With great sadness, we report that Mr Alan George, former St Joseph’s College PE teacher and rugby coach, has died at the age of 71 following a stroke. Mr George first worked as a PE teacher at Oakhill in the early 1970s. He later moved on to the senior school, where he was instrumental in setting up the St Joseph’s College National Rugby Festival, which has become a leading annual event in schools’ rugby.
Mr George and his former wife, Carolyn, were married in the College Chapel and spent the first year of their married life in Gate Cottage, when Alan was a housemaster. They remained devoted friends. Just as constant was Mr George’s passion for rugby, which never waned.
He went on to become Director of Rugby at Sheffield Hallam Men’s Rugby Union
Expressing her sympathy and praising Mr George’s foresight and ambition for the game, Mrs Clarke, Principal of St Joseph’s College, said the Festival had played a pivotal role in the journey to adulthood for boys over the past three decades.
‘I know how this sport bonds boys, families and the whole community together – we are very grateful to those who led the way with Rugby as it is has benefitted literally hundreds in so many different ways,’ she said.
Mr George leaves four children, Bryony, Huw, Anna and Tom, seven grandchildren and two step grandchildren. He was immensely proud of them all.
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