The Luke family connection to the Dragon dates back to 1978, when Jolyon (OD 1978) joined the school, followed by his brothers Tim (OD 1980) and Chris (OD 1983). Chris then went on to create full Dragon family, after marrying his wife Therese (Current staff) who joined the Dragon team in 2008, quickly followed by the additions of two Dragon daughters Maddie (OD 2013) and Cate (OD 2015).
Prior to the family completing our questions, we spoke to Therese to ask her what about the Dragon motivated her to join the school.
Therese Luke ‘It was because of the brother’s storytelling of Dragon spirit that I knew the Dragon was the place for me. The Dragon was everything I believed education should be, having fun, doing well and being happy. When I became a teacher and my girls had started, I was thrilled at the opportunity to work here and after 17 years I can truly say I have loved and continue to love every minute of it.’
The Lukes also tell us that Dragon values and traditions are very much a part of their everyday family life, which you will see below. A ‘before lights out’ motto from the boarding days of 1978 have stuck to this day and continue to do so…samajyp samajyp, ythgin ythgin.
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My time at the Dragon School in three words
Tim: Very happy times
Chris: Fun, Fab, Fiery
Jolyon: Scruffy, Sporty, Fun
Catherine: An absolute whirlwind.
Maddie: An academic Neverland.
When I was a young Dragon, I wanted to be
Tim: Not sure I thought about it then
Chris: Warzone reporter
Jolyon: Rockstar
Catherine: A singer
Maddie: Author or a Princess
The superpower I wish I had
Tim: Flying
Chris: Flying
Jolyon: Flying
Catherine: Time Travel
Maddie: To fly
Eggy or marbles? Squares or Pin? Snakes or Rubix Cube?
Tim: Marbles and conkers, so much fun!
Chris: Marbles – I won a Jumbo Emperor Super Spiral on a shye in the playground. Gold in glass form! No idea where it went.
Jolyon: Marbles
Catherine: Eggy, Squares, Diablo, Conkers
Maddie: Eggy
My inspiration growing up
Tim: My friends at the Dragon, PJ Wilson, Ma Volak, Desmond Devitt, Mr. Frith, Ma Volak kickstarted my ability to learn and to study in Lower 9
Chris: Splash & Mr Frith – 2 Dragon legends // and my big bros – Jol looked like Jim Morrison & Tim was in the Dragon’s first band – High Voltage
Jolyon: Jim Morrison
Catherine: My grandmother
Maddie: Daphne de Maurier (I wanted to be able to write like her)
At the top of my bucket list
Tim: Marbles
Chris: It was always creeping out of a School House window after midnight and stealing a punt // Now maybe going to Antarctica.
Jolyon: A stadium gig for my daughter.
Catherine: Travelling around Fiji in a mini van.
Maddie: Travelling South America
My most memorable moment at the Dragon
Tim: Lots of things…playing in School Musicals, playing in the band High Voltage, playing soccer insider and outside the Rink with friends, tennis in the IAPS tournaments.
Chris: Messing around on the river bank // Winning the rugby for Norham (the school was split in 4 back then like Hogwarts – far more important than any other matches // playing British Bulldogs with the whole school – absolutely insane adrenaline rush!
Jolyon: The death of Sid Vicious
Catherine: I feel as though I remember it all like it was yesterday but my favourite memory was when I got to sing in Venice on the choir trip. I had never been before and we went from chapel to chapel singing in the most magical venues. It was my birthday whilst we were there and it snowed for the first time in March there for 60 years!
Maddie: Watching Mr White playing the dame in the staff pantomime in a pair of green tights or trying to play ‘it’ in the Forum without getting told off for running.
My biggest achievement
Tim: Really?
Chris: Sneaking out of School House at midnight obviously // But honestly, my daughters (both Dragons) and meeting my wife in Madrid who has put up with me and now works at, you’ve guessed it, the Dragon. I never influenced her but she just loves the ethos of the school. We have the whole school photo of 1977 which has me, Jol and Tim and below it we have the whole school photo of 2010 which has Therese, Maddie (OD 2013) and Cate (OD 2015) in it. The older one is fading already, but it makes all the Lukes very happy to have this timeless, generational connection to the school.
Jolyon: Staying married for 30 years and having 3 great children.
Catherine: I was lucky enough to be the president of my university’s A Cappella group where we competed in the International Collegiate competition or A Cappella and performed consecutive years at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This was the most rewarding experience as I got to sing and I got to do this with amazing people in amazing places.
Maddie: My master’s dissertation- a rewriting of an Argentinian play in four different ways and was the best grade I received in my whole academic career.
The advice I would give to my younger self
Tim: Fully appreciate what a remarkable environment you are in
Chris: Do everything, say yes to everything, be yourself, be kind, don’t overthink and, if you’re ever being a little over-adventurous, don’t get caught!
Jolyon: Be bold/brave, call out the bullies and don’t take yourself too seriously
Catherine: Ask the question and take the step- until you ask or try it you’ll never know.
Maddie: To be yourself and not care so much what other people think.
In one sentence, what does it mean to be a Dragon?
Tim: Feel so very lucky to have been a Dragon, such a wonderful set of values, a joyful ethos that questioned convention and embrace learning and curiosity.
Chris: A Dragon needs to be a little scruffy, maybe a little cocky but very thoughtful. It’s exactly what Skipper said 100 years ago. We don’t do anything because others tell us to do it. We do the right thing, we stick up for the underdog, we have our own opinion. We make the world a better place.
Jolyon: Informal excellence.
Catherine: Being a Dragon is something that never leaves you. It means courage, kindness, unity, a lot of wit!
Maddie: To be kind, well-rounded and to be someone who appreciates how lucky they are by seizing the amazing opportunities in front of them.
Bonus question: What comes next? Nighty, Nighty, Pyjama, Pyjama,…,…
Tim: Hmmm…
Chris: Samajyp Samayjyp, Ythgin Ythgin – in our family it’s Pyjamas – plural!!! If this is the wrong reference then apologies!
Jolyon: Beverley hairbrush?
Catherine: samajyp, samajyp, ythgin ythgin
Maddie: samajyp samajyp, ythgin ythgin
Since my Dragon days …
Tim: Living in New York but frequently home to Oxfordshire and to Oxford and fortunate to have some amazing Dragons of varied generations remaining central to life.
Chris: I never made it as a War Reporter. I did work at CNN briefly but I wasn’t sure I trusted the way news was reported and so I switched to sport programming. And so I’ve spent 30 years making sports programmes instead of wearing a flak jacket. It’s been a privilege and often felt like doing my hobby rather than working for a living. I have met amazing people and been to far-flung places. I’ve worked on FIFA World Cups, loads of motorsport, tennis and everything in between. This summer I’m working at the Henley Royal Regatta. I was always a cricketer and a slack bob (as it was known at Eton) i.e a tennis player, so my rowing experience started with my daughters. Cate came second at the Dragon Regatta a few years ago and Maddie then went on to row at Henley. I’ll be asking them to write my scripts! Be charming, be thoughtful, be creative, be balanced, be diligent. These are the skills I was lucky enough to learn at The Dragon and I use them all now. Arduus Ad Solem.
Jolyon: Went to Eton, travelled the world, learnt French, qualified as a lawyer, worked as an investment banker – today I run BNP Paribas’ UK financial services business and live in Notting Hill with my wife Kirsty and 3 children Dylan, Josh and Iona.
Catherine: I have experienced so much. From the incredible highs to the occasional academic lows of secondary school to the friends and memories I made at university! I am now working in London in property and have had the most unbelievable time through it all! And I’m still singing all the time – if Dragon taught me anything it was to grind and just embrace everything life throws at you.
Maddie: I only moved down the road after Dragon to St Edward’s with a load of other Dragons and continued to make the most of the passion I had grown for sport, art and music. With my mum teaching at the Dragon, I was back there all the time if I couldn’t convince her to meet me in Summertown to buy me a hot chocolate at Gail’s. At Teddies, I already knew all the lyrics for Jerusalem from belting it so many times at Dragon so chapel services were a breeze. My time there was taken up with rowing and academics which I took forward to university at Exeter where I studied English and Spanish. I then spent a year in Madrid during the Covid pandemic teaching in a primary school. Life there was almost normal and I met some incredible people from all over the world. I finished my degree and went on to study for a master’s in Literary Translation at Warwick. I took rowing up again and raced in their top VIII for the year. Now I work in London at RCW Literary Agency in the Foreign Rights department, representing many amazing authors to international publishers to get their work translated into other languages. Some of our authors have even made appearances at Author’s Corner at the Dragon Sale. I still see some of my OD friends in London and just this week I went to an exhibition with a couple of my oldest friends who I befriended in E-Block over a game of eggy.
Would you like to take a ‘walk down Dragon Lane’? Please get in touch with the Development team; we’d love to hear from you.
