Tribute to £260k head found dead
A COLLEGE “superhead” has been found dead in his home, weeks after he was forced from his job.
City College Plymouth said Garry Phillips died “tragically and unexpectedly” over Christmas.
Staff paid tribute to him, saying he was “always keen to make a difference and to improve the world”.
Mr Phillips, whose £260,000-a-year salary made him Britain’s fifth highest paid principal, joined the college last year.
But he ended up resigning in November in the wake of college job losses and a no-confidence vote over bonuses of up to £100,000 that he was awarded.
The head, who had served in the Army and taught sub- jects as diverse as business and painting and decorating, helped to drive up standards at the college.
His efforts raised its standing from a grade four Ofsted report to grade two.
A spokesman for the college said: “It is with great sadness that we heard that Garry Phillips, former principal at City College Plymouth, has tragically and unexpectedly passed away over the Christmas period.
“At the request of his family we delayed sharing this sad news until now. Garry’s family have asked that their grief and privacy is respected at this time.
“Garry worked hard as principal at New College Telford and Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College and then briefly at City College Plymouth.
“He started his career as an apprentice and took on a series of challenges in colleges in the North-west and Midlands. He was always keen to make a difference and to improve the world.”
His former colleague Penny Wycherley, City College Plymouth’s interim principal, will represent the college and its staff at Mr Phillips’s funeral on Friday.
Mr Phillips, who leaves two grown-up sons, also served on the Heathrow Skills Taskforce, chaired by former Labour home secretary Lord Blunkett and also represented the Association of Colleges.