Mr Howard became head in my second year at QM. He commanded respect and the highest of standards . He was fiercely protective of the school and it was a source of constant amusement when in a Monday assembly he would provide elaborate excuses as to why the first XV unexpectedly lost at the weekend ‘ the wind changed direction at half time ‘ being a particular favourite of mine. The ‘highlight’ of my QM career , was without doubt a telephone call that I received in Mid June 1985 , when I had escaped from my A level trials to partake in the club 18-30 UK experience in Bognor!  Summonsed to the public phone box in reception I was berated at great lengths as to why I wasn’t captaining the 1st XI cricket team , my protestations that I had cleared it with several senior staff fell on deaf ears . Sitting in his study on my return , having hastily recovered my uniform from the rubbish , he spoke to me with passion and compassion and my fear soon turned to a genuine belief that he cared deeply about me and my future. His ‘teaching’ style was …

I only met Mr Howard in his later years, but I always got the impression that he was a true gentleman and a devoted husband.  His contribution to the development of Queen Mary’s helped to lay the solid foundations upon which the School is built.  Mr Howard will live on in the history of Queen Mary’s and we will continue to acknowledge the personal sacrifices that he made for the good of this community.  Judy McCoy …

You have in your life, a handfull of people that truly make a difference to you.  For me, that person was MY headmaster Keith Howard. He was an amazing man, the ability to instil fear in you if you did wrong, the charisma to really engage you genuinely.  He possessed such a warm side, that would and could empathise with you and give you a sense of he believed in you.  I struggled in the first year of joining QM, I’m not ashamed  to say. By the end of that year, many of my teachers had lost hope in me including my year master.  I was called into his office after he had a meeting with me parents.  He was sat at his desk with a cup of tea, and said in his firm voice .. Thiru what are we to do with you? I’m blessed,  he took me under his wing, even taught me French, as I was in the D set, I think he was determined to prove all his students were capable of achieving,  his teaching got me an A at GCSE and A level from being the kid who got 7% in his first years exam. …

Mr Howard was one of the most influential people I met in my life. I will be forever indebted for the invaluable life lessons he taught me. He will portrayed all the values of Queen Mary’s Grammar School and in my eyes was everything Queen Mary’s Grammar School stood for. Never forgotten   Quas dederis solas semper habebis opes …

Awfully sad news. Mr Howard (I never could address him as Keith, despite prompts) always had my back though I never knew this at the time. I’m so glad we spoke about this and i could thank him for that years later. Always respected him, was one of the first positive male figures in my life, again I never knew this at the time. The wonders of hindsight, knowledge and experience. That ‘phone call to my home back in the day “you haven’t done as well in your exams as we’d all have hoped, pop a suit on and be in my study tomorrow morning”. He got my me first break, got me my first interview and to this day I continue along that path. Mr Howard didn’t have to do this, his pastoral care of and for me had expired. I have the highest fondness and utmost respect for Mr Howard and I owe him a great deal. I believe in fate and destiny and perhaps this was given to me by Mr Howard. His one act of kindness in calling me that day certainly altered the course of my life and for the better. The world is …

It is with great sadness that I heard today of Keith Howard’s passing.  I owe a huge amount to my formative years at the School and know that everything about the Queen Mary’s that I experienced was driven by Mr Howard’s personal values, standards, energy and inspiration.  His style was more formal than is perhaps de rigueur today; awe inspiring, frightening at times but always a shining beacon of what is right.  We could all still learn a great deal from his example.   Rest in peace, Sir. …

It’s a little difficult to pay tribute to Keith Howard in a few words, such was his presence and influence at QM. He was a polymath who threw himself into leading the school, seeking to develop the potential of all those who passed through QMGS’s doors. He had high standards and expected his pupils (and staff!) to do their best to emulate them. He encouraged and supported – be that by teaching those who took some time to get their heads around the irregular French verb; singing in the choir; turning up to Joint Orchestra concerts; standing on the touchline; attending CCF parades and a whole host of other things. While a formidable presence, he was also a kind, compassionate man, as others have already noted. He will be sorely missed, but his legacy will endure through the generations of Marians whose development he did so much to shape. My condolences to his family. …

Mr Howard appointed me to my first teaching job, starting at QM in 1989. I knew I’d like the school; it was similar to the one I’d attended and I could see that he espoused what you might call ‘good old-fashioned grammar school values’, which suited me. He actually gave me a telling-off before I’d even started work – I’d attended for interview in suit and tie, of course, but when I was invited to come and look around a couple of weeks after I’d been appointed, I thought a pullover would be acceptable. Apparently not: “The approach here is formal, Mr Cox, and members of staff wear jackets.” Things did get better, though, and the two years I spent at QM under his leadership gave me the perfect grounding to a teaching career. I remember a First Year (Yr 7) rugby coaching session too: he said he’d come out to run the rule over the boys but I more than half-suspect that I was being evaluated too. He had an excellent pass – firm, into the midriff, present your hip to the tackler – and I made sure I was safe under the high ball that day. I …

Although I had left QM a couple of years before Keith Howard’s appointment our paths crossed fairly frequently through QMC meetings and school functions. He was a good old fashioned headmaster who ruled with a rod of iron and was affectionately known by many as The Ayatollah! He chaired meetings effectively and always had time to listen to an opposing point of view. But behind this seemingly stern exterior was a very kind and compassionate man. This was demonstrated  beautifully when he came to visit my father  (John Dickson) when he was dying of cancer and then subsequently closed the school to enable all the staff and pupils to attend his funeral. Our family were deeply touched by this gesture which made the celebration of my father’s life so much more special and the rousing sound of hundreds of male voices singing very moving. Rest in everlasting peace Keith. …

Throughout the years that I spent teaching at QM (1974-2007), as Director of Music, Keith Howard probably saw and heard some of the finest performances and musicians whilst he was Headmaster, particularly during the 1980’s. This was, of course, no mere coincidence, for he himself was a fine performer, an attribute he passed down to his family and to his wider family of QM. He did it by example and by taking part, at all hours of the day: he showed through his enthusiasm the enjoyment that music and other disciplines can bring. This was his way of living and he wanted others to have the opportunity to enjoy life to the full. I was forever grateful for his help and active approach, and I know others have been too. In May 1982 the Chamber Choir gave a concert in Barmouth to a packed church: a few days later we gave the same concert in Wolverhampton to an audience of 4 men and a dog! Keith took part in both performances and sang the baritone solo in the Fauré Requiem – professional performances: magnificent recordings exist of both. At the end of this September, Geoff Weaver, a college musician …