My father, David Hale, who has died aged 80, devoted his life to teaching mathematics. His first appointment was in 1959 at the newly-opened Thomas Bennett school in the new town of Crawley, Sussex, and he remained working in state education throughout his life.
After several years teaching mathematics in Crawley, he moved to Derbyshire as head of mathematics at Glossop school, where he was active both as area president of the National Union of Teachers and in the local Labour party. In 1970 he left for a lectureship in teacher training at Nottingham University at an interesting time for mathematics in schools, with slide rules and log tables beginning to make way for calculators. David was quick to take advantage of the new opportunities this presented to inspire children in mathematics.
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