Brian Pain, Co Founder of the College died in 2026.
When Brian established the College with Simon de Belder in 1984 he created something unusual: a school that took learning seriously but refused to take itself too seriously. He believed that young people thrive when they are trusted, treated as individuals, and allowed the freedom to think for themselves. The qualities that define Rochester Independent College- its creativity, ambition, good humour and intellectual curiosity- come directly from that founding vision.
Those of us who were here in the early days will remember Brian not just as the founder and the boss, but as a brilliant sums teacher, often teaching- or timetabling- in his Maths shed, a space that perfectly captured the spirit of the College: informal, slightly eccentric, and completely focused on learning. In the classroom- and out of it- he could be a demanding but humane taskmaster. He expected hard work, clarity of thought and honesty, but students- and staff- knew that behind the rigour and sometimes scary persona was a consistency of purpose and a deep belief in their potential.
Brian had a healthily robust disregard for institutions and the idea of being a conventional headmaster. Titles and hierarchy mattered little. What mattered was teaching, conversation, and the shared project of building a community. Those who knew him will remember his distinctive loathing of mobile phones, which he saw as an unwelcome distraction from real conversation, real thinking, and real teaching and learning. Several student Nokias may or may not have flown out of the Maths shed window and ended up at the bottom of the garden pond…
He had an extraordinary eye for- and sense of- place. Drawing on his architectural interests, the College campus as we know it today owes much to his imagination and persistence: the careful restoration and development of the buildings, creating a collection of spaces that felt more like a small academic and creative village than an institution. At the centre of that vision were the gardens, which he believed should be at the heart of the College- an essential part of the character of RIC today.
Over the past four decades thousands of students have passed through Rochester Independent College, many of them finding here a place where they could flourish academically and personally in ways they had not elsewhere.
Brian also believed deeply in the development of staff. He encouraged people to grow, to take responsibility, and to find their own voice. Importantly, that commitment extended not only to teachers but equally to support staff, whose contribution to the life of the College he valued just as strongly. Many of us owe a great deal to his encouragement, his trust, and his example. He helped shape not only the College culture but the professional lives and personal values of those who worked here with him.
Over forty years on, the College still carries the imprint of his founding vision, his belief that pigs could really fly... It is something very special, and all of us who are part of RIC today owe him a great deal.
Other members of staff we remember with respect and gratitude are Co Principal Pauline Bailey, Bursar and Cook Helen Harlow, Sociology and Politics teacher Paul Bucknall and Maths teacher Dave Tittensor.
Amongst the most fondly remembered is Art teacher Pete Gowers. Pete was an exceptional artist, both painter and sculptor and teacher of Art at Rochester Independent College for more than 25 years. Pete was an inspiration to generations of students, to local people who attended his popular life drawing classes and to his colleagues at RIC. Our new visual arts centre is named in his memory.
