05/06/2020
Remembering Mr. Simon Ashley Spencer - Founding Head of King Henry VIII College (KH8)
This was a very saddening grieving week for the entire KH8 community. Mr. Simon Ashley Spencer, our Founding Head and our respected leader, passed away on the morning of May 31st in Cyberjaya, Malaysia. KH8 is bidding farewell to an incredibly great and inspirational figure to all members of the staff & students.
Mr. Spencer graduated from the University of Bristol in 1982, with a degree in English, having been educated for 7 years before that at our sister school, Christ College Brecon. In 1985, Simon returned to his alma mater to teach, and this was where he was appointed as a Housemaster at the age of 26.
Together with his wife, Felicity Kilpatrick, who at that time was the Head of Learning Strategies at Christ College, they looked after two boarding houses at the school. In December 2015, Simon accepted the position of Founding Head of King Henry VIII College. He left Christ College in 2016 to work on the KH8 project in Malaysia.
Mr. Spencer was a very caring person who would never miss his daily routines in cordially greeting students, and members of the staff everyday. His warm and sincere approach had made everyone who knows him feel important, and acknowledged at the school. His presence would dearly be a miss for everyone now.
Mr. Spencer lived an incredible and admirable life. We knew him as a faithful family man, a loyal and trusted friend, a wise and compassionate leader, and certainly the visionary for KH8. He will not be forgotten but dearly missed and profoundly remembered. Despite the fact that Mr. Spencer is no longer with us today, the traits and values that he inculcated in us will remain. We are very thankful to him for his impact influence on us.
We at the KH8 are among the thousands of people of whom he had acquainted with. His passing is indeed too shocking and sudden to all of us. We lost a great friend, and a leader. We will need time to heal from such sorrow.
Let us bid him farewell as we mourn the loss of a lively, dignified soul. A soul that brought joy and fulfilment to many, and whose legacy will live on forever. @ Kajang, Malaysia