Scottish Catholic Observer

A CATHOLIC school in Inverclyde is saying goodbye to four teachers who have given a combined more than 150 years’ service. Headteacher Jim Docherty, depute head Brian Fowley, principal of technical studies Tony Smith, and principal of Art Alistair Cormack are all retiring from St Columba’s High School in Gourock this summer.

Together they have dedicated 154 years to education, 142 years to Catholic education and 104 years to St Columba’s, a school they all hold dear to their hearts.

Jim Docherty said: “I’m going to miss St Columba’s a huge amount.

“It’s been a big part of my life for the past 18 years. It’s a tremendous school that I’ve always been very, very fond of and where there is a real sense of community.”

Mr Docherty, who recalls treading the boards in the school’s production of Calamity Jane and the annual Mass of St Columba as among his highlights, hopes to spend retirement going on holidays and improving his Spanish.

Brian Fowley also has fond memories of being talked into taking part in school shows, particularly playing the panto dame in Jack and the Beanstalk.

Alongside Mr Docherty and Mr Smith, Mr Fowley has only ever taught in Catholic high schools, something he feels very strongly about.

“My career was always going to be in Catholic schools,” he said.

“I’m a practising Catholic and I think Catholic schools are important in terms of promoting faith and Gospel values.”

Having spent 18 years at St Columba’s, Mr Fowley will miss the camaraderie with staff and working in a ‘friendly school that is always on the up’.

Tony Smith has dedicated 44 years to St Columba’s, making him the longest serving member of staff, and has maintained a lasting popularity with successive generations of pupils.

Despite ‘falling into’ teaching in the early Seventies, Mr Smith is leaving with a heavy heart.

“It’s been an absolute joy, I would teach for free—especially the upper school,” he said.

“It’s very good fun; the kids keep you young and they’ve got a great sense of humour.”

Spending 12 years at non-denominational schools before coming to St Columba’s in 1992, Alistair Cormack stayed after noticing a difference in behaviour and a friendlier atmosphere than he had previously experienced.

“I like the way the whole school is run, the ethos and the fact that it’s homely, with only 600 to 700 pupils,” he said.

Alistair met his wife, science teacher, Pauline, at St Columba’s and every year worked tirelessly to produce sets for the school musical.

In retirement he hopes to concentrate on exhibiting and selling more artwork.

Despite their affection for the school, each of the retirees had to endure a particularly difficult period there a decade ago.

In 2007 Inverclyde council threatened to close St Columba’s and merge it with another Catholic school in the area.

Fierce fighting from parents, staff and parishes kept the school open, but it resulted in a four year decant to temporary accommodation before moving to a new building in 2013. Despite the upheaval over those four years it experienced a year on year improvement in attainment and uniform and was also the first secondary school in Scotland to obtain Rights Respecting School status from Unicef.

Brian Fowley managed both moves of the school, while Jim Docherty took over as headteacher not long before the first decant.

Jim said: “It was the whole Catholic community support that sustained our school during such a challenging an uncertain time; they have a huge amount to be proud of.

Fr John Bollan of St Joseph’s Parish in Greenock, a former pupil who became school chaplain in 2015, was ‘intimately aware” of the ‘real struggle and fight’ the school had on its hands.

“There were certainly some voices which were raised in opposition to the ongoing existence of Catholic schools in Inverclyde, and not all of those voices based their positions on economic considerations,” he said.

“I think this presented them with a golden opportunity. It was a real test of resilience for the school to adapt and move forward but the stance they took has paid off; it’s near full capacity for next year and consistently punches above its weight both in terms of local council provision and nationally.”

Fr Bollan, who attended this year’s Mass of St Columba where the retirees were presented with a diocesan medal for their service by the Bishop, cannot praise all four teachers enough.

“Mr Docherty and Mr Fowley are extremely good ambassadors for the school, Mr Smith is a deeply comitted teacher as is Mr Cormack,” he said.

“Two of those teachers were not Catholic but did their part to ensure what was going on in the school was fully supported and that is part of the ethos in Catholic schools, especially St Columba’s.”

—This story ran in full in the July 15 edition print of the SCO, available in parishes.