The school was very sad to hear news that Rob Dundas has passed away. Mr Dundas worked on the site team at Balcarras from 2007 to 2017. He also led Badminton in the school until September last year.

Rob was incredibly hard working and used his knowledge as a builder to great affect for the school. He always had a superb relationship with his colleagues and nothing was ever too much trouble. You knew that if you asked Mr Dundas to do something it would be done without fail. For a long time he also organised the school’s cleaning where his skills as an organiser and manager came to the fore.

Under Rob’s leadership Balcarras became one of the leading schools nationally for badminton. In 2018 he took a team to the National Badminton Finals in Milton Keynes where they finished 6th. He was an inspirational coach, but his real skill was to encourage an enjoyment and love for the sport. I remember him once saying to me that the most important thing was to ‘get the kids playing.’ Once they were hooked then Rob would bring them on with some expert advice and guidance. The last time I saw him was at a special ceremony we had in February to recognise his contribution to sport in the school.

Rob was a warm, generous man with a big heart and a lovely sense of humour. The pupils he coached had great affection for him. That affection is shared by those of us who worked alongside him for so many years.  

We pass our sincere condolences on to his family and particularly to Nigel, Simon and Debbie who are all Balcarras alumni.

Dominic Burke