Bill Phillips is almost part of the fabric of the school – teaching at LSI/IH Portsmouth since 1994, always with a smile on his face. He is known by his (trademark) bow ties and his catch phrases, for example:
‘You are like a mother to me’
‘Let’s go kick a*** baby’
‘Good morning Officer!’ to quote just a few. Often you can hear him sing little songs on the stairs and in the staff room (and often forgetting the second line ;-).
‘Let’s go kick a*** baby’
‘Good morning Officer!’ to quote just a few. Often you can hear him sing little songs on the stairs and in the staff room (and often forgetting the second line ;-).
Over the years, Bill has had a habit of bringing little plants, treats and goodies and leaving them on the side for teachers to take, and it’s probably true to say over the years that everyone has benefitted either from a piece of cake, a small plant or spare pencil case thanks to Bill.
Originally Bill worked in the Immigration Service, but decided to teach English because of his love of language. You can often find Bill, along with a few other ‘grammarians’ in the staff room, discussing / disagreeing (usually disagreeing) about the correct usage of a piece of language. That’s when he isn’t having a quick nap at lunchtime 😉
Having taught for such a long time, we asked Bill what guidance he would give to someone thinking about going into teaching “Don’t even think of doing this job unless you like people” he said, which from someone who ‘loves communicating with a smile’ seems like a very salient piece of advice.
Bill kindly agreed to come on camera and talk about some of the memorable moments from the past 20 years, Thank you Bill, we are really going to miss you.
(Bill, I still use the pencil case you gave me 19 years ago! – Sue H)
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| Bill cutting his delicious cakes! |