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MEET
THE MEDICS
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: VIRGIN MARY HOSPITAL | CARL FIRTH | COUGH BOY! | MAKEEN BAROUDI ISSUE 108/AUTUMN 2020
ONA MAGAZINE
ISSUE 108
AUTUMN 2020
ONA is the magazine for the
Old Novocastrians’ Association
All correspondence should be
addressed to:
The Development Office,
Royal Grammar School,
Eskdale Terrace,
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE2 4DX
Telephone Development Office:
0191 212 8909 email:
development@rgs.newcastle.sch.uk
Guest Editor: Dr Simon Barker Congratulations to current Y13 students Theo Hoult and Dominique Hewitson
Editor: David F Goldwater (51-62) who have been appointed into the new roles of Old Novocastrians’ Association
Sixth Form Ambassadors. Theo and Dominique will be responsible for
The Editor reserves the right to edit, representing current students at a range of external events, including ONA
alter or omit all submissions to the
magazine. Copy may be carried over meetings, activities and dinners, and crucially, identifying and approaching Old
to the next edition. The Editor’s Novos who could support current students, through talks and/or careers
decision is final. advice. The Ambassadors will also be responsible for helping to shape ONA
activities, so that they are interesting, relevant and of value to the Class of 2021
Contribute! We are always looking for and beyond. ONs can look forward to hearing more from the new ONA Sixth
articles and news from Old Novos to Form Ambassadors in the next ONA Magazine.
include in the magazine, so send your
contributions, via email (if possible) to:
development@rgs.newcastle.sch.uk or
by posting to the Development Office
at the school. IN THIS ISSUE
Please include relevant pictures if 1 HEAD’S WELCOME GEOFFREY STANFORD
possible. They will be returned as soon 2 FROM THE GUEST EDITOR SIMON BARKER
as the magazine has been printed.
3 MEDICS IN THE ARCHIVES GENNY SILVANUS
The deadline for acceptance of copy 4 BEDESMEN, BRETHREN & BURSARIES HAZEL JONES-LEE
for the Spring 2021 issue is Friday 8 6 FROM RGS TO RADIOLOGY ALEX SELF
January. Copy may be carried over to 8 MY MEDICAL JOURNEY HAZEL WATCHORN
a future issue.
10 PSYCHIATRY AT ITS CORE… KALUM AMARASURIYA
The ONA Magazine is available online 12 THE PUS PUDDLE ROBYN DICKINSON
Please note that the magazine is 13 GILLIAN MATHER, SCHOOL NURSE JOHN ARMSTRONG
circulated in hard copy and is available 14 OLD NOVOS ON A HELICOPTER ABHINAV SINGH
on the ONA website shortly after
circulation. By submitting an article or 15 THE RGS MOCK MMI BROOKE MILBURN
news for inclusion, the contributor is 16 FROM J1Y TO CLINICIAN SCIENTIST OMAR MAHROO
accepting that it will be available 18 WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR FINN GAVIN
through both formats and will also be 20 IVORY TOWERS THOMAS COPE
accessible beyond the Association
membership through internet search 22 CARL FIRTH SIMON BARKER, SUSAN BECK, FINN GAVIN, PHILIPPA SANDERS
engines or any member of the public 25 UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS DAVID GOLDWATER
viewing the RGS website. 26 A HISTORY OF THE RGS IN ITS PEOPLE DAVID GOLDWATER
www.rgs.newcastle.sch.uk/ 28 MEET (SOME OF) THE MEDICS
rgs-family/ON
30 MEDSOC REPORT PHILIPPA SANDERS
Please note that the ONA Magazine 32 COUGH BOY! DAVID GOLDWATER
content does not necessarily reflect 34 MY BURSARY STORY M MAKEEN BAROUDI
the views of the school or the 36 RGS SIXTH FORM MEDICALS STANLEY ASHMAN
ONA and is based on personal
experiences, recollections and 38 NEWS & CONGRATULATIONS
memories of its contributors. 40 OBITUARIES
www.infinitedesign.com
WELCOME
BY GEOFFREY STANFORD
HEAD
remains!), and then the gradual reopening of the
school at first to Year 6, Year 10, Year 12, and then
Years 3-5, has required a similar level of military
precision. Immediately after closing the school
gates, we moved to remote learning, with live
online lessons, following the normal timetable.
We held our first virtual RGS Day; our Class of 2020
celebrated joining the ONA with a digital leavers’
ceremony; and our teachers have risen to the
challenge to ensure our students have maintained
an amazing breadth and depth of education. This
experience has helped our pupils develop the ability
to learn independently as well as acting as a catalyst
for the school to engage with education technology.
I am incredibly proud of the positivity, the proactivity
and the collaborative approach taken by our students,
parents and staff; we really are a family at RGS.
The last Term has also brought into stark relief
the specific needs of our small community of Bursary
students and their families, who are critical to the
ethos of the school. As at the end of Summer Term
2020, we had 76 Bursary Students in the school,
I t gives me great pleasure to introduce the latest
thematic ONA Magazine, Meet the Medics.
We selected this theme long before we had even
heard of COVID-19, never mind uttered the word
‘unprecedented’ in every other sentence. Perhaps
each one having won their place based on their
ability and potential. Our pastoral team has been
extra vigilant in monitoring the welfare of our Bursary
students and I am so grateful that Old Novos and
current parents have collectively donated over
now more than ever it is important to celebrate £40,000 in Hardship Funds. This has been used to
Old Novocastrians leading the way in medicine and provide essentials such as food parcels and, where
supporting countless lives around the globe. Simon necessary, assistance with Wi-Fi and access to IT.
Barker (Head of English) and David Goldwater have Your support has been invaluable in enabling these
done an outstanding job in these pages, paying young people to continue engaging in education and
tribute to just a few of the overwhelming number for this I give my personal heartfelt thanks. As with
of medics the RGS has been privileged to teach. many charities, our fundraising income has been
I am regularly asked to describe school-life in badly affected by the pandemic, yet we remain
lockdown, and I encourage those who are intrigued committed to supporting the existing Bursary
to follow our Facebook and LinkedIn pages. We have students through their school years and to our
also posted a large number of communications and long term ambition—to grow the community of
Photograph by Susanna Stanford
virtual assemblies on a dedicated COVID-19 page of brilliant Bursary students. Without the help of
our website. It will have been one of the most a benefactor they simply would not have such
challenging times in the school’s history: the last time an extraordinary opportunity.
the school was mandated to close was in 1939, when I hope that you enjoy leafing through these
the then only male RGS students were evacuated to pages as much as I did and, like me, perhaps you
Penrith, and Eskdale Terrace became a regional war will wonder about the incalculable number of lives
room. The closure of the school to all but across the world that have been touched by Old
keyworkers’ children (the long tradition of RGS Novos involved in medicine. What a privilege it is
educating children of many of the RVI’s Consultants to be a member of this community.
