Anne Bower, a dedicated teacher of chemistry and mathematics at grammar and comprehensive schools in Newcastle, Sunderland and Rotherham, has died at the age of 80.
Early life and education
Born in Newcastle upon Tyne and raised in South Shields, Anne was the daughter of Richard, an Admiralty overseer on the Tyne during the second world war, and Winifred Austin, a shop worker.
On leaving South Shields grammar school for girls, Anne read chemistry (with maths as a subsidiary subject) at the University of Leeds, graduating in 1966, one of the few female students of natural sciences at that time. It was at Leeds that Anne and her husband met as postgraduate students, when she was studying for a diploma in education, and they married in 1969.
Teaching career
After university, Anne taught chemistry at Gosforth grammar school, Newcastle (1967-70), and Bede grammar school, Sunderland (1970-71). When the family moved to Rotherham, Anne began a long association with Oakwood comprehensive school, teaching maths there from 1971 to 1974 and again from 1984 to 2003.
Anne held senior management posts within the school, was a member of the parent-teacher association, and represented her colleagues on the school governing body and at curriculum meetings with the local authority and the Department for Education in London. She was an examiner for chemistry and maths with examination boards in Oxford and the north of England, and for international students.
Retirement and interests
In retirement, Anne was a keen languages student, becoming proficient in French, Italian and Spanish, using her languages for travelling in Europe and further afield.
Anne had a keen sense of social justice. She was a governor of Canklow Woods primary school in one of Rotherham's most disadvantaged areas, a supporter of students like herself from less privileged backgrounds at her university, a volunteer with the Youth Justice Service and for the local hospital and hospice. As well as being a loyal and active member of the National Union of Teachers, Anne was a longstanding member of the Labour party, working in support of candidates in local and general elections.
Family life
An excellent cook, Anne delighted in hosting dinner parties and larger celebratory occasions. She enjoyed baking, and did so by video link with her granddaughters during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The marriages of her daughter and son brought five grandchildren into her life and she became a loving and devoted grandma. It was, above all else, her family that gave Anne her greatest joy.
Anne is survived by her husband, her children, her grandchildren, Dan, Adam, Emily, Laura and Lydia, and her brother, Richard.
