Tim Setchell 1980-2011 (32 years)

Tim, Mr Setchell, TJS or Setch is a legendary figure to many Manwoodians. His time at Manwood’s stretched over three decades as well as three Headmasters, and he played a central role in many students’ lives, whether that was as Housemaster, Head of RE or in his role in the CCF.

Tim’s early life

Tim was born in 1952 in Bedford and when to Pilgrim Grammar School, with A levels in English, History, Religious Studies and Human Biology with As and a B.

If you know Tim, you’ll be aware of his troublesome left leg, but perhaps not the story behind it. Tim suffered from Perthes’ disease which typically impacts children between the ages of 4 and 12. It meant that the top of his femur crumbled just before Christmas when he was just 11, leaving him in agony as he was rushed to hospital by ambulance. That Christmas was spent in hospital, coping with significant pain. Today’s surgical solutions were not available and so the surgeon told him that he would have to fuse the bones around his hip, which means that Tim has had no working hip joint on his left side since that day.

That set back was one potential reason why Tim came into the world of teaching. When asked by his sixth form careers officer about what occupations he was interested in, Tim told him that he wanted to either be a policeman or chef. A young Tim was left in frustrated tears after he was told, in no uncertain terms that ‘with your leg, you won’t do either.’

 The turning point for Tim’s teaching career was a conversation with his Head of RE who suggested going to Durham University after school. He started with the intention of studying history. ‘I found History fascinating at school and yet at University I found it crushingly boring.’ Instead, he switched to study Theology and Ethics, which Tim felt was ‘more real than any other subject as it’s always about people, and the big questions in life.’ And it was during his time at Durham that he decided to try teaching. He had always liked teachers and thought ‘Perhaps I’ll give teaching a whirl.’

Tim becomes Mr Setchell

After a year of teacher training, Tim’s first teaching job was at Gillingham Technical High School (now Rainham Mark Grammar School) where he spent 4 years, rising to the role of Head of Department. Tim’s switch to Manwood’s came courtesy of a school inspector who suggested him to Howell Griffiths, then the Headmaster at Manwood’s, who rang Tim to talk to him about a vacancy. That conversation must have gone well as the very next day Tim was in Sandwich for an interview and was offered not only the Head of RE but the Housemaster of Headmaster’s House (HMH) boarding. Tim had one condition – that the housemaster’s accommodation needed to be decorated or he wouldn’t come! If you know Tim, you'll know that he was never afraid to speak his mind to Headmasters or Governors and so once that issue was resolved, he ‘never looked back.’

 TJS as Head of RE

Teaching RE was Tim’s first love. In his view, RE was ‘all about real life’ because it focuses the ideas that underpin life, from the day that we are conceived to the day that we die (and beyond!). In fact, when asked by pupils about their exams, he would say that life was the real exam as that’s where they would have to apply the ideas that they had learned about in class. In Tim’s words, teaching was ‘a non-stop highlight’ and he gave it his all. Many Manwoodians will remember his irreverent sense of humours as much as his challenging questions and demand for pupils to really think.

In terms of his own religion, Tim was born into the Church of England but was only a Christmas and Easter Day attender. Later in life he became a Methodist local preacher for 40 years, but ‘I tried to keep my own personal religious views away from the classroom.’

Beyond teaching, Tim set up a number of new traditions for the school that survive to this day. He set up the charity committee. He started the Senior Citizens Christmas lunch and Easter tea, which members of the committee helped to organise. He also set up harvest festivals, which on Tim’s retirement, were carried on by Claire Lupton and then by her successors.

TJS in boarding

Tim arrived in the December of 1979 to take up his role as Housemaster of the Headmaster’s House (HMH) in January 1980. For 24 years he ran HMH and then The Grange alongside a team of tutors and matrons.

