Tributes for Oban teacher John Porter

TRIBUTES have been paid to Oban High School science teacher John Porter, who died suddenly last week.

Head teacher Peter Bain said John was ‘an inspiration to thousands of children’ over 25 years in the department.

Mr Bain added: ‘As well as being popular with our children, John also gained the respect and friendship of all his colleagues, both in and out of school.

‘John always conveyed to me what it was like to be the perfect gentleman. I found him to be exceptionally pleasant, he made me smile and he was a fantastic teacher.

‘I will miss him greatly, as will his colleagues and pupils. Our thoughts are with his wife Barbara and children Michael and Sasha.’

‘IT is with great sadness that I report [chemistry teacher] John Porter has passed away,’ writes Oban High School’s head teacher Peter Bain.

‘John has worked in our Science Faculty for more than 25 years and consequently has been an inspiration to thousands of our children.

‘Only a few days ago, John observed that he thought he would see out his days in the old school. Prophetic.

‘John’s success, indeed the success of all the pupils who benefited from his skills as a teacher, can be attributed to not only his sound knowledge of his subject and decades of practise getting pupils ready for exams but to his unique personality.

‘John was a calm teacher, with occasional displeasure rarely being audible.

‘My enduring recollection of his classroom management lies in my observations of him using mere facial expressions to control and direct his classes.

‘Misbehaviour was corrected with a frown and a downward motion of his head.

‘Suspected foul play in the offing; a squint and pursed lips redressed the situation. Adulation and pride when his pupils demonstrated what they had learned that day was met with a raised chin and wry smile: ‘‘There you go Mr Bain, seems they were listening after all’’.

‘As well as being popular with our children, John also gained the respect and friendship of all his colleagues: both in and out of school.

His calm approach and wry humour could be found not only in the class but frequently in staff gatherings, large ones in the hall; smaller ones at the school gates, where he liked to take in the fresh air at breaks and lunchtimes.

‘Whether having a chat around the back of seven in the pouring rain where we would meet walking our dogs, or in the corridors of science, John always conveyed to me what it was like to be the perfect gentleman.

‘I found him to be exceptionally pleasant, he made me smile and he was a fantastic teacher.

‘I will miss him greatly, as will his colleagues and pupils. Our thoughts are with his wife Barbara and children Michael and Sasha.’