Tom Hume, who has died of a cardiac arrest aged 81, was an inspirational head of art at Middlesbrough high school from 1971 until 1990, the happiest years of his teaching career. Past pupils, of whom I was one, talk of the unconventional atmosphere he created in the art block – a record player was a key element and Tom would put on his pupils’ favourite albums. He provided the ideal conditions for students to thrive and many achieved good exam results.
He was stylish: he drove a Citroën Dyane, occasionally wore white clogs and colourful outfits, trendy perhaps, but admired by colleagues and pupils alike. He either drew or painted every day, and there was a major exhibition of his work at Billingham art gallery in 1976. When a heart attack at the age of 48 curtailed his teaching career, Tom turned to regular painting in his studio in Durham, where he lived in an 18th-century clergy house on the banks of the Wear.
