Geoffrey Steel needed a strong foundation in mathematics, and in teaching, long before he ever hit a high school classroom.
Geoffrey was raised in England and later attended McMaster University. He served with the British Royal Army Service Corps in France,was evacuated from Dunkirk, then transferred to the RAF. He took fighter pilot instruction in Kingston, then trained in Goderich as a navigation instructor. There, and as an instructor at Mount Hope until 1944, applied mathematics was key. At the end of the war Geoffrey was sent to England as a Flight Captain for bomber aircraft.
Despite all that training and experience, Geoffrey says he really learned to teach once he got into classrooms filled with returning veterans after the war. His Ontario career took him to Hillfield School (later Hillfield Strathallan College) in Hamilton. He also worked with University of Waterloo mathematics contest problems committees, and was a marker for Grade 13 departmental exams.
Geoffrey’s other pursuits include cadets, coaching, drama and music. He has been an integral part of a wide selection of theatre and choral projects in Hamilton over the years.