ONA | OLD NOVOCASTRIANS’ ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE | ISSUE 108 | AUTUMN 2020 1
FROM THE
GUEST EDITOR
BY SIMON BARKER
HEAD OF ENGLISH
I did remark to one of the contributors in the following pages that it was
odd for the Head of English to be invited to guest edit a magazine on
Meet the Medics; the reply came back that it was not remotely odd.
It is indeed true that I have taught very many medics over the years,
and written many of their university references.
T he RGS has sent more people
into the medical professions
than into any other. So we
faced a colossal problem: the
enormous embarrassment of riches
on which to draw.
It is a good, but challenging, problem to
have! The Chorus to Shakespeare’s Henry
V apologises at the outset for the ‘wooden
O’ that is the Globe theatre, in being
unable to do justice to the immense story
that is to follow: for each character on
stage ‘On your imaginary forces work’,
‘Into a thousand parts divide one man’
who appears there. And we have to make
the same appeal: do not be offended,
gentles all, if you are not here. The pages
that follow can only be a tiny,
representative snapshot. at school that its ONs fondly recall
(and of the roll call of teachers who
But what a snapshot it is! ‘Medics’ we emerge, old and new, who helped to
are taking in an inclusive way (including facilitate them). But the other striking
dentists, vets, nurses, doctors and other thing is the interconnectedness of the
medical professionals). All of that is stories: how a thread or a name here is
honoured somewhere in these pages, picked up somewhere else, which also
even if it could not be by an article. The manages to reflect the team nature of
first thing that is especially pleasing is the
On your imaginary what many of the medics here celebrate
diversity of story (the only brief was to tell forces work” in their profession.
that story from any angle of the writer’s
Photograph by Jatin Naru
choice), reflected in the diversity of age, It has been a delight to work with the
gender, ethnicity, specialism, experience. team at school on this issue and with the
It endorses what Kalum calls ‘the broad team of contributors, all of whom willingly
church’ of Medicine and Thomas its gave up precious time. Here is our
‘unrivalled range of opportunity’. It is also ‘wooden O’ and, on its stage (as a
moving to read about the varied range in Shakespeare contemporary puts it),
qualities of opportunities and experiences ‘infinite riches in a little room’.
2
MEDICS IN
THE ARCHIVES
G eorge Pallister (26-66) taught Biology and
was the teacher in charge of the Sixth Form
Medicals for many years. In the archive,
we hold a series of named ‘Upper Sixth
Medicals’ group photographs from
1949 until 1964 which he collected
and deposited.
From the mid nineteenth
century the school began to actively
improve and diversify its library, and
several scientific and natural world
BY GENNY SILVANUS texts have survived. Possibly the
RGS SCHOOL ARCHIVIST prettiest of these is Dr Arnold Brass’
1897 book Atlas of Human Histology with
detailed colour plates. Stamped with
‘Plender Library’, which officially opened in 1931,
it was clearly kept readily accessible for some time.
RGS has a long tradition of ONs studying
medicine and its branches. Indeed, between
1870 and 1890, nearly a third of all our pupils
who continued their studies at university From the mid nineteenth century
went to study medicine at the nearby College the school began to actively
of Medicine, then part of Durham University. improve and diversify its library,
In this edition we are going to showcase some and several scientific and natural
of the medical related items in the archive. world texts have survived.”
Brass, Atlas of Human Histology, translated by R A Young (1897).
Plate B4: The Skin: Nerves and Sensory End Organs
Our Novo magazine ran a series of articles entitled
‘What to do after leaving school’ between February
1891 and December 1892 (we ran to five issues a year
at this time) with detailed advice. The careers
suggested included a special focus on the newly
regulated profession of dentistry (after the Dentists’
Act of 1878) and electrical engineering, which both
ran to two parts. Medicine, veterinary surgeon,
civil service, accountant and architect were also
featured, along with the more established
professions of law, church and teaching.
We also hold a VHS In Conversation with
Dr C N Armstrong on his 100th Birthday, made in 1997.
Charles Nathaniel or ‘Natty’ Armstrong
(09-14) was a physician and endocrinologist at the
Royal Victoria Infirmary between 1928 and 1962,
when he was appointed regional director of
postgraduate education until 1970.
Aside from photographs and plans of past
science rooms in the archive, we have a newly
enhanced frieze in the corridor just outside the
archive. Dating from the original building in 1906,
it has been re-contextualised by the latest building
works. Interestingly, it isn’t included in our book
of ‘Estimates’ which includes the costs
(and sketches) of every cornice and lintel, but it lists
four pioneering scientists (Newton, Kelvin, Curie,
Spencer—three of them highly contemporary with
the opening of the Eskdale Terrace site).
Lastly, we keep a file of Old Novos, with details
of their careers after they left school. If you would like
to add your own career, medical or otherwise, then
please get in touch!
ONA | OLD NOVOCASTRIANS’ ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE | ISSUE 108 | AUTUMN 2020 3
BEDESMEN,
BRETHREN
& BURSARIES
T H E H O S P I TA L O F
S T M A RY T H E V I R G I N
BY HAZEL JONES-LEE (84-09)
4
What on earth has an arcane-sounding, religious medieval institution to do
with the RGS? Actually, quite a lot: a shared site for most of 300 years,
interconnected administration and finances at various periods in
between and significant bursary support today.
