By Katy Murphy, Kate O’Brien and Lucy Price

Gordon Turnbull is a familiar face in the corridors of Hermitage Academy.

A beloved guidance and geography teacher, he has been a committed member of staff for an astonishing 47 years and he might have taught you, your mum or even your granny.

He is now on the cusp of retirement and the tectonic plates at the school are shifting. Katy Murphy and Lucy Price from the NUJ news team interviewed Mr Turnbull as he spends his final few weeks with us, in an effort to reflect on a remarkable career and find out what lies ahead.

Having taught multiple generations of the same family, Mr Turnbull revealed that it can be “quite a fun way to break the ice” at parent’s evenings. This close bond to the community gives him a unique insight into his pupils’ circumstances and sharing memories is always a nice way to establish and develop relationships.

Even after all this time, he delights in seeing how young people arrive in school as children then, by the time they reach the final years of Secondary school, they are ready to face the world as young adults. But how did he get into teaching in the first place?

After doing well at school in the 1960s he built on his love for the natural world alongside a desire to travel the globe and witness all the geographical phenomena he had read about. Alongside his fascination with glaciation, rainforests, weather and climate change he also found working with young people to be rewarding.

This made teaching - with long holidays where he could explore the remote wilds of South America or the political turmoil of 1980s Berlin - a perfect fit for the young adventurous Gordon Turnbull.

And that sense of adventure hasn’t diminished. With a map, a tent, a bike and a few Euros in his pocket, Mr Turnbull can still be found making his way through the countries of the world - meeting “the best of people”, swapping stories and eventually finding his way home in time for the start of term.

But what made him return time and again to stresses and strains of the classroom? Well, a desire to help, to see people “get on” and contribute to their onward journey.

Teaching, like travel, is full of variety. The ups and downs, the students and colleagues and the ever changing nature of his subject has left him “in no rush to leave” and, as we all learn to grapple with the challenges of a warming planet, he maintains that geography is more relevant than ever.

But, all good things must come to an end and Mr Turnbull is finally ready to bid our school farewell. He leaves with “mixed feelings” but with a sense of being ready to go. After all, there are still many routes to cycle and mountains to climb.

Every lunchtime Mr Turnbull can be found in the dining hall, enjoying his school dinner but come mid-August 2022, who knows where the bold Gordon Turnbull will be.

Whether scaling Kilimanjaro or navigating the Nile, we hope he sends us a postcard. He will be enormously missed throughout the school and we wish him nothing but the absolute best. Thank you for everything, Mr Turnbull.

The tectonic plates may shift but you’ve left an ever-lasting mark on Hermitage Academy.