Teacher killed in car accident ‘believed every child mattered’
Colleagues and pupils have paid tribute to an inspirational young teacher from Maidstone who was killed in a car crash.
Sam Rooks was driving on Maidstone Road in Rochester on Friday afternoon when his red Suzuki Swift collided with a silver Volvo XC60 travelling in the opposite direction.
The 26-year-old English teacher died at the scene.
The other driver was airlifted to a London hospital in a critical condition.
On Monday the school where Mr Rooks taught - The Victory Academy in Chatham - cancelled lessons to allow students and staff the chance to mourn. Five books of condolences were filled by people sharing their memories and a special area on the school grounds was made available to lay flowers. Speaking after the memorial, Mandy Gage, director of education at the Thinking Schools Academy Trust which runs the school, said: “Hundreds of people – students, staff and our wider community – have come together at school to remember and celebrate Sam.
“The number of people who have wanted to be here to pay their respects underlines just how highly he was thought of, and always will be thought of. “There have been a lot of tears but also a lot of laughter – as his family here today have said, Sam would have wanted us to remember him and smile, and their strength and bravery today has been inspiring.
“We have had to open five books of condolence because so many people have come today. In the coming weeks, we will plan for how we can best make a lasting tribute to Sam, so that the positive effect he had on us all at The Victory Academy is commemorated.”
Other members of staff said he “didn’t have a bad bone in his body” and that “he genuinely believed every child mattered”. Mr Rooks had previously worked at the Oasis Academy on the Isle of Sheppey, having obtained his PCGE teaching qualification at Canterbury Christ Church University. Former Oasis pupil Andreea Christinne, who was taught by Mr Rooks in 2017 and 2018, said: “I want to remember him as exactly who he was for me, that one teacher you could’ve talked about anything to and he would’ve listened and understood you.”