A ‘Hospital’ in the Middle Ages
was a charity giving ‘refuge,
hospitality, maintenance and
education to the needy’. In Newcastle A Grammar School was
The School moved to Eskdale Terrace in
1906 and later when the church and School
buildings were pulled down in 1961 to make
way for Newcastle College, the city could
it comprised a community of located originally in the not afford to buy the Almshouse as well
Augustinian canons, presided over by and so the 19th Gothic Hospital remains
a Master and housing poor, elderly men grounds of St Nicholas’s there, almost surrounded by the College
or bedesmen, and sheltering poor and Church, temporarily and accommodating 18 older men, until
destitute travellers, whilst distributing recently known as Brethren, in small flats.
charitable funds amongst the sick and
relocated to the Hospital More recently Thomas Horsley House was
needy in the town. in the late sixteenth century opened in 1982 in Benwell to house a
We know that the Hospital of St Mary and then permanently further forty men in studio flats.
the Virgin was in existence from at least In 1979 and following changes in
1183-4, built on land given around 1155 by in 1607.” Local Government Acts in 1972, the former
Aselack de Killinghow ‘in his own grounds, Hospital Charity was divided into two:
in the West Gate, within the old town of the almshouses became the Hospital of
Newcastle’. Its original site is marked by a St Mary the Virgin (Rye Hill and Benwell) or
pillar opposite the Stephenson Monument the ‘Almshouse Charity’. The other charity,
near the Central Station. With subsequent Church, temporarily relocated to the ‘St Mary the Virgin Estate Management
benefactions of land and property, the Hospital in the late sixteenth century and Charity’, known as the ‘Estate Management
Hospital of St Mary the Virgin became the then permanently in 1607. The Chapel Charity’, has responsibility for the
wealthiest ecclesiastical institution in the [more like a hall] was used as a school investments and properties.
town, used to discharge the town house and the dormitories became And today? The Hospital still gives
authorities’ obligations to the poor and housing for the Master and staff, whilst the ‘maintenance and education’ to the needy
with a right to hold land confirmed by Brethren moved first to an almshouse next through its annual income, the greater
Edward III in Letters Patent of 1368. to the school gateway and later to Pudding part of which is divided between the
From very early on, the affairs of town, Chare. As the Master of the School was also Almshouse Charity and the RGS, which
Hospital and later School were sometimes the Master of the Hospital, the for the past twenty years has used it to
interconnected. The town’s Guild met finances were further connected. finance bursaries.
there in the fourteenth century, the In 1834 the Master & Brethren were
election of the Mayor and Council took sanctioned to sell land to the Newcastle Dr Hazel Jones-Lee taught English at the
place in the Hospital Chapel House and the and Carlisle Railway Company, providing RGS from 1984-2009. She was Senior
town treasury, or ‘hutch’ which stored the funds for the transfer of both Hospital and Mistress from 2001, overseeing the school
Hospital’s archives, was also located there. School to Rye Hill, where they opened on becoming fully co-educational. She is
Finally, in the early sixteenth century, the adjoining sites in 1858 along with a new Chair of trustees of the HSMVT
Mayor and burgesses, rather than the church of St Mary. Almshouse Trust (Rye Hill and Benwell).
canons, gained the right to appoint the
Master, thus gaining indirect control of Almshouses in Rye Hill
the Hospital’s substantial wealth. Whilst
this association undoubtedly benefited
the burgesses, it also probably
contributed to saving those lands and
funds from being sequestered by the
King during the Reformation.
The third link in the interconnection
came into focus with the will of Thomas
Horsley, successful corn merchant,
prominent citizen, Sheriff and five times
Mayor between 1513 and 1533 and widely
regarded as the founder of RGS. He made
provision in his will for the income from
a trust to be paid to the city for part of the
stipend of a grammar school master.
A Grammar School was located
originally in the grounds of St Nicholas’s
ONA | OLD NOVOCASTRIANS’ ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE | ISSUE 108 | AUTUMN 2020 5
FROM RGS T O R A D I O L O GY A R E P O RT I N B L A C K A N D W H I T E BY ALEX SELF (93-00) 6
The timing of this article seems particularly pertinent for two reasons.
The first is that as we negotiate the first global pandemic for 100 years
there has never been a greater focus on the health and fragility of
the human race and what role each of us play in it. The second,
albeit less important reason, is that it is 20 years since I left the
RGS to begin a career in medicine.
M y own journey in life so far, like
everyone’s, has been very much
influenced by my childhood experiences
and consequently the RGS played a very large
part in that.
20 years ago. It is certainly the case that if it hadn’t
been for the positive atmosphere and support
created within the school by people such as the
inspirational Neil Goldie (89-03) (and many
others!) I very much doubt that I or many of my
I remember wanting to pursue a career in classmates would have gone on to become the
medicine from an early age, in no small part people we are today.
spurred on by the diverse and stimulating career It can also be no small coincidence that my own
my own father was interest in medical education started at a very early
having at the time. stage of my career. I have been lucky enough to
However, like all plans, have been involved in a number of educational
the environment in projects ranging from setting up a Teddy Bear
which it was conceived Hospital at UCL, focused on helping small children
and then developed overcome their fears of coming into hospital, to
There is no doubt that was to prove now running the specialist training delivered at the
instrumental. When Northern Radiology Academy in the North East and
going to a school that aspiring to a career in Cumbria, in my role as a Training Program Director
is as academically medicine, it is normal in Health Education England (North East and
for people to focus on Yorkshire). I’m currently fortunate to be part of a
outstanding as the the academic abilities fantastic team of medical educators and leaders.
RGS certainly helped of the applicant at an Every day they strive to continually improve and
prepare me and my early stage. There is deliver training that has made the North East and
no doubt that going Cumbria officially the best place to receive a post
classmates well in to a school that is as graduate medical education, as voted for in
this regard.” academically consecutive GMC surveys. It has never been the
outstanding as the individual achievements within these endeavours
RGS certainly helped that are most worthy of note but the bringing
prepare me and my together of a talented team from a cross section,
classmates well in this representative of the populations that they serve,
regard. However, looking back at my time in the that has always brought the most success. It is
school it has become clear to me that this was only always therefore heartening to see this reflected
one piece of the puzzle. in the ethos of the school and in the continued
When I look back at my career to date it is clear strength of the bursary scheme. As my own son
that whether it be time spent helping set up a finishes his first year in the Junior School, I am
surgical society at UCL or helping to manage and struck by how this message still resonates, for
deliver diagnostic imaging in my current role as example with the new Junior School mantra ‘I am
Head of Radiology at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, strong, I am able, I am calm and I am kind’.
