My father, Leslie Taylor, who has died aged 81, was involved in education for 54 years.
The son of Jack, an office worker at Golborne colliery, Wigan, now part of Greater Manchester, and Emily (nee Jenkinson), a railway clerk, he won a scholarship from the National Coal Board to study physics at Manchester University, and then qualified as a teacher at King’s College, Cambridge.
For three years he taught at Guthlaxton school, Wigston, Leicestershire, before moving to Dauntsey’s school, in West Lavington, near Devizes in Wiltshire. There he introduced the Nuffield science course to the school, and after nine years moved a few miles north-west to Shurnhold (later George Ward) school in Melksham. At Guthlaxton he had met Anne Bayliss, who taught biology. They married in 1961 and set up home in Devizes.
In 1972 Leslie was the recipient of a fellowship that enabled him to study the education systems of Germany, France, Czechoslovakia, Holland and Denmark, looking particularly at science education.
For 11 years he shared his teaching role at George Ward school with Jim Harvey of Bath University school of education, each teaching half the week in the other’s institution. Then he moved to the university’s PGCE course, retraining biology teachers to teach physics. He continued in this role until retiring in 2011.
Outside work, Leslie was heavily involved for the past 30 years in the Devizes festival. He made an immeasurable contribution to the festival’s reputation for high quality in professional performance across the arts, from editing the festival brochure and putting up banners to hosting visiting artists. He will be especially missed for his in-depth knowledge of classical music, acquired since childhood; his mother was an accomplished pianist who played the organ at Golborne parish church.
In his leisure time he enjoyed sketching, foreign travel and mowing the large lawn at his home despite the efforts of his children to buy him a ride-on mower.
Leslie is survived by Anne, his children, Katherine, Ben, Jonathan and me, and eight grandchildren.
