Joan Hodgson (1934-2024)

I can see it now, my first ever biology homework returned to me in my buff coloured biology exercise book, a deluge of red ink highlighting the necessary corrections and the final grade: C+. It was not an auspicious beginning but it marked the start of my biological education at DAGS, one which would allow me and numerous others to leave with the best possible grades that we could achieve, so enabling us to pursue our plans beyond School.

We were fortunate to study in a department led by Joan Hodgson; she had a firm intellectual grasp of her subject and was a stickler for academic rigour, demanding it in both written and oral communication.

Joan was an Old Girl herself (1952), after Dame Allan’s she studied at King’s College Newcastle before embarking on a teaching career which took her to Scarborough and Rutherford Girls’ Grammar School in Fenham before she returned to Dame Allan’s in 1964 as Head of Department following the retirement of Mrs Earnshaw. She led the department for over 27 years before her own retirement in 1992.

During that time, she introduced the highly innovative Nuffield biology curriculum for years 7 and 8 shifting the emphasis from a descriptive delivery of the subject to a much more practically based approach which embedded the scientific method into the teaching. Who can forget the agar plates, the African Clawed Toads, the incubation of fertilised hens’ eggs or the occasional appearance of a School guinea pig or rabbit in a biology lesson. It was exciting! Should one’s attention begin to drift during a lesson it was likely to be jolted back to the laboratory as a locust launched itself noisily against its metal cage. Looking back, I realise that this was only possible because of the dedication of the biology team: Joan, Dorothy Towns and the indefatigable lab technician Mrs Tate not to mention far less stringent laboratory safety guidelines. Joan’s teaching was further enhanced by her many years as an A level examiner at a time when they were a small, select group and there was no such thing as a published mark scheme.

Despite dedicating so much of her time to her teaching career Joan thrived in retirement as she was a woman with a great many interests outside of her work. Having led a Guide Company in the west of Newcastle, Joan continued her association with Girl Guiding well into her long retirement through participation in the Trefoil Guild. She travelled widely throughout the UK in her camper van accompanied by her rescue dog. Her lifelong interest in the natural world especially ornithology and gardening took her as far afield as the Falkland Islands and South Africa. Joan was a stalwart and active member of Westerhope Methodist Church where her plant stall was always a highlight of their Christian Aid Week fundraising. It goes without saying that all plants were accurately labelled and supplied with any appropriate cultivation tips. She ran the Gardening Group of the Newcastle U3A, organising years of successful outings and putting in a stint as U3A President. She was also an active member and past president of the Newcastle Philatelic Society. She was a woman who believed in giving at least as much, if not more than she took.

Despite the difficulties of advancing years and the severe arthritic pain she had to endure towards the end of her life, Joan continued her interests and her interest in Dame Allan’s and former colleagues and staff well into her old age. She will be remembered with fondness by generations of Dame Allan’s pupils.

Gillian Mundy (nee Turner)