I have always been driven by a desire to improve The future holds a great deal of uncertainty
the situation I find myself working in. This in itself for us all at the moment and therefore all we can
has only been made possible by being part of do is to continually strive to ensure that we and
strong, diverse and talented teams. It is interesting those around us are as best prepared to face the
to reflect and appreciate the teams I was part of at challenges facing us. This is something the RGS
school. Some obvious: the Combined Cadet Force, has always had at its heart and as a result it is an
for example; some less so, the small group of us ethos that echoes through the communities we
that first set up the Medical Society at the school are all a part of.
ONA | OLD NOVOCASTRIANS’ ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE | ISSUE 108 | AUTUMN 2020 7
MY MEDICAL
JOURNEY
BY HAZEL WATCHORN (07-09)
I came to study at RGS for Sixth Form because I wanted to be a doctor.
I was concerned about achieving the A Level grades required at the
comprehensive school I was currently at and where the girls’ sport
had fizzled out several years prior due to a lack of participation.
8I had labelled myself as too geeky,
bookish and quiet and found that
everything was much easier at
school if I kept to myself. It may have
been RGS’s reputation for the sciences
which drew me to apply but what
I found was so much more than
I expected. I found I wasn’t the silent
student in the back any more but free
to debate with teachers in history
lessons and join every sport team and
extra-curricular activity I could. In short,
I was able to reinvent myself.
I was surprised to be chosen as Head
Girl for my Upper Sixth year. Fulfilling this
role taught me a lot about projecting
confidence and how to stand up for
myself during public speaking or trying
to keep some of the younger students
approximately in line.
Having belief that my opinion counts
and the courage to try new things (helping
direct a house play taught me how to
herd cats…) has stayed with me since
I have left school. This has helped me rise
to the challenge of being President of my
university mountaineering club and act as
liaison between junior doctors and senior
management during the COVID-19 crisis.
Medicine has been an interesting
journey for me: after completing my
A Levels at RGS I went to medical school
at Cardiff University for five years before
moving back up to Sheffield to complete Top: Raleigh Trekking Group. Below:
Trekking in the Himalayas. Opposite page:
foundation training. I have not taken a
Gokyo Rescue Post. Front cover: Trekking
traditional route through training and I have not taken a in the Monsoon in Nepal
have changed my mind about my career
goals and specialties several times.
traditional route through
I used to be worried about this, thinking training and have changed staffing high altitude rescue posts with
that I should be more driven and focused, my mind about my career the International Porter Protection Group.
but I have come to discover that all Working in such a remote environment
experience in medicine is useful and it goals and specialties several posed significant challenges, from
really is the journey that is enjoyable times. I used to be worried untangling bureaucratic nightmares in
rather than the destination. about this, thinking that I Kathmandu to evacuating porters with
During my foundation years life threatening altitude related illnesses
I completed my post graduate diploma should be more driven and on foot.
of mountain medicine which opened my focused, but I have come to After completing the MRCP exams
eyes to some of the non-traditional and coming to the end of my core
careers available to medics and allowed
discover that all experience medical training in Yorkshire I have
me to meet like-minded healthcare in medicine is useful and it decided to pursue a career in respiratory
professionals from all over the world. really is the journey that is medicine. For now however, I am
In the two years out between returning to university part time to gain
foundation and specialty training I was enjoyable rather than qualifications in medical education.
fortunate to put theory into practice, the destination.” My post from August this year will be split
working as a GP trainee in rural New 50/50 as a clinical fellow in respiratory
Zealand before volunteering as an medicine and a teaching fellow for Hull
expedition medic leader for Raleigh York Medical School based in York
International. This involved rebuilding Foundation Trust.
water pipes in Nepal post the 2015 The belief and self confidence
earthquake and trekking with volunteers fostered during my time at RGS has
through the foothills of the Himalayas. helped me tremendously on my journey
I returned to the Everest region of Nepal so far and I am excited to see what
in 2018 as part of a team of four doctors adventures come next.
ONA | OLD NOVOCASTRIANS’ ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE | ISSUE 108 | AUTUMN 2020 9P S YC H I AT R Y AT I T S C O R E I S A B O U T
LISTENING TO STORIES. AND WHO
D O E S N ’ T L I K E A G O O D STO RY ?
BY KALUM AMARASURIYA (90-97)
Kalum Amarasuriya studied Medicine at Newcastle University and works
as a consultant psychiatrist in Teesside. His team was awarded Intellectual
Disabilities Team of the Year in 2019 by the Royal College of Psychiatrists,
which praised their ‘single focus to do what is right for an individual as
straightforwardly as possible’. He is most happy when cooking,
reading, teaching his kids to play cricket and playing the guitar,
although generally not all at the same time.
10W hen I left RGS in 1997 to study
Medicine at Newcastle, I had
soft focus visions of debonair
righteousness and being deeply
admired purely by virtue of being
to assess and analyse clinical
information from patients and tests, my
ability to comprehend the more oblique
arena of people’s underlying motives,
agendas and beliefs emanated from
a doctor. Although such delusions my study of literature and rooted in the
of grandeur have long since been discussions we had in the Plender
expunged, I would still say being Library. The approaches I use for
a psychiatrist is a great job and my constructing arguments and writing
experiences at the RGS played a pivotal reports stem from what I practiced in
role in how I ended up becoming one. the countless essays I wrote and
I always enjoyed Biology, and lessons recalling the spidery red inked
with the effervescent Mr Williams comments pointing out what I needed
(91-96) fuelled my interest. I think I had to improve. So not only did my English
a vague sense I should do something The most satisfying thing studies help me grasp these matters,
‘useful’, so possibly through a lack of it allowed me to develop the skills I use
imagination rather than anything else, about my job is being in a on a daily basis as a psychiatrist. I can
thought medicine seemed like the right position to meaningfully also now reflect that the more time
career choice. help improve someone’s I have spent reading about human
Although every doctor’s training experience in the broadest sense
experiences are different, my reflections quality of life, especially (fiction, non-fiction, commentaries)
after meandering through various junior when they are often the better I am able to resonate and
doctor jobs was that: kindness was rare empathise with the often very different,
and precious; camaraderie a saviour; but
already marginalised powerful and difficult experiences that
dispiritingly, lack of time and the feeling of and misunderstood.” my patients have, even if I struggle to
pressure was eroding my compassion and understand those experiences myself.
