in. Of course he spent time coaching the school football teams but also he was highly involved in the Duke of Edinburgh Awards. Several times a year, Derek took groups of pupils to various camp sites in the Black Mountains and the Brecon Beacons. Whenever help was needed, Derek was at hand.
I worked with Derek at Bettws High School for nine years but I’m sure his superb contribution to the life of the school remained the same for the rest of his 33 years there. Like the many who remember Derek for his work with the football associations, there must be even more who owe Derek a debt of gratitude for the way he influenced their lives in school. Whatever Derek did was never for praise or advancement but was out of respect and affection for the children in his charge.
That was the sort of man Derek Fowle was.