TRIBUTE: A stylish French teacher who inspired Bruce Oldfield

A FORMER RGS teacher described by celebrated fashion designer Bruce Oldfield as ‘the embodiment of Gallic chic’ has died aged 93.

Terry Howstan, who taught at Ripon Girls’ High School and RGS for 26 years retired as head of modern languages in 1984.

Born in Monk Seaton in 1930, she was educated at Richmond Girls’ High School before attending University College, Hull.

She taught French at Manning School in Nottingham and spent a year in France before returning to Yorkshire in 1958, where she lived in Ripon and Harrogate.

In his autobiography, Oldfield said of her: “French was taught by the glamorous Miss Howstan, perfectly coiffed, svelte in her elegant suits with perfectly matched handbags and shoes.

“I recall that either she had hundreds of pairs of spectacles, or she used interchangeable trims because she always seemed co-ordinated from top to toe. To me, this was the embodiment of Gallic chic.”

At RGS, Miss Howstan enjoyed tennis, badminton and helping backstage at school productions in addition to taking on the role of track recorder at sports days.

She also took students on school trips, particularly delighted to return to Provence with a school party in 1961, and travelled extensively in Europe, enjoying one or two holidays abroad every year from the age of 15 once the war ended.

A retirement notice in the RGS school magazine of 1984 said: "Many pupils will always be grateful for her dedication to her subject, working patiently with those who found the subject difficult and spurring on the more academic to achieve success.

"In her quiet way, she contributed much to the life of the school."

Miss Howstan enjoyed Scottish dancing, taking it up when she was a student in 1949 and continuing to dance regularly until she was 82. A keen theatre goer, she also enjoyed opera and musicals and read a great deal, amassing a large collection of books.