curiosity. I felt I needed seriously to think I truly feel I would not be the doctor
about what specialty I should pursue in I am today, nor gain the fulfilment from
the long term that would not drive me to realise this decision was one of the my work that I do, were it not for these
insane or inhuman. I turned to psychiatry. most useful ways to prepare for a career foundational experiences in studying
After a while in psychiatry I noticed a in medicine, and in particular psychiatry. English with Dr Barker, who to this day
real difference in how I was able to work All fields of medicine involve remains a truly inspirational influence
compared to my time in other specialities. synthesising complex information from and someone to whom I remain
It felt like I was working with other disparate and often conflicting sources incredibly grateful.
members of the team, not in parallel into a coherent narrative from which you I hope some of you reading this may
to them. The nature of the work and devise strategies to solve a problem in be pleasantly surprised at the notion
treatment allowed for creativity as well as conjunction with others, most that medicine is not purely the territory
the practical application of neuroscience importantly the patient. And although of hard science alone; it is a broad
and pharmacology, while not losing sight medical school equipped me with skills church and all the better for it.
of the patient as a whole and unique
individual. I later specialised in the
Psychiatry of Intellectual Disabilities as
I felt it was the most fascinating and
rewarding branch of psychiatry. I continue
to encounter a huge variety of diverse
clinical and medico-legal situations and
am fortunate to work in a range of settings
with many different people. I don’t have
many typical days and there are always
new and unexpected challenges. The
most satisfying thing about my job is
being in a position to meaningfully help
improve someone’s quality of life,
especially when they are often already
marginalised and misunderstood.
At the time I applied to study
medicine there was an assumption that
you should do a full set of science
A Levels. However, with encouragement
from Dr Barker, I selected English. Not only
did I enjoy the work at the time I also
appreciated the contrast it provided to
the sciences I was studying. I later came
ONA | OLD NOVOCASTRIANS’ ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE | ISSUE 108 | AUTUMN 2020 11a 12 month advanced course in fixing
smiles and making teeth pretty, which
is a nice change from NHS dentistry.
Like all areas in the NHS, funding and
quality are huge problems. The whole
system is under-funded (without
getting too political: probably
intentionally so) and the result is that
it makes it very hard to deliver quality
NHS dentistry at times.
Around the same time, I started to
pick up a bit of emergency work in
Teesside, this area has some of the
worst dental health in the whole
of the UK. It did leave me feeling like
I could extract teeth day in day out
THE PUS PUDDLE for my entire career and not even
make a dent, such is the scale of the
issue there. We provide a service for
people who only access dentistry
when they have issues, and this can
be fairly eye opening.
BY ROBYN DICKINSON (07-09) On the personal side of things, the
last 12 months have brought more
variety in the form of our little boy
Mitch who arrived in June 2019, so
I had a short break from dentistry
My weekend involved digging for the root of a tooth until this February. I headed back to
that was completely submerged in a puddle of work (very) part time at Sunderland
blood saliva and pus. I couldn’t see what I was (although we haven’t been able to
provide much due to COVID-19),
doing, but could vaguely feel what I was searching as well as Newcastle and
for. The lady I was treating was a lovely ex-midwife, Northumberland’s emergency
dental service and a half day a week
who had a not so lovely facial swelling (orange sized) supervising the dental students
due to quite a nasty abscess. By most people’s over at the Dental Hospital. They
standards, it was pretty disgusting. And I suppose seem much more competent than
I remember being!
I have RGS to thank for getting me into that situation.
Plate G2: Development of Tooth, in
Brass, Atlas of Human Histology (1897)
I joined RGS in 2007 for the Sixth
Form. The link to RGS is a family
one, with my dad having worked
at the school for many years as one
of the North East’s leading PE
seeing the pass list at the end.
After graduating, my first job was at
the Dental Hospital here in Newcastle
(spreading my wings as always!).
Basically, two years of doing a bit of
teachers (!). Prior to this I went to all sorts of dentistry, alongside some
my local school and always did OK General Practice. They say variety is
but was not, by any measures, a the spice of life, and I really did love
genius. As UCAS time came around, this way of working.
dentistry didn’t seem like a bad
plan: I probably chose it for the I then moved into General Practice,
wrong reasons, but I ticked their which is day to day dentistry that
boxes, and to be completely honest, most people would recognise from
never had any better ideas before their own dental visits. This was
deadline time. pretty steady, although one practice
was on the edge of the Meadow Well,
I got my grades and went to Newcastle so the work wasn’t always glamorous.
University in September 2009. It was I worked there for about 18 months,
five years of deadlines and graft, which and then made the switch to a
after sequential exams from age 16, practice in Seaham. I have trained up
gets pretty tedious. The best part was a bit, doing some braces courses, and
12I plan to work a little more as Mitch
gets a bit older, but it’s a bit of a funny
time to be choosing a new place to
G I L L I A N M AT H E R
work, as it’s looking like a lot about the
way we work will be changing. This
change is well overdue, but unless
SCHOOL NURSE (91-08)
Boris has a pot of gold under his
pillow, it’s unlikely to be for the better
in terms of NHS provisions for teeth.
BY JOHN ARMSTRONG (72-03)
Dentistry just would not
have happened for me
without the RGS: the
grades, support with
UCAS and just being
surrounded by kids
who work hard
and aim high.”
I am grateful that the path I have (L-R) Gillian Mather, Headmaster James Miller (94-08), Dr Michael Borthwick
chosen leaves me in a position to
choose to work with such variety.
I won’t miss out, or fall behind my Gillian Mather was the school’s first School Nurse
colleagues for having taken time out when she joined the RGS nearly 30 years ago, in 1991.
for my son. Pandemic or no pandemic,
people will always have teeth so
I hope I’ll always be alright work-wise.
