A Hurst legend, he was an integral part of Hurst for many years, having joined the College in September 1980. He will be greatly missed and our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Richard introduced Computer Science to Hurst, set up the Creative Design Technology Department and was responsible for many groundbreaking digital initiatives at Hurst, not least of all our current 'Challenge Grade Review' system. Please find below an extract from the 1988 Hurst Johnian containing an interview with Richard about his work in those early days of IT.

pages-from-hj1988-1989.pdf

Messages from the Hurst Foundation Community:

"Mr Hurley was the inspiration for me to get into computer studies and has been my chosen career ever since." - James Gosney

"So Sad, a very funny and good maths teacher as well as DT. Enabled and encouraged me to take A level maths!" - Simon Cross

"I had so hoped to catch up with him to thank him so much for, against all the odds, helping me to pass O’Level maths. Condolences to his family. He will be sorely missed." - Andrew Claringbull

"God bless him. He was a very good colleague and I enjoyed our chats very much. Love to Jennie and family." - Andrew Wood

"Prayers and condolences to his family. A really pleasant and genuine man." - Pete Smith

"Mr Hurley had such a passion for the subjects he taught that walking into the CDT suite felt exciting. It was a pretty giddy moment when the first Apple computers were unboxed. One could tell that Mr H was convinced he was in charge of a superior department!" - Jon Byers

"He was and still is one of my favourite teachers of all time. He made such a big difference in my journey at school. Sending my best wishes to his family and friends." - Amy Harris

"Very sad news… great teacher. He was kind enough to write a glowing reference that helped me get into teaching. And I’ve been teaching ICT and Computer Science for 19(ish) years." - James Fielden 

"Very sad to hear this. He was a great teacher. As a beneficiary of the IT scholarship, he was probably the biggest reason I went to Hurst." - Harry Aldridge 

"Great man, loved every minute of his classes." - James Elliot

"A great man. An inspiring teacher who went above and beyond and also the reason that I started working at Hurst. I owe a lot to him and he will be sorely missed." - Ollie Mitchell

"Very very sad to hear. RIP Arfa! Thoughts with all the family." - Kit Cheshire