Remembering Mr Fry
Many people go into teaching to make a difference to the lives of young people, but few can claim to have had the impact of Derek Fry, teacher of physics and astronomy at The Grammar School at Leeds, who continued to teach until his sudden death aged 77. A much loved teacher here at GSAL (and formerly Leeds Grammar School) for over 30 years and prior to that for nearly 20 years at Mirfield Grammar then Mirfield High School, Derek was also a Fellow of both the Royal Astronomical Society and the Institute of Physics.
It’s impossible to do justice to someone who taught thousands of students over their career and who had a positive impact on everyone he met, however, we have created a collection of materials in an effort to prolong the legacy of Mr Fry:
Mr Fry’s memorial service
- Memorial Service in full
- Order of Service
- Excerpt from The Spangled Heavens by Lawrence Edwards
- Mr Fry’s message to current and former pupils
Mr Fry’s obituary in:
Mr Fry in the news:
- Dr Sam Cohen dedicates the 2017 Mark Bailey Lecture to Mr Fry and watch it here.
- Mr Fry is recognised by the Royal Astronomical Society
- Dr D’Vali’s and Mr Fry’s GCSE astronomy student finishes in the top 12 nationally
- Astronomy prize dedicated to former star pupil
- Mr Fry immortalised in bronze
Mr Fry’s last appearance
Mr Fry took part in GSAL’s 10th Birthday film project last year, and sadly this was the last time he was captured on film. You can watch the full film footage below and learn about who inspired Mr Fry, hear some of his famous sayings and enjoy his anecdotes (for younger viewers, Alan Ladd was a 1940s American film star!)
Mr Fry’s final piece of board work
Mr Fry was well known for his beautifully drawn graphs, here’s a photograph of the last one he created before the Easter holidays. The date on the board is a reference to the last time he labelled a graph incorrectly!
Request a memento
Whilst Mr Fry was rather camera shy we have managed to find a few images from our archives and along with some of his legendary worksheets we have created a series of postcards. Please email alumni@gsal.org.uk if you would like one.
Mr Fry’s Legacy
A memorial fund set up in memory of Mr Fry enabled us to create a free to access resource featuring many of his worksheets. To view the collection please click here.