Dentistry just would not have
happened for me without the RGS:
the grades, support with UCAS and
just being surrounded by kids who
L ooking back today on her
17 years in the post (she retired
in 2008) she says ‘I enjoyed it
all very very much. I liked the people,
the pupils, the staff; I liked the
As the first School Nurse at RGS Gillian
was a pioneer. She developed the role;
she enjoyed meetings with her
counterparts at Central High, Church
High, Dame Allan’s, and other schools
work hard and aim high. I don’t really atmosphere’. With her warmth and to discuss ideas and ways of doing
remember where the idea to be a empathy Gillian made a most things. When she retired in 2008,
dentist came from, but there is a good important contribution to that Gillian Mather didn’t lose touch with
chance I copied it from someone else. atmosphere. Pupils (and staff) found her friends at RGS. Peter Wilson (87-
her approachable and supportive. 20), Head of Exams, asked Gillian if she
Circling back now to the pus puddle To quote Mike Borthwick (60-67), would be interested in joining the team
that was last weekend, I did manage then School Doctor, ‘it was very sensible of invigilators, and she’s been an RGS
to fish the root out for the lady with to have a school nurse in place, invigilator ever since.
the orange, I hope she is feeling much essential’. The essential routines of
better, and her face has gone back to her post included: assisting Mike with John Armstrong arrived at the RGS
its usual shape. As revolting as it medicals and BCG injections; the visits in 1972, retiring in 2003 as Second
sounds, it’s actually quite an enjoyable from the health authorities; keeping the Master. He was teacher (and one time
thing to sort out for someone. Days medical records; dealing with injuries Head) of English, for 30 years in
like that, as well as feeling happy when and illnesses, sometimes taking pupils charge of the Rugby 2nd XV, theatre
little Mitch brushes his teeth before with injuries to hospital and contacting director of 23 (largely) Shakespearian
bed, make me think that dentistry is their parents. An administrative part of productions. Since retirement he has
alright really. I’m still yet to have any her post was keeping the attendance retained a core role in the Bursary
better ideas! registers, with their notes of sickness Campaign, ever offering wise counsel.
absence; the end result was a laborious This is too brief a summary of his
annual return for the Department of huge contribution to the RGS, which
Education and Science. could fill an entire ONA Magazine.
ONA | OLD NOVOCASTRIANS’ ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE | ISSUE 108 | AUTUMN 2020 13During the flight, we plan how to approach the
O L D N OVO S O N situation with the very limited information we
receive. Is it a car crash, with a difficult extrication
A HELICOPTER and multiple casualties, or is it a convulsing child
that requires emergency anaesthesia? Once on
scene, we assess the patient and work out how
to get them to hospital as quickly as possible.
As part of this process, we plan which procedures
the patient requires before transport, and which
ones can possibly wait until the final destination.
One minute, your fingers can freeze whilst
BY ABHINAV SINGH (95-04) treating a patient outside and the next you’re
having to strip down because the ambulance is
getting too hot inside. You are expected to react
in the moment and can never plan too far ahead
Stop me if this sounds familiar. You turn up to work because the scenes (and patients) can change in
an instant. You are exposed to sights, sounds and
in Cambridge (or wherever else you’ve migrated to) smells that linger long after the shift has finished.
and start chatting to one of your colleagues. You And yet, we all love it. You see patients in
hear a Geordie twang in their accent. Maybe it was their home environments and get an insight
into their lives that is just not possible in
the way they said ‘university’. You ask tentatively hospital. Treating the most critically unwell
where they’re from, and smile when they confirm people encourages you to utilise all of your
knowledge and ingenuity. You work with
that they’re a Northerner. Not only that, but they incredibly dedicated teammates, who can
went to RGS. Great! This’ll keep the conversation make you laugh, and then help you debrief
going a couple more minutes! a particularly difficult job.
Hal, Ed and I all left RGS at different times,
and took very different routes to end up
where we are now, but the nostalgic feeling is
E ven more impressively, you’re informed
that another colleague on the same shift
with you is also from the RGS! You all sit
down and start discussing important things
like which House everyone was in and whether
no less enjoyable. When the job is at its most
challenging, it’s great to know that sometimes
you’ve got a couple of RGS lads backing you up!
anyone can still remember what Discendo Treating the most critically unwell people
duces means.
And then suddenly the phone rings. You all encourages you to utilise all of your knowledge
strap on your helmets, get into the helicopter, and ingenuity. You work with incredibly dedicated
and fly out to a patient that needs you. teammates, who can make you laugh, and then
This all happened at work a few months ago.
I was on shift with senior doctor Ed Gold (84-95) help you debrief a particularly difficult job.”
and pilot Hal Eriksen (88-93). All three of us
have ended up working for East Anglian Air (L-R): Ed, Hal and Abs, East Anglian Air Ambulance 2019
Ambulance (EAAA), a helicopter emergency
medical service that covers the east of England
region, bringing critical care to the sickest
patients that need transporting to hospital.
It’s the air ambulance service that Prince William
was a pilot for until 2017!
A typical shift involves arriving around
06:45 and first performing all the safety checks,
ensuring we have all the necessary equipment
to provide immediate care to our patients.
We then wait for the phone to ring. Sometimes
this takes several hours, sometimes it happens
immediately. What happens next, however, only
takes 2-4 minutes. We don our helmets and
collect up any additional pieces of equipment
we might require. Meanwhile, the pilots are
planning the flight as best they can and doing
final checks on the helicopter so that we are safe
to fly. And then: take-off.
14THE RGS
MOCK MMI
BY BROOKE MILBURN
TEACHER OF PHYSICS AND
MEDICAL COORDINATOR (RGS CAREERS)
Medicine is one of the
most competitive courses
to gain entry to in the UK
M any people will be familiar with
the traditional interview where
a candidate is asked a series of
questions by a panel of interviewers.
with a short briefing and students are
directed towards the Lilburn Hall to find
their first station. Over the course of the
day, interviewers give them a thorough
grilling on their understanding of medical
with some 23,710 students Over the last ten years, most medical ethics, insight into the profession,
applying for just over schools in the UK have adopted a new knowledge of recent developments in
7,000 places last academic style of interview known as multiple mini medicine among many other things.
interviews (commonly referred to as Candidates are also expected to write
year. Expectations on MMIs). The MMI concept was first essays, complete data analysis tasks and
students are high with developed by McMaster University use small talk to gather information from
Medical School in Canada between 2001 a patient in a role play. Transition from one
many universities requiring and 2004 and involves a series of six to task to another is seamless with very little
students to have ten short interviews each lasting around preparation time.
undertaken voluntary seven minutes with only a minute or two
in between to give students a chance to It is a gruelling process which typically
service, work experience, catch their breath and prepare for their takes 2-3 hours. By the end of the session,
achieved an excellent set next ‘station’. Each interview is designed most students feel at least one of their
to assess a different skill, knowledge, or stations was a disaster and feedback is
of GCSE grades and a top competency such as communication given on their individual performance by
score in the relevant skills, critical thinking skills or knowledge each interviewer. A big advantage of the
admissions exam just to get of recent medical research and issues MMI style interview is that the next station
in the NHS. is always an opportunity for a fresh start.
to interview stage. This is Knowing the interviewers can make the
where the fun starts! In order to help students to prepare for mock MMI even more nerve-racking than
this, the RGS runs its own annual mock the real thing. However, the event provides
MMI. We typically have around 25 a valuable insight into the format of MMI
prospective medical, dental, and style of interviews meaning that
veterinary science applicants who candidates come away feeling more
participate in the event and around 16 confident that they are able to successfully
members of staff volunteer their time to make their first step on the journey to
stand in as interviewers. The session starts becoming a doctor.
