Bryan Bass remains the shortest-serving headmaster of Hymers College to date, but it should not detract in any way from his achievements.

While opening our Eric Gordon Mallalieu Archive Library, we came across "The Old Hymerian" magazine that ran for 11 editions from 2000 until 2007. In the magazine, were several Teacher Features of Hymers staff who have sadly passed away since. Many remember Bryan Bass from the 1980s so we took a look back at his story, written in 2004, which reflected on his time as Headmaster and his life after.

His tenure in office for seven years from 1983 happened to coincide with a period of immense change at the school, but he simply took it all in his stride.

And he was quick to pay tribute to those who supported him from governors such as Stephen Martin and Sir Roy Marshall, his deputies Norman Walker and John Morris, and his teaching colleagues in general.

Bryan, in fact, developed a reputation as a good listener to those around him, so it is ironic that he might never have ended up at Hymers in the first place if he had taken heed of his colleagues at Manchester Grammar School, where he had taught for 11 years, as he contemplated his move to Hymers.

It seems that there was a concerted attempt to talk Bryan, who was born at Lyme Regis in Dorset and educated at Wells Cathedral School and Christchurch College, Oxford, out of taking his first appointment as a headmaster.

He had been a colleague of his Hymers predecessor John Ashurst at Winchester, but reflected: "My colleagues at Manchester Grammar School told me: 'You'll hate it. It's a rotten job. Nobody will like you. Stay here in the bosom of Manchester Grammar School.' But I had a pleasant surprise when I came to Hymers because it wasn't like that at all.

"I kept asking people: 'Hi, how's it going?' and I certainly did not feel lonely. That was important because a lonely and unhappy headmaster makes a lonely and unhappy school."

But then Bryan's willingness to consult and be consulted enabled him to guide Hymers safely through some far-reaching changes ranging from the inception of co-education to building developments, the introduction of a full-time bursary, the inauguration of speech day, the evolution of a pastoral system and the progression of school music.

It is curious, though, that Bryan himself does not view the establishment of co-education as his most essential reform: "It wasn't the most difficult thing that I've ever done. There were people with different perspectives, but I don't think it changed the school the most."

He had never previously worked in a co-educational school, but he does recognise the significance of its introduction to Hymers because he added: "We were trying to look ahead, so we wrote to all the parents, but very few replied.

One feeling was that the boys would be obsessed with the girls and the girls would be obsessed with the boys and there might be unattractive consequences. And some people sounded a warning note that one of the other consequences might be that sport would suffer.

"But the governors and I visited schools up and down the country to find out how boys adapted to co-education. And when we thought of Hull, we felt that it needed a centre of excellence, which Hymers now is. And it is wonderful for the city that that it has one for boys and girls who are excelling in sport, music, drama and public service."

It took a long while for the school to reach the decision to make the switch, but Bryan added: "In the mid-to-late 1980s there were other things that were important and ought to precede co-education, but I knew that the governors would do it, and fix it when the time was right.
"I had come to Hull to run a boys' school, but it became clear that there were other directions that could benefit and advance the academic standards. But we agreed to go co-educational in the end and the governors decided to enact it.

They had discussed it for two years among themselves and with me. They looked at it and decided to do other things first, but then decided that it was the right decision to go ahead with it.

"Some warm discussions took place and it gives me great pleasure to look back on them because every member of staff except one was in favour of co-education. I felt that, if I couldn't persuade the staff to agree to it, then it would be a question of having a ball-and-chain around us, but we were all singing from the same hymn book.

"But it is important to stress that the support and co-operation of my colleagues made it possible. I soon realised how happy the children were and that is because people embraced the decision from its origin and made it work. Happy schools don't just happen."

Bryan, in fact, looks back on building work as having been most important to his concept of progress and development. He explained: "I thought it would be great fun to change the physical structure of the school to go with the curriculum. I believed in Science for all and a new building was hugely important.

“I also needed to do something about technology and computing and act on it apart from making changes to the biology laboratory and introducing the new design centre, which was almost before its time and was twice as big as had been intended when it was built."
Bryan also ponders fondly on his contribution to the development of Hymers music because he added: “I am a failed musician. I wanted to be a professional but I just wasn’t good enough. But when I first came to Hymers, I couldn't believe that there was such a large number of boys who could perform well.

"But I am pleased that I appointed Tim O'Byrne, who has been such a wonderful Director of Music, while Andrew Penny expanded his role and soon the tide was flowing fast because we had an orchestra of about 50. I was soon part of a fast-flowing river and in no sense did I have to force people to do things. It required no great trust on my part and I just found myself being part of a process of development that was very worthwhile."

Similarly, Bryan was prepared to oppose something if he felt that was not beneficial to educational welfare. One such case occurred when there were curricular changes in 1985 and he reflected: ''I was against streaming. I believe that you treat boys alike because, after all, their parents are paying exactly the same fees. From the boys’ perspectives, it was important because at a stroke that removes the condition of stigma and it was an easy thing to do."

On leaving Hymers, Bryan moved to the City of London School for five years and then had to choose between two new appointments - a potentially lucrative one in Qatar or the chance to join a team of five at a failing school in London's East End.

He chose the latter and it tested his capacity for positive reform because he reflected: “I didn't know that schools could be so bad. No education of any kind was taking place and in the end, we closed it. It was a very interesting process and we were screamed at by about 250 people simultaneously in the school, which was terrifying.

“I was part of the team who supervised the reallocation of those boys, which was interesting and disturbing. In fact, I spent the first year of my retirement working on a blueprint of how a school could be closed. It was exhausting work, but totally fascinating."

Now 70, Bryan has settled back into life in Hull and is enjoying his retirement: ”Hull has a lot to offer and I get very defensive about it. I still miss my colleagues, but I don’t miss the teaching processes of sorting out problems. I write a lot, I do some gardening and reading and cooking' but I've given up music.”

Bryan Bass died peacefully at home in London on 23rd December 2010.  The Hymerian 2011 magazine included an obituary for him, written by his colleague and Deputy Head, John Morris, who went on to succeed Bryan Bass as Headmaster.