Stephen Hughes - One amazing Life    22.10.1990 – 13.10.2014

 

Stephen was always full of energy, enthusiasm, imagination and humour, and was known and loved for inspiring helping others. 

 

He participated fully in all aspects of school life, and particularly in sport and drama, at Willerby Carr Lane Infants and Junior Schools (now a combined primary) and Wolfreton Secondary. Not surprisingly, he took A Levels in PE and Drama, and also in English and Geography, and graduated from Sheffield University with a degree in Human Geography.

 

His favourite sports were Football, for which  not only did he play for, and often captained, his schools as well as his county, East Riding of Yorkshire, but was signed for Hull City, from the age of 9-16, and Tennis, in which he achieved a Level 2 coaching qualification.

03He also represented his school in other sports, including cross country running. He was a passionate Sheffield United supporter, and season ticket holder, since being very young. 

 

 

Stephen also found time to act in many school drama productions, but ceased to take singing roles after his voice broke! His love of modern music led him to be a regular visitor to music festivals, with Leeds being his favourite. He supported his friends at small venues such as the Big Coffee in Anlaby, and frequently spent nights at Hull’s Welly Club, even when home from university. He loved watching comedy, and secretly held an ambition to try stand up himself, perhaps inspired by the Edinburgh Fringe. 

 

Stephen took holiday jobs in coaching tennis and other sports, which led him to apply to train to be a Primary School teacher.  He was delighted to be selected to be part of the Teach First scheme, through which he was placed in a school in Darlington, now known as The Rydal Academy.  He was passionate about his career, never ceasing to talk about it to family, and was known for being inclusive, and for inspiring even the most reluctant learners. His teaching was observed for examples of good practice in a book by Matt Lloyd-Rose, who describes Stephen as ‘a superb primary school teacher’ and ‘a hugely dynamic and inspiring individual, adored by his pupils’. The academy commissioned a stained glass window in his memory, containing four of his motivational statements. Both The Rydal Academy, and Wolfreton School award an annual trophy in his memory. 

 

Stephen was proud of the fact that he introduced new sports to the school, and an opportunity for children to enter more tournaments, in sports including football, and basketball, in which the trophy was won by his team who were the smallest players. He taught the pupils to play table tennis at lunchtime, using the classroom tables.