ONA | OLD NOVOCASTRIANS’ ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE | ISSUE 108 | AUTUMN 2020 15FROM J1Y
TO C L I N I C I A N
SCIENTIST
BY OMAR MAHROO (86-96)
The morning after Prize Day was the
deadline for the notorious Geography
Project. I’d worked on it for months
M y final morning class finished late,
making me late for detention.
‘Seen the time, Mahroo?’ he inquired.
I misunderstood: thinking he wanted to know the
time, I told him what it was. He misunderstood:
and had stayed up all night finishing it. interpreting my answer as insolence, he put his
I explained, bleary-eyed, to my History face very close to mine: ‘You think you can take
teacher that I hadn’t been able to complete me on? You won’t win, Mahroo, you won’t WIN!’.
The happy ending is that he decided against
his homework, but would do so as soon asking docking marks as ‘that would be below
as possible. He was furious, put me in the belt’ and I’d learned my lesson!
lunchtime detention, and said that marks Perhaps not the healthiest example (albeit
would be docked from my Geography colourful), it illustrates the work ethic which RGS
Project (that bit hurt the most!). instilled in me, and which I think has stood me in
good stead. Dr Mains (76-05), the teacher above,
was immensely engaging, filling me with such
passion for the subject that I remember, after my
exam, reading all of the parts of Mastering Modern
British History that weren’t on the course. The
teaching standard was high across the board.
I am now a Consultant Ophthalmologist at
Moorfields Eye Hospital and St Thomas’ Hospital,
and Associate Professor at UCL. I investigate
mechanisms of retinal diseases, which are a major
cause of blindness. I was awarded a competitive
£1.1 million Wellcome Trust grant to fund my
research programme, and I received a ‘Rising Star’
award from the Macular Society last year. My time
at the RGS, from 1986 (J1Y – ‘Ys are wise, and
better than Xs’, and other ingenious adages I still
recall … and very much live by) to 1996, was a
formative decade which undoubtedly shaped the
subsequent two (and a half). Space permits only
a few reflections.
I was the only RGS boy in my year to be accepted
at Cambridge to read Medicine. The College
I entered, Caius, had already been impressed by
Nadeem Ali (84-94), who had topped the Part IA
Cambridge exams.
16Thankfully, I didn’t drop the standard too far, and
achieved a First Class every year. Our exams were
largely essay-based, and I was retrospectively
grateful for the many essays Tim Bolton-Maggs
(74-04) had set us in A Level Biology. Moreover,
my writing style had already undergone years of
cultivation by RGS English teachers. Dr Jones-Lee
(84-09) cautioned us against the word ‘nice’ (I now
use ‘great’ – problem solved!). Mr Marriott (85-94)
taught me how to structure an argument, though
he might be horrified that I employ these skills in
scientific papers, rather than erudite expositions
of the themes of Hardy’s novels. In medicine and
science (in life), communication is central – with
patients, colleagues, the scientific community
(history teachers). Potentially transformative
discoveries go unnoticed if not communicated
appropriately. My publications owe much to my
English teachers. The other sciences—Physics, Burchell (66-99);
Chemistry, Goldie (89-03); Lawson (83-09)—were
During my medical degree, I completed a PhD also excellently taught, as were non-science
in retinal physiology. As my brain throbbed, subjects. The latter rounded my education and
deriving equations for simultaneous bleaching it pained me to drop them at A Level. French (the
and regeneration of the retina’s light-sensitive phenomenal Mrs Sainsbury (80-05)) comes in
pigment, I recall suddenly realising that the useful when attending conferences in France (the
abstract techniques (differential equations, talks are in English, but the French helps in getting
imaginary numbers) whose usefulness I had around). Learning Latin (inspirational Mr Keating
questioned at school were now enabling truly (72-04)), I have discovered, did have a purpose:
novel discoveries (which we later published in I can help my children with their Latin! (Actually,
the Journal of Physiology). I am indebted to my it made learning Arabic simpler, made medical
Maths teachers (Perella (82-03), Douglas (56-94), terms more familiar, and might prove invaluable
Watkins (88-18)) for the Maths, and love of Maths, if I ever need to attend a scientific meeting in 1st
they imparted (and to another member of said century Pompeii.)
department who forgot to enter me for my A Level
in time, meaning I had to unnecessarily revise for Beyond the academic, I found the extra-curricular
and repeat an exam in which I had already RGS environment rich (admittedly I was rubbish at
achieved 97%). sports other than badminton). In Junior School,
some of us got to star in a video recorded by Paul
McCartney. (Strange that Paul and I never
recorded any songs together after that!) I was
active in Voluntary Service and the CCF, and
enjoyed all of the trips. I formed strong friendships
I currently see patients with rare genetic – the healthy peer environment was in some ways
retinal diseases. When interpreting genetic as important as the teaching (plus there was a kid
reports, I still visualise the lesson in which Mr who’d get you any Amiga game you’d like if you
gave him a floppy disk in break time). RGS banter
Bolton-Maggs taught us the Central Dogma.” shaped my wit (though I realised, I don’t know
how long later, that some things we dismissed as
schoolboy banter could cause hurt). I value hugely
I currently see patients with rare genetic retinal the pastoral guidance I received from Dr Barker,
diseases. When interpreting genetic reports, I still and the thought-provoking discussions we had.
visualise the lesson in which Mr Bolton-Maggs
taught us the Central Dogma. By curious In one of my first termly reports at Cambridge,
coincidence, I remember simultaneously learning, my Physiology Supervisor (the late Roger
in Biology, that the language of life was based on Carpenter) started with the phrase, ‘A powerful
three-letter-codons (sometimes one letter could intelligence’, which made me blush. I’m grateful to
interchange with another with the same meaning), the RGS (including those teachers not mentioned
whilst, in General Studies, Mr Squires (72-17) was above) for nurturing that ‘intelligence’, and hope
teaching me that all Arabic words were based on that I can deliver on their investment. As teaching
three-letter roots (sometimes one letter could is part of my role, I also hope I can enthuse others
interchange with another with the same meaning). to learn as they did me.
