SIMPSON Ian Bruce
Ian Bruce Simpson (Attended King’s High School from 1954 to 1958)
Ian was a school Prefect in 1958 and Sergeant in the school’s cadet corps.
He was a member of the First Eleven Cricket team, the First Fifteen Rugby Team and the Athletic Team.
He won the award for having the highest batting average in the First Eleven cricket team. He gained a School Blue in Rugby and Cricket.
Later Ian played both senior rugby and senior cricket in Dunedin, and he has also been active in coaching and administration of rugby, cricket and athletics.
On leaving King’s Ian attended the University of Otago where he graduated Batchelor of Arts in 1962. Later he gained a Master of Arts and a Diploma in Education. After a year at Christchurch Teachers’ College, where he graduated with a Diploma in Teaching he embarked on his teaching career.
He taught geography, social studies, history and English at Kaikorai Valley High School where he was appointed in 1963, and then went on to hold positions of responsibility in Cromwell District High School and Logan Park High School, before moving to King’s High School. At Kings he became the Deputy Rector in 1981 and then the Rector from 1982-1997.
He has been a member of national teacher panels in geography and inter-disciplinary studies, and has been seconded to the Department of Education as an advisor in Geography and social studies in the southern region. Ian was one of five geography and social studies teachers selected by the Japan Foundation to visit Japan for a number weeks during the year
Ian’s commitment to King’s High School was legendary. Through his dedication, excellence and concern for the individual, he oversaw King’s High School grow from a school of 480 boys to be the largest secondary school in Otago with a total roll of 960 in 1997. The rebuilding of the school to accommodate this growth saw King’s become the envy of others with state-of-the-art facilities and courses. The curriculum has expanded to include Tourism, Catering, Hospitality, Fine and Visual Arts, and Sport Studies. Ian introduced School Open Nights in a successful effort to attract more pupils to the school. The opportunity for senior boys to gain leadership skill was created by the re-introduction of “School and the addition of “House” Prefects. The “Group” system of administration replaced the older “Form” system. Each Group being made up of a mix of the five pupil year levels. The senior pupils had a chance to develop as leaders within the Group.
Ian coined the phrase” King’s cares for all students” which became the school’s mission statement. Many students owe their position at King’s to his desire to give them another chance.
During his 45-year career he received many accolades throughout his time at King’s High School. He was Leader of the Secondary Principals Association of New Zealand, 1993-94. He was a member of the Secondary Schools Sports Council, the Principals Lead Group, the Ministerial Reference Group, the Otago University Council and the Otago Rugby Union. Through all these activities he continually represented King’s High School in the public arena. A Woolf Fisher Fellowship and a Geography travel award saw him study overseas.
In 2000 was appointed principal of the school for a short time after he was asked by the ministry to help get the school “back on its feet”. He later became a member of its board of trustees, after the Ministry of Education had sacked his predecessors.
King’s High School has indeed been fortunate to have had the visions, support and freedom provided by Ian Simpson.
It is a legacy of which he can be justifiably proud however much his modesty may allow others to share the credit.
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