Kensington Relived: with Crisitán Pubill Tocornal '77

Welcome to our Kensington Relived Series where we chat to former Kensington School students. For our second interview of the series, meet former pupil, Cristian.

Screenshot 2021 01 07 at 10 01 11

Cristian Pubill's sense of humour shines through the computer screen as he sits in his home in Chile with his dog 'Donno' on his knee chatting to us. We talk all about his time at Kensington. How wonderful it is to hear about the school's atmosphere and educational experience all those years ago.

"The most impressive thing about the school was Mr Giles, I mean he was fantastic. He was such a character, he was so motivating. I remember getting my driving license when I turned 18 and my father used to lend me his car to go to school, obviously Mr Giles didn't like that! He told me to park the car very far away from school because he didn't want other children to see me driving a car to school!"

It is clear the late Mr Edward Paul Giles made a lasting impression on all students who attended Kensington during his time there. It is heartwarming to listen to the memories Cristian made during his time with us.

Thank you Cristian, we are delighted to have you as part of our Alumni and looking forward to meeting you soon.






When did you join Kensington School?

I lived in Barcelona for 25 years - from '70 when I arrived there and I came back to Chile in '95 with my former wife. I arrived in Spain when I was 12, I joined a local school there called St Pauls, which is up there in Pedrables, not far from Kensington. I was there for the first 3 years and then I moved to Kensington School.

A neighbour in our building where we lived who became my very good friend was studying at Kensington and his parents recommended it to mine. He was called Gary Burkfield, he was a few years older than me - they were American. I joined in Form 4, until June '77 when I graduated.

My brother still lives in Barcelona so I visit every so often. I was there for a week in August and September this last year. I never went back into the school after I left, I have seen it from the outside as I wanted showed my wife where I went to school. I hope to be able to visit again soon.

If you could describe Kensington School, how would you describe it?

Fun, and motivating. I grew up in Chile and I attended the school which I've been working at the past few years. We were 1000 in the school, all boys school, no girls. My school here turned co-educational in '71, the year after I left. So I never experienced that here in Chile.

I was very impressed with Kensington School, it was so liberal and small. No more than 300 pupils so we practically knew everyone at the school. Students were very focused on their studies, I think most of the pupils there were absolutely conscious that after their stage in Kensington's education system they were going to move onto good universities.

Kensington was unique, it had a very permissive style. We had no uniform at all, the only thing that was required was a jacket and a tie, no blue jeans were allowed. You could see the most incredible “pintas” as we say in Spanish as he laughs to himself. No beard was allowed but you could have long hair. This gave some structure to the pupils, a jacket and a tie.

I would describe Kensington as strict but at the same time, fun. I don't remember being punished at school. I came from a school where the headmaster used to cane us, and then you turned around and gave him your hand and thanked him for punishing you. Accepting that you had done something bad and thanking him from educating you. We lived in a different world at that time.

Are there any of the teachers that really stand out to you after all this time?

The most impressive thing about the school was Mr Giles, I mean he was fantastic. He was such a character, he was so motivating. Well, I think in the end that makes a difference between a good teacher and a not so good teacher. If you are good at motivating children, you succeed at being a teacher.

It's not how intelligent the kids are or how much they put into it, it's very much of what they find in front of them. To have someone or something bringing the best out of them, I think he was extraordinary at that. He was very strict but at the same time had a fantastic sense of humour, which can be compatible you know!

What were your favourite classes?

Mathematics. Again, pretty much just because of Mr Giles - I only liked it because he was incredible.

When did you last see Mr Giles?

I think the last time I saw Mr Giles was probably 27 or 28 years ago, just before I moved here to Chile. I found him walking in El Corte Ingles somewhere, I don't remember the year exactly but I told him I was moving to Chile and we exchanged kind words to one and other. I am glad I had that time with him before I moved here.

I was very impressed with Kensington School, it was so liberal and small. No more than 300 pupils so we practically knew everyone at the school.

What is your lasting memory from your time at the school?

My first girlfriend I had at Kensington, maybe you can find her! I have been trying to find her on the web. She was called Mercedes Barker - she was American. She fell in love with me, and I fell in love with another girl at school so it was kind of an impossible romance. Cristian laughs.

I also really remember getting my driving license when I turned 18 and my father used to lend me his car to go to school, obviously Mr Giles didn't like that! He told me to park the car very far away because he didn't want other children to see me driving a car to school!

Are you still in touch with friends from school?

I was class mates and very good friends with Rodrigo García Barcha, the eldest son of Nobel Prize winning author - Gabriel García Márquez. I’ve stayed in contact with the family. He has become a cinema director, he lives in the United States. His brother who was a few years younger than me, Gonzalo, he became a chef.

I was not the only one from my family to attend the school, my younger brother Jose Luis who is 3 years younger than me was also there. He was a class mate of one of Mr Giles sons, Christopher. I have some photographs from his time at Kensington (see end of article). He died 3 years ago here in Chile.

The Heerooms were in my class. Jan Heeroom was my best friend who passed away in the 80's and his sister who lived in Barcelona. We are very good friends still. She had 2 other sisters who were also at the school, Tatianna and Alexandra, their name is Deutch although they were born in Columbia. They all still live in Barcelona and I enjoy visiting them when I am in the city.

Where did you go to University after leaving Kensington?

One of the purposes of joining Kensington in '73 was to go and study in the United Kingdom, which I tried but I ended up feeling more comfortable in Barcelona with my parents at home. I fell in love with the city and I decided to study as ESADE.

What are you doing at the moment?

I have worked for a school in Chile as a business manager (bursar) for the last few years. Which is a school that I attended as a child here before I moved to Spain. I just left there in July, not to say retired! However, I don't know if i'm going to go back to working or not. I'm currently just having fun.

The other funny thing was when I joined the school where I have been working here in Chile, I met a teacher that had studied at Kensington, her name was Omayna Hamza. She was British. and had lived in Barcelona with her parents and attended Kensington, I think she studied there in the 80s.

Kensington gave me the opportunity to be fluent in English, I studied English in Chile when I was small grammer etc but I became fluent there when I had the opportunity to study in English and after than I needed English for work in multi national companies. KS made the difference there.

What lessons do you think an international school like Kensington equipped you with and how did it prepare you for your future/career?

It gave me the language I needed. It's the most important thing, absolutely. I now consider myself bilingual. Board meetings we had at Grange were in English and the headmaster is English.

My father was born near Barcelona and in 1935 he moved to Chile, he was Catalan. I never learned it which I regret, I should have learned it. I understand everything and I can speak it slowly but I was too stubborn I think, I decided that I wasn't going to. I was lucky that my surname is Catalan and I was like a local person but at the same time not.

I also lost all my Spanish accent that I had when speaking English. Due to the fact that most of the pupils were foreigners and I started talking with Americans, Dutch students and all the other many nationalities at the school at the time.

What advice do you have for any students currently at Kensington or considering joining?

Well, I don't know Kensington 44 years after leaving it. I don't think I can honestly give an opinion on something that I no longer know that well. I know what I lived and clearly my experience was great.

Depending on what you wanted to do, study abroad in the United Kingdom or United States, it was a must to attend Kensington. You will certainly get the best English there because you are in contact with a huge variety of nationalities and international students.

I would definitely recommend it.

Photographs of Cristian's late brother Jose Luis during his time at Kensington School

Are you a former Kensington Student? Become part of our growing Kensington Alumni Group: [email protected]