ONA | OLD NOVOCASTRIANS’ ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE | ISSUE 108 | AUTUMN 2020 17W H E N B R E AT H
BECOMES AIR
A REVIEW OF A BOOK
BY PAU L K A L A N I T H I
BY FINN GAVIN (09-20)
‘T he good news is that I’ve
already outlived two Brontës,
Keats and Stephen Crane,’
wrote the 37 year old Paul Kalanithi
shortly after learning of his terminal
cancer diagnosis in an email to his
closest friend. ‘The bad news is that
I haven’t written anything.’ As one final
act of striving, Dr Kalanithi set about
writing his memoirs, drawing on his
experiences as a student, doctor and
patient in a noble, insightful bid to
answer the question he had pursued
for his whole life: what makes life
meaningful? Heartbreakingly poignant,
the moving result of a tragically short
lifetime is simply stunning.
Dr Kalanithi’s background in English
Literature is central to the vital spirit of
the book, a reflection of the importance
of the written word in the author’s
identity. From an early age, his life was
infused with literature and medicine —
his father a cardiologist, his mother a
ferocious advocate of literature in the
young Paul’s education.
18Originally turned off by medicine, blaming Ultimately what makes this such a special
the profession for his father’s absence in book is its frank depiction of suffering.
the family home, Kalanithi said, ‘Books Kalanithi opens the book with his
became my closest confidants, finely diagnosis, putting himself in an
ground lenses providing new views of the immediately vulnerable position. He feels,
world’. At Stanford (his alma mater), as ‘Tethered to an IV pole’ and laments that
well as attaining a BA and MA in English he was ‘So authoritative in a surgeon’s
Literature, the future neurosurgeon took coat but so meek in a patient’s gown’.
a keen interest in biological science (he There is a sense of loss: despite having
also had a BA in Human Biology). I find spent his career surrounded by suffering
the refusal by Kalanithi to accept the and guiding patients to a better
boundaries between academic disciplines understanding of what it means for them
compelling, and inspiring. He recognised he felt totally unprepared for what he had
that the complexity of the meaning to go through. Kalanithi’s story gives an
human life and the suffering of his insight into the patient from the
patients could never be understood if he perspective of the doctor, it is the reverse
limited himself purely to the sciences or side of the coin, the backstage drama.
the arts (as so many felt they must) and It’s the immeasurable tragedy of the
so it was he ‘studied literature and individual in the face of mortality. It’s life,
philosophy to understand what makes life death, nihilism and ambition. Kalanithi’s
meaningful, studied neuroscience and words are vulnerable, touching, wise and
worked in an fMRI lab to understand how hauntingly beautiful. His message is
the brain could give rise to an organism wholly unforgettable.
capable of finding meaning in the world’. I have to admit, this review is
Dr Kalanithi spends a good portion somewhat biased: When Breath Becomes
of the book meditating on his time as
I have to admit, this review Air is my favourite book. But I think that’s
a medical student and neurosurgical is somewhat biased: When okay. Kalanithi’s writing, his experiences,
resident. For me, about to embark on Breath Becomes Air is my his observations speak to me in a way
my own journey through medical school, no other book has. His poetic command
these passages were enlightening, his favourite book. But I think of English captivates me every time
words serving a warning of what to that’s okay. Kalanithi’s I encounter it. As he begins to deconstruct
expect, and what I could become. For the doctor-patient relationship I can’t help
Kalanithi, his greatest fear was losing sight
writing, his experiences, but feel inspired to pursue medicine, to
of his search for meaning which drove him his observations speak to pursue meaning. When one ‘of the many
to his scrubs in the first place. He writes, me in a way no other moments in life where you must give an
‘I had started in this career, in part, to account of yourself, provide a ledger
pursue death: to grasp it, uncloak it, book has.” of what you have been, and done, and
and see it eye-to-eye, unblinking. meant to the world’ comes along,
Neurosurgery attracted me as much Kalanithi urges us to have something
more its intertwining of brain and to offer. For Paul lying on his deathbed
consciousness as for its intertwining of looking at his infant child, Cady, and his
life and death’. After feeling ill at ease in Junior Acrobatics European wife, Lucy, it was this book. The climax of
academia following his MA — his focus Championships 2013. Finn on top; his contributions to society, to his family,
on the Spiritual-Physiological man in Michael Gill (09-16) right came in his final moments — and it was
Whitman’s poetry deemed too biological painful! It’s a book about growing, and
for mainstream English literature — clinical decaying, and dying. It’s a book about the
practice was attractive to him for its raw second law of thermodynamics. It’s a
view of human nature which is only book about a man who will never reach
revealed in the crises which define our his full potential as he perceived it.
live — sickness. ‘I feared I was becoming ‘Everyone succumbs to finitude,’ he
Tolstoy’s stereotype of a doctor,’ he writes towards the end. This book is
writes, ‘preoccupied with empty a tragedy. Every heartbreaking word of
formalism, focused on the rote treatment it makes me want to be the best version
of disease — and utterly missing the larger of myself I can possibly strive to
human significance.’ Becoming inured to become. Practicing medicine is
his patient’s pain was intolerable for simultaneously the art and the science
Kalanithi, his introspection on his own of caring for the infirm. Paul Kalanithi
failings in pursuit of his goal of a mastered both — that is something to
comprehensive understanding of which we can all aspire.
meaning in life is both a welcome breath
of humility but also a reminder to us all Finn is aiming to study Medicine at
that it is okay to take a misstep when New College, Oxford from October
striving towards the greatest good if we 2020. He was twice World Gymnastics
can recognise it and be willing to adapt. Champion, in 2014 and 2017.
ONA | OLD NOVOCASTRIANS’ ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE | ISSUE 108 | AUTUMN 2020 19You can also read