Tim in the garden of HMH

Tim loved being a housemaster. ‘A house is only a home if you make it that way’ was his mantra. Looking back, he is sure that many boarders were very happy, although he’s equally sure that some would not have enjoyed the experience. To make that house a home, there were trips at Christmas, 18th birthday parties and dinners cooked by Tim. There were bonfire nights when Tim went off to buy fireworks that would be set off in the garden.  

Being a parent is never easy and being a parent to around 30 young boys magnifies that challenge! In the 1980s there were no courses or manuals to follow and in a boarding house you are not only dealing with those thirty boys, but also their parents who are naturally worried, having entrusted their children to your care. Of course, teenagers also like to test the boundaries! When asked ‘what kept you up at night’ Tim replied ‘I always said to myself – is this typical of what boys get up to at this age? Nearly always, the answer was yes and then it just needed to be sorted out. My main worry was drugs, but I didn’t see much of that. Instead, there were lots of high jinks. For instance, I had a parent ring me one day to talk about their son. I was told that he and his friends had been up on the roof of HMH one night and was asked what I would do about it. My response was - I can’t stay up all night, I can’t wake up at 3am to see if they’re in bed, but if they fall off and die then I will bury them!’

Tim left boarding on two occasions, although one was very temporary. When HMH closed in 1998, some of the parents and boys organised a thank you event in the School Hall, with boarders coming back to Manwood’s from all over the world.

Tim at the lunch to mark the closure of HMH

Tim subsequently moved to The Grange and was housemaster there until 2001. When he finally left boarding, he found the experience very emotional. On his final day, he got into his car and drove out of The Grange in tears, which only stopped as he crossed the toll bridge across The Stour.

TJS and the CCF

Tim always believed in the importance of developing leadership. His view is that ‘leaders do not flock, they come along one at a time – people need to be given the chance to take responsibility and lead by example. That’s what leadership is all about.’ Boarding and the charity committee gave students the chance to lead, as did the CCF band which Tim ran for 25 years. The band were an ever-present part of CCF parades and you can see them in action if you click on this link (you will need to be a member of the OM Facebook group, and if you’re not, this is a great moment to join!

Tim and the CCF band

One particular highlight of CCF was when Tim got to meet the Queen Mother, in her role as the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, when she came to St Clements’ for the dedication of its six bells on 20th May 1990. 

Tim meeting the Queen Mother

Sports Day and leaving Manwood’s

One of Tim’s other responsibilities was firing the starting gun on Sports Day as this rather blurry picture shows. That duty lasted twenty years, until his last summer term. By the age of 59, Tim felt that he could no longer maintain the energy and enthusiasm needed to do the job properly. On his last Sports Day in 2011, he stepped down from his starting gun duties to be able to hand out the prizes. It was at that moment that he finally knew ‘that was it’ and that he would be leaving Manwood’s.

Tim with his starting gun and Manwood’s boater

As the Manwoodian article from that summer put it ‘Pupils will be what he most misses. Judging by the standing ovation that he received in the end of year assembly, the feeling is mutual. He is clearly a loved and respected teacher.’

Setch's retirement

Tim has always loved the theatre, whether that’s musicals or plays. He loves visiting art galleries, playing croquet (he has a croquet pitch on his lawn) and has been a keen sea swimmer. You will not be surprised to hear that he loves company and enjoys cooking dinner for his friends. The Manwoodian article about Tim highlighted two things that he would do immediately after he retired and so I have checked with Tim to see how well he did!

1. Have a well deserved first term off – in those first few months Tim turned down everyone that asked him to take on any responsibility and was able to enjoy some time off.
2. Visit the South of France – he’s managed to do that every year in September since his retirement.

Tim regularly returns to school for events and he continues to travel and stay in touch with many OMs. Most recently (in 2026) Tim took a trip to Tallinn and met up with Ross Allen (OM), the UK’s ambassador to Estonia.

Tim in Tallinn with Ross Allen

Sources: this article draws on the interview that Tim gave to Erin Clague (OM) in 2011 for the Manwoodian as well as a conversation with David Anderson, the School Development Officer, in the summer of 2026.