TRIBUTES have been paid to a former drama teacher who lost her long and brave battle with cancer last Thursday.
Gill Goswell taught in Dorking for 38 years, initially at the Archbishop Langton School in Beare Green before a long and hugely successful career at Ashcombe.
A former colleague, Ian Mellor, remembers: "I recall our arrival at the Ashcombe in 1976 and Gill saying, 'We're at a cutting edge comprehensive now so it calls for a big show. We'll show them'."
The resulting show, Zigger Zagger, was to be the first of 32 major productions staged by Gill.
The success of her shows was based on two principles: each had to have a cast of hundreds supported by a huge number back stage and everyone involved had to pay attention to detail.
Secondly, Gill's approach was to always include everyone, regardless of talent, and she added massive value to the education of all those involved outside of the classroom.
Literally thousands of pupils left school with an inner confidence having been "encouraged" to overcome stage fright by Gill.
Beth Thompson, a former pupil, said: "Gill Goswell gave my self-confidence a boost and generated a lifelong interest in music and the theatre."
Tim Howe, well-known on the Surrey music scene, agreed. "I was fortunate enough to get involved in Miss Goswell's rock operas as soon as I joined Ashcombe in the late 1970s," he said.
"I will be eternally grateful for the encouragement she gave me in getting my first band The Jerks off the ground and not dismissing somebody determined not to follow a regular career path."
Evan Davis, presenter of BBC show Dragon's Den and Radio Four's Today programme, added: "Gill Goswell was one of those teachers whose influence stays with you for years beyond your time at school.
"She made many of us feel grown up and important and, in doing so, gave us the confidence to perform on stage year after year. I know that helped to shape my career, and those of many others."
Her excellence in the classroom was acknowledged when she was runner-up in the Teacher of the Year Award in 2003.
After her retirement in 2010, her interest in the arts caused her to join the Dorking Decorative and Fine Arts Society, becoming the young arts co-ordinator.
To share these memories, the Ashcombe School and her many friends are planning a celebration of her life.
Like her many shows, it will have a cast of thousands.
Andy Thompson
