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For the rugby player of the same name, see Steve Borthwick.

Stephen Robert Borthwick FRSA (23 September 1951 – 15 December 2020) was an English schoolmaster and educationist who taught at Rugby, Bloxham, Marlborough, and Bishop's Stortford College, before becoming headmaster of Aldenham School in 1994 and finally serving as head of Epsom College from 2000 to 2012.

Borthwick was influential in the creation of Epsom College in Malaysia, a project he announced in 2009, the new school opening in 2014. A Chartered Physicist and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, at the time of his death he was chairman of the Diocese of Hereford Board of Education.

Early life

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Borthwick was born at Windsor on 23 September 1951,[1] the son of Sydney Borthwick. He was educated at Strode's Grammar School, Egham, and the University College of Wales, Bangor,[2] where he took a degree in physics,[3] having also studied the history and philosophy of science.[4] From there, he joined Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, in 1973.[5] In 1974, he married Glynis Francis in Brecknockshire.[6]

Career

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After teaching physics at Rugby and Bloxham Schools, Borthwick became head of the physics and technology department at Marlborough College and then deputy head of Bishop's Stortford College. His first headship was at Aldenham,[2][7] from 1994, and in 2000 he was appointed to head Epsom College.[8][9]

Epsom College

In September 2002, as a headmaster, Borthwick was highly critical of the standard of marking by the OCR Examinations Board,[10] commenting to The Independent: "We had 170 pupils taking A-levels this year and we've had to put in 236 remark requests. Of those, 183 were with OCR.[11] In March 2005, he challenged an Ofsted inspection of his school, not accepting it as a fair and accurate representation of the facts.[12] Asked by The Sunday Times in October 2007 "Should we support city academies?", Borthwick's reply was "not yet", as establishing a new city academy would be a diversion, and he had to give priority to the children at his own school.[13] In 2009, The Daily Telegraph quoted him on the benefits of schools playing rugby. His school hosted the finals of that year’s National Schools Rugby Tournament.[14]

While still in post at Epsom, Borthwick championed both co-education and links with state schools, and Epsom College worked closely with Lambeth Academy. He was also influential in the creation of Epsom College in Malaysia.[7] Borthwick announced the project in December 2009, stating that a high calibre project team had been put in place; the new school in Kuala Lumpur would follow a British curriculum and teach about 900 children between the ages of 11 and 18, mostly boarders.[15] In 2010, Borthwick said it was planned to employ teaching staff mostly from the United Kingdom.[16] He thanked the Malaysian government for its support.[17] In June 2012, the new Epsom College was nearing completion on a fifty-acre campus at Bandar Enstek, for its opening in September. Borthwick said there would be "real pollination between the two schools through pupil and staff exchanges".[18] However, the new school did not finally open until September 2014.[19]

In 2010, some universities announced that A-Level grades given to school students resitting exams would be ignored, and Borthwick replied in The Sunday Times that he might now advise pupils against applying to study medicine.[20]

Borthwick was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts[2] and as a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. He was also a Chartered Physicist.[21] In 2010, he said in an interview that if he had not had a career in education, he might have been an acoustic engineer.[4] Interviewed in 2012, during his last term at Epsom College, he said he would encourage students at the school to look at a career in teaching: “It is overwhelmingly rewarding and has been a great career for me.”[22]


Retirement

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In June 2011, Borthwick's successor as head at Epsom College was chosen,[23] and in 2012 he retired from the school to the Wye Valley,[7] where he already had a house.[4] There, he joined the Diocesan Board of Education of the Diocese of Hereford, becoming its chairman, and was also a member of the Bishop's Council and a governor of Hereford Cathedral School.[24] In 2014, he took over as chairman of the Monmouth Choral Society.[25]

Borthwick died suddenly in December 2020, prompting Bishop Richard Jackson to say he was shocked and saddened.[24] His funeral was at St Dubricius, Symonds Yat, on 13 January, and he was buried at St Giles, Goodrich.[25]

