Popular Londonderry teacher's legacy lives on through bursary

Former St. Columb's College teacher, Patricia Hughes died suddenly in 2016. Photograph: Derry Journal

"For me, she came across as very approachable; she came across as very supportive and even though she didn't teach me, it was amazing that I was able to know her."

Patricia Hughes was a caring, passionate and hugely popular English teacher at St Columb's College in Londonderry.

The 55-year-old's sudden death in June 2016 had a profound effect on many, including her students and family.

In 2018 on her second anniversary, Patricia's family launched a bursary scheme in her name to ensure all students have an equal chance at receiving a third-level education based on merit, not their financial background.

Former student Billy Quigley was the first recipient of the bursary in 2019. He said the loss of Ms Hughes was felt around the school.

"For months afterwards it wasn't the same," Billy told BBC News NI.

"You know everybody - because there are lots of different kinds of people at the college - everybody was shocked."

Billy said Ms Hughes was always that familiar face, there to help

Billy said he found it overwhelming when he first joined St Columb's College, making the change from primary school to secondary, but that Patricia helped him through it.

"It was nice to see a familiar face in the crowd as you're passing," he said.

"If I ever needed anything I was always able to stop and ask her for help. Or even if you got lost - that was very common... especially in first year."

As a child, Patricia Hughes was close to her sister, Mary Delargy - only one year separated the two.

Mary said Patricia's loss is still felt by the family

Mary told BBC News NI that her sister's death is still a "huge loss" in her life.

"I still miss her to this day, it's still very difficult," she said.

"It had a terrible effect on our family because it was very sudden.

"I have two brothers and I am very fond of them but I was very close to Patricia. I mean this was the girl who the night before my First Confession provided me with a list of all the crimes I'd committed against her."

Mary said she and Patricia were always close, both growing up and in their adult life

After her death, Mary said their family wanted to do something in Patricia's memory, that also reflected her love for teaching.

The £4,000 Patricia Hughes Bursary Scheme was born and is available for students who receive Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA). The money can go towards funding their first year in university.

Mary says Patricia tried to look out for those less fortunate or who needed an extra bit of help

Small gestures

Mary said Patricia was "passionate about teaching and loved the boys she taught" throughout her 25 years at St Columb's.

"She saw them as individuals, she really was interested not just in what they were doing at school, not just in how they were getting on in their exams but in their lives in general," Mary said.

"She had a particularly soft spot for anybody who had any difficulties in their lives.

"I think, because she'd grown up herself in a very secure family, she saw that there were people who didn't have the same opportunities as she'd had, that she would always have looked out for them.

"My son used to joke, too, that the minute he finished school any year she had the uniform whipped off him, washed and left aside for somebody whose parents couldn't afford to buy them one.

"She would always have been like that - it was a lot of small things not big gestures but small things most of which we didn't know anything about until after her death."

Billy Quigley used the bursary to help him complete a Media degree. He is now employed in an IT security job in Belfast.

"I wasn't working while I was studying," he said.

"I wanted to focus on my studies and that bursary definitely helped me to ease some of the load and I do think Miss Hughes would be very supportive of that."

Nurtured students

The principal of St Columb's College, Finbar Madden, said that for almost 25 years, Patricia Hughes walked the school corridors nurturing many students until they left to start a new chapter in their lives.

Finbar Madden says Patricia was always there to nurture students during their time at St Columb's

"Academically, Patricia was an outstanding teacher and taught the boys brilliantly, she was a real lover of her subject which was English," Madden said.

"But she was so much more than that. It was the person and how she engaged with students and staff and how she cared for them, how she nurtured them, how she was there for them, that's really what I see her legacy as being.

"And whilst she's not here to carry that on in person, we would certainly hope that we're carrying it on in her name."

For a young man starting out on his own professional career, Billy Quigley certainly agrees with that assessment of Patricia Hughes and the impact of the bursary.

"She was always very supportive and always very approachable and always very understanding. And I think that's a very perfect example of her legacy," he said.