It is with great sadness that the school is sharing the news that Alex Pepe, a former teacher at Coleridge, passed away on Friday 28th March. Alex had been fighting Burkitt lymphoma with great strength and bravery, for the past year. He passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family at home. He was 33 years old.

Alex’s family shared this post on social media:

Our beautiful, brave, and brilliant Alexander left us to dance with the angels last night with the sun shining, surrounded by his family at home.

Although his time with us was cut short, his infectious smile, inspirational gift for teaching, positive energy, mesmerising dance moves, and unwavering strength will last for eternity.

Alex worked at Coleridge from 2011 until 2018 teaching in Years 4, 5 and 6. He will be remembered as a truly inspirational teacher who loved his job and cared deeply for his students. Alex was incredibly popular with both children and their families – everyone wanted to be in Mr Pepe’s class!

Alex had a unique ability to see the potential in every child. He understood the importance of nurturing children in order to help them to flourish and to feel positive about who they are and what they could achieve. His classes always supported one another, as Alex taught them how to work as a team and instilled a spirit of togetherness.

Alex always championed children who, at times, found school very challenging, never giving up on them. After leaving Coleridge, it is no surprise that he went on to work with children who were out of the mainstream education system, supporting them to learn and preparing them for life.

His impact on so many children’s lives has been huge. Not only did Alex help children to learn and prepare for secondary school, he also demonstrated his individual talents as a director of the school play for many years, where he took great pride in drawing the very best performance out of each child. Alex accompanied Year 6 children on their PGL trip a number of times. He comforted home-sick children; encouraged nervous students to face their fears and led the dancing at the end-of-the-week disco with a great deal of enthusiasm!

The staff at Coleridge loved Alex dearly. He has remained a close friend to many of us here and we are heartbroken by his passing. As difficult as the news has been, we have found comfort in sharing videos, photos and memories of Alex’s time at the school. These include Alex’s famous dance moves, which were showcased at various staff parties; his brilliant singing in the teacher’s band and of course, his love of inexplicably short shorts, even in the depths of winter!

We understand that many people will have their own special memories of Alex, so we’d love for former students, parents and anyone who knew Alex to share their memories here. These will be shared with Alex’s family.

Alex and his family have been raising money for the charity ‘Children with Cancer UK’ since Alex was diagnosed last year. The current amount raised is over £17,000! If you would like to make a donation, you can do so by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/john-pepe. 

With our warmest wishes,
The Coleridge Primary staff team.