Bill Richardson, MBEAuthor(s): Adam McBrideSource: Mathematics in School, Vol. 28, No. 1, Special Scottish Issue (Jan., 1999), p. 14Published by: The Mathematical AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30211950 .

Accessed: 06/04/2014 16:50

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

The Mathematical Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access toMathematics in School.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 100.2.40.176 on Sun, 6 Apr 2014 16:50:48 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Bill Richardson, MBE

For this special issue of Mathematics in School which surveys the mathematical scene in Scotland, it would be hard to find a more appropriate person to profile than Bill Richardson. Various aspects of school mathematics in Scotland are described elsewhere in these pages and Bill has been involved in most ofthem. He has been a member ofthe Scottish Mathematical Council and is still actively involved in the production of its journal. He is Principal Examiner for the five Mathematics papers in the Certifi- cate of Sixth Year Studies. He was a member of the Higher Still Specialist Group on Mathematics. On the UK-wide scene he is Chairman of the Senior Challenge Subtrust of the United Kingdom Mathe- matics Trust, responsible for the UK Senior Mathematical Challenge held every year in November. Then there is his huge contribution to The Mathematical Association, recognized by his election as President in 1996/7. He was instrumental in setting up the Scottish Interests Subcommittee of the MA, without which this special issue of Mathematics in School would probably not have existed.

Bill is an enthusiast for Mathematics. He has been Principal Teacher of Mathematics at Elgin Academy for over 25 years, during which time thousands of pupils have had their appetite for the subject whetted. The Pop Maths Roadshow rolled into Elgin in 1990. Every year there is a Christmas Lecture when 250-300 senior pupils come in from neighbouring schools to listen to a guest speaker. Bill loves being in the classroom and has resisted the temptation to become a senior manager or bureaucrat.

On a hill above Elgin there is a house which contains a mathematical production-line of remarkable proportions, one aspect of which is desk-top publishing The Mathematical Gazette. Perhaps being nearer the North Pole, that part of the country has more hours per day than the rest of us have. How else can Bill do so much work? To the great delight of his many friends, Bill was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in June 1998. Perhaps that could mean Mathematician with Boundless Energy or Maestro of the Burgh of Elgin. In any event, we can be sure that Bill will continue to keep his "empire" in good shape.

Adam McBride University of Strathclyde

14 Mathematics in School, January 1999

This content downloaded from 100.2.40.176 on Sun, 6 Apr 2014 16:50:48 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions