Trustees: Barry Drake

Barry Drake
Position: Vice-Chairperson of BFMT and Public Relations Manager
Work: Director of Guidance, Head of Residences, Head of Humanities at LPCUWC 1992-08
Head of Secondary School, Chinese International School, Hong Kong. 1998-present.
Interim Headmaster, Chinese International School, Hong Kong. 2001-02

Barry worked with Blair between 1994 and 1998 at the LPCUWC and for the last few years acted as his Deputy. The relationship between Barry and Blair developed over the years from one of mutual professional respect to one combining respect with real friendship. As Barry noted at Blair's funeral:

There was much to admire in Blair's approach to life: his "was no 'woolly eyed idealist'. He was a pragmatist who sought real world solutions to complex problems. He was not one to accept platitudes or allow 'current conventional wisdom' to go unchallenged but was passionate in his desire to find a way to successfully implement the United World College mission here in Hong Kong in the home of conspicuous consumerism. Blair was, for the most part a very private person, whose personal philosophy and behaviour were underpinned by a strong, confident, moral code . . . A thoughtful and sensitive individual Blair had an outstanding capacity for incisive analytical thought and it was such skills that allowed him to provide the leadership that has taken Li Po Chun to the position of prominence in international education that it holds today. This has not been an easy exercise. Blair found, like others before him, major challenges and it was a real measure of his tenacity and negotiating skills that he stuck doggedly to the task. As a result Blair's legacy is a successful synthesis of a United World College with Chinese characteristics, which can provide a valuable model for others in the IB and UWC movements to follow . . . Blair was a very good man to work for. Scrupulously honest, fair, transparent and plain speaking. You always knew where you were with Blair.

Barry had been a member of the Christina Noble Children's Foundation Executive Committee in Hong Kong and worked with a number of other Charities including Operation Tabitha in Cambodia. Given his close friendships with Blair and Wendy he was delighted to be invited to become a Trustee of the BFMT and later become the Chairperson of the UK and HK branch in 2010. His dynamism, enthusiasm and expertise in the field of education have enabled the Trust to be where it is today.