As the end of the first school term drew to a close so did a memorable era for the long-serving principal of Somerset West Methodist Primary School.
The landmark school bade farewell to Wilbur Hindley, who retired after 40 years dedicated to the school as passionate educator and exemplary leader. The retirement coincided with his 65th birthday, which was celebrated on Saturday 19 March.
Hindley started his career as a Post Level 1 teacher at the school, located in Church Street, in January 1982. This, after completing his primary schooling at Marsh Alliston Primary School in Sir Lowry’s Pass and matriculating from Gordon High School.
After matric he worked in a laboratory at the then Somchem (Rheinmetall Denel Munition) depot for three years, before friends encouraged him to pursue teaching, a gift inherently part of his being.
So he enrolled at Hewat Training College in Crawford, Cape Town in 1979, qualifying two years later.
His teaching journey really took off after then-principal the late Peter Gordon visited the Hindley household before the end of 1981 to convince his father and him to be a teacher at Somerset West Methodist Primary, which needed a young, skilled male educator to teach physical education and coach rugby, cricket and athletics at the school.
He describes his journey as “wonderful”, with precious memories, which involved learning a lot from colleagues and being afforded the opportunity to grow in curricular and extra- and co-curricular activities. “I was literally thrown in at the deep end, but managed to meet the expectations through hard work and commitment,” he says.
Hindley initially served as a Standard 4 (Grade 6) teacher, braving the classroom and educating eager minds in the subjects of mathematics, languages and science.
In addition, he taught physical education to Grade 4, 5, 6 and 7 learners. He also furthered his studies part-time through the University of the Western Cape and obtained his bachelor’s degree in 1992 and honours in 1994.
“My proudest moments in teaching were when my learners achieved the goals they set for themselves. Some of the learners became medical doctors, actuaries, chartered accountants, successful businesspeople, outstanding sportspeople – and came back to express their gratitude for being an inspiration to them,” said Hindley, who prided himself in making a difference in the lives of tomorrow’s leaders through guidance and leading by example.
His father, the late James Munnik Hindley, served as his greatest inspiration. He too was a committed teacher, who would walk the extra mile in many ways. He also served as superintendent of the Sunday school at the local church and a preacher who conducted funerals if the minister was not available and assisted the poor, all without any fee.
“Being a teacher demands dedication and hard work. It begs the question, ‘How much of school is part of your life?’ The answer is quite simply, all of it! Lets face it, that is why people are annoyed with us – we eat, think and sleep school. It follows, therefore, that our own personalities, our own value systems, our own personal credos, must permeate every brick and mortar of our schools.”
Hindley further shared education had given him the opportunity not just to mould many learners, but to unfold them – their gifts, talents and purpose.
“A few sportsmen and women reached great heights in their careers – provincial and national. The rugby team toured New Zealand in 1997, as the team had been invited by the rugby fraternity of the Northern Island (Whangherei, Auckland) and hosted us for six weeks.
“A group of parents of the Helderberg arranged a tour with an under-12 cricket team to England, where we played against a few representative teams in Surrey and Worcester more than 12 years ago. I coordinated the first Helderberg under-12 cricket teams since the advent of democracy, in 1994, for a number of years and became provincial selector for under-11 and under-13 Western Province teams for 10 years,” he listed.
While looking forward to some quality time with family and friends, Hindley expressed that the precious, fulfilling interaction with the learners and school community was definitely what he would be missing most.
He advised aspirant young teachers to “be positive and never be daunted by the hard work and many challenges in education, but look to the future with courage and conviction and not lose sight of the bright future we help create; also, be a lifelong learner.”
His message to the school, its learners and the broader community is: “Colleagues and friends, ours is a great calling and it is a ‘life worth living’. The rewards are immeasurable. Let us together give our children the roots to grow and the wings to fly. Let us unite (all the stakeholders in education – teachers, parents, community and learners) to create a better future for our beloved country.”
