The brilliant Mr Mike Scammel, who has been a chemistry teacher here at Southbank for 35 years and one of our longest serving members of staff, is set to retire at the end of term. Mike will be missed by the whole Southbank community, and we thank him sincerely for his service and wish him well on his future endeavours.

We asked Mike to tell us about his time at Southbank over the last 3.5 decades, and this is what he told us.

“I first started working at Southbank on 1st September 1989 (a few weeks before the fall of the Berlin Wall!). I was employed on a one-term contract to fill in while the Chemistry teacher, Steve Bailey, spent a few months in the USA. He never came back!             

At the time, I was based at the Kensington campus – the only campus Southbank had in those days. The school was much smaller then. We must have had approaching 200 kids and about 20 staff, many of whom only did a few hours here and there.

My earliest memory of Southbank is of one Monday morning in early 1990, I got to school early – in fact, I was the first person to arrive. In those days, my Chemistry lab was on the top floor in the Kensington Park Road building. As I climbed the stairs, the smell grew stronger. It had rained heavily over the weekend and there had been a leak in the roof of the prep room. 

Unfortunately, the dripping water hit an open bottle of calcium carbide, causing the formation of large clouds of acetylene gas. A single spark would have been enough to cause an explosion like a bomb, so we had to keep everybody out and close the school for the day. Experts were brought in to deal with the mess.

My favourite Southbank memory is from when we were all on the same campus. The kindergarten kids would arrive at the door of our classroom at random moments during the week, accompanied by their teachers, declaring “Poetry break!”. We’d stop whatever we were doing and listen to them for a couple of minutes. It created a lovely sense of all being part of the same school community.

It’s hard for me to describe Southbank in three words. I would say, Southbank is a family. There is respect between members of the community. We strive for excellence. 

My most favourite thing about Southbank is teaching Diploma Chemistry, I just love it! It’s why I stayed teaching here for so long. It’s also the thing I’ll miss most when I leave and I will definitely miss my colleagues in the Science department.

To anyone about to begin their Southbank journey, I’d say take advantage of the wonderful opportunities that this unique school provides. Be flexible – the world is changing rapidly, so you need to be adaptable.”

Mike Scammel

Chemistry Teacher, Southbank Westminster

Bon Vent Mike, Once a Southbanker, always a Southbanker!