Notes

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  1. ^ "Birthdays" in The Times, 23 Sept 2003: "Stephen Borthwick, Headmaster of Epsom College, 52"
  2. ^ a b c "Borthwick, Stephen Robert, BSc FRSA" in People of Today 2006 (London: Debretts, 2005, ISBN 978-1870520324), p. 171
  3. ^ Good Schools Guide (Lucas Publications, 2003), p. 241: "Mr Stephen R Borthwick (forties), previously head of Aldenham. Educated at a Surrey grammar school, then physics at the University of Wales, Bangor..."
  4. ^ a b c "Surrey schools - Stephen Borthwick, headmaster at Epsom College in Epsom", Surrey Life, 15 February 2010, accessed 18 September 2021
  5. ^ List of Members - Cambridge University (Cambridge University Press, 1982), p. 113
  6. ^ "BORTHWICK Stephen R / Francis / BRECKNOCK 26 26" in General Index to Marriages in England and Wales (3rd quarter, 1974) ancestry.com, accessed 18 September 2021
  7. ^ a b c "The Sad Loss of Former Headmaster Stephen Borthwick", epsomcollege.org.uk, 16 December 2020, accessed 21 December 2020
  8. ^ An Almanack for the Year of Our Lord 2001, Volume 133 (London: Joseph Whitaker, 2001), p. 410
  9. ^ British and International Music Yearbook (London: Rhinegold, 2009), p. 331
  10. ^ Mary-Lou Cowdy, "Pupils miss out on university places", This Is Local London, 20 September 2002, accessed 18 September 2021 : "If the parents have no confidence in one of the major examining boards in this country, it will have a major impact on the system of examination."
  11. ^ Jonathan Thompson, 'It's totally unjust. I know I deserved an A', The Independent, 29 September 2002, accessed 18 September 2021
  12. ^ "Inspection Report, Epsom College", ofsted.gov.uk, February/March 2005, p. 40
  13. ^ Sian Griffiths, Steve Farrar, "Should we support city academies? Leading independent schools are being asked to sponsor city academies. Two private school heads explain why they will and won’t get involved", The Sunday Times, 7 October 2007, accessed 18 September 2021
  14. ^ Gareth A. Davies, "British schools Rugby joins fight against US gangs", The Daily Telegraph, 16 February 2009, accessed 18 September 2021 (subscription required)
  15. ^ Helen Crane, "Epsom College opens new branch - in Kuala Lumpur", Sutton and Croydon Guardian, 9 December 2009, accessed 22 December 2020
  16. ^ "F1 chief spearheads Epsom College in Malaysia", Surrey Live, 6 August 2010, accessed 22 December 2020
  17. ^ Paul Teed, "Children in Asia to get Epsom College education at its new Kuala Lumpur boarding school", Sutton and Croydon Guardian, 16 August 2010, accessed 18 September 2021
  18. ^ "Bringing a British Dimension to Malaysia's Education System", expatgo.com, 13 June 2012, accessed 18 September 2021
  19. ^ Epsom College in Malaysia, smapse.com, accessed 26 December 2020
  20. ^ Jack Grimston, "Universities reject A level grades obtained in resits", The Sunday Times, 30 May 2010, 18 September 2021 (subscription required)
  21. ^ The Education Authorities Directory and Annual 2007 (Redhill: School Government Publishing Co. Ltd., 2007), p. 461
  22. ^ George Lindley, “Interview with the Headmaster”, Epsomian 2011–2012, pp. 59–60
  23. ^ "News, June 2011", perrettlaver.com, accessed 18 September 2021
  24. ^ a b "Hereford Diocese learns of the death of Mr Stephen Borthwick, Chair of Diocesan Board of Education", Diocese of Hereford news release, 17 December 2020
  25. ^ a b Matt Jenkins, Stephen Borthwick, monmouthchoralsociety.co.uk, accessed 18 September 2021
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DEFAULTSORT:Borthwick Stephen R Category:1951 births Category:2020 deaths Category:Alumni of Bangor University Category:Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts Category:Headmasters of Epsom College Category:People educated at Strode's Grammar School

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