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Simon Lowsley is a former deputy headteacher of Waterloo Road. He made his first appearance at the end of Series 8 Episode 29, having been hired off-screen by Michael Byrne and the council as part of Michael's exit deal.

It is clear that when he introduces himself to Christine, she is less than happy to see him, having not been told anything about his appointment. His case is not helped when he becomes in a way partly responsible for Tom's death in Series 8 Episode 30, as he insists that Kyle Stack be given a chance at Waterloo Road, a decision he comes to regret. He later gains Christine's trust by saving Lenny Brown from drowning in Series 9 Episode 9.

In Series 9, he is revealed to be engaged to new science teacher Sue Spark, the daughter of the LEA's Director of Education Robert Bain. They marry at the end of Series 9 Episode 10.

After Christine falls off the wagon in Series 9 Episode 19 and is arrested after throwing vodka in a police officer's face, Simon is appointed acting headteacher until the end of term, following which Vaughan Fitzgerald is appointed to the permanent headship.

In Series 10, Sue embarks on an affair with Simon's best mate Hector Reid, and ends up encouraging Simon to apply for a headteacher post at a school in Wales in an attempt to move away and forget about Hector, but in Series 10 Episode 9 Simon learns about the affair and leaves for Wales alone, having got the job. He is not seen again.

Personality

Simon is a kind teacher, who is always looking out for the pupils. He is highly protective of his wife, Sue Lowsley, and threatens Barry Barry in order to protect her, while not mentioning her mistakes to the headmistress on many occasions.

He appears to care a great deal about the pupils and is a capable judge of character - his pupils, even some of the more troublesome ones, show a good deal of respect and even adoration for him, including Kacey Barry. He can be sceptical about several things and is shown to be a rather good person at the best of times.

On his first episode, he clashes with Nikki Boston over the deputy headship. In Series 9 Episode 19 Simon is made acting headteacher after Christine Mulgrew resigned, however he epically fails to keep things in order.

When the kids are in danger, the true selflessness of Simon Lowsley is there for all to see. He does his best to help Stevie Mack against bullying, but it proves to be temporarily beyond his abilities. Also, he rather amazingly makes a heroic bid to rescue Lenny Brown when he almost drowns.

He is quite ambitious at the start of Series 9, in that he is rather intent on becoming headteacher of Waterloo Road. However, when he sees the true humility, strength and courage of Christine Mulgrew, he turns it down because he now knows full well what makes a good head: Selflessness and total self-confidence, as opposed to a wealthy background and an overdeveloped sense of self-importance (A trait demonstrated rather bigotedly by Robert Bain and Sue Spark).

Simon's daring can lead to recklessness and he sometimes forgets the fire that still exists in teachers like George Windsor and, climatically, Nikki Boston. Simon never loses sight of the seriousness of the situation, always trying to think and act pragmatically, even when situations prove very personal.

Christine Mulgrew

From their first meeting, Christine Mulgrew and Simon haven't seen eye to eye with one another. Simon offered to do the assembly about Tom Clarkson's death but she turns down Simon's offer. The week after, Christine finds out that Simon and Sue are planning to get married, and that Sue is Robert Bain's daughter. Robert and Sue want to get rid of Christine so that Simon could become the head, and Sue starts making a list about all the things that Christine does wrong.

Nearer to the end of the first part of Series 9, Christine and Simon decide to have school council meetings to see what the pupils want at their school, and Simon comes up with a money-making competition inspired by the Apprentice. They do a living history week as well, during which Robert comes to see how the school is getting along after Christine invites him, and this is when Sue's list comes out after what happened the week before when Sue slipped on a wet floor, the result of a scheme where the students carried out a sponsored clean of the school. Simon wants to make a formal complaint about Christine to Robert. Christine and Simon blame each other about things and responsibilities that went wrong.

In Series 9 Episode 10, Simon and Christine are interviewed for the permanent headteacher post, as Christine was only acting head at this point. After witnessing how Christine deals with Stevie Mack, in which she got her son Connor to talk to Stevie about her past struggles with alcoholism and how it affected him, Simon withdraws his application to become head and endorses Christine, telling her that what she did took guts and that he would never have been able to do it.

Simon later becomes acting head anyway after Christine's drunken antics in Series 9 Episode 19, and in the next episode Robert makes it clear that he thinks Christine should no longer be a teacher at all, but Simon convinces the board to at least keep Christine on as an English teacher after being impressed with how she resolved the Gabriella Wark situation.

Simon then seemingly believes that he will be made headteacher permanently, but Vaughan Fitzgerald gets the job.

Sue Lowsley

Simon and Sue were secret about their relationship until Barry Barry took Sue's phone whilst she was locked in the cupboard and saw that she last rang "Twinkle". The fire alarm goes off after Rhiannon Salt puts a jelly baby into the science experiment. When they are all outside, Barry Barry calls "Twinkle" and Simon answers the phone. The whole school then find out about their relationship.

In Series 9 Episode 10, Simon and Sue elope and marry privately after a traumatic day of ups and downs in school, leaving the entire wedding party at the reception ceremony without ever making an appearance.

In Series 10 Episode 9, he discovers Sue's affair with Hector Reid and tells her he wants a divorce.

Trivia

  • Simon doesn't like ketchup, as revealed by Sue in Series 9 Episode 11.
  • Simon is left-handed, as shown when he fills in the headship application form in Series 9 Episode 7.
  • Simon is the only confirmed Welsh member of staff in the show's history.
  • Simon likes football and is a supporter of Swansea City AFC.

Quotes

  • "Christine?" (first line)

  • Simon: "Simon Lowsley, your new deputy head."
  • Christine: "Simon, I'm afraid there's been some mistake, I've already appointed my deputies."
  • Simon: "I was appointed last week by Michael Byrne, I thought you knew?"
  • Christine: "Michael Byrne no longer works here."
  • Simon: "I know. My appointment was part of his exit deal. The council insisted. I can't believe they didn't tell you! Talk about awkward turtle."

  • "Well then we should at least find out why he's here. He's travelled half the length of the country to get to Waterloo Road, isn't anyone curious about that?" (about Kyle)

  • "So if I were to put my mind to something happening, say...the Saturday after the end of term...like, getting married, for instance...you reckon that'll happen too?"

  • "This one's wrong, unless Mr Barry has suddenly become a scientific genius overnight."

  • Simon: "I know you like being public enemy number one, Barry. Playing the big man. But all I can see is a boy. A boy who genuinely wants to be here, who wants to learn. So let me tell you what's gonna happen, you are gonna retake that exam under my supervision."
  • Barry: "It's not gonna happen."
  • Simon: "Then I will have you kicked out of here quicker than your feet can touch the ground, and believe me, I will do it. I just need to...come up with something. And who is Mrs Mulgrew gonna believe, huh? You...or me?"

  • Christine: "The Year 4s were running riot in there."
  • Simon: "I was covering Nikki's class, I'd only been gone 5 minutes."
  • Christine: "That lot could sack Rome in 5 minutes."

  • "Nah, let's just keep our powder dry, shall we? And hopefully I'll get the headship without any need for unpleasantness."

  • "Are you aware that George Windsor isn't qualified to teach Mandarin? Thought so. My future father-in-law would like a word."

  • George: "Only saying what we're both thinking. Pretty shabby way to behave, assembling a secret dossier."
  • Simon: "Then tell me, are you upset for Christine's sake? Or because the main cause of complaint was your fraudulent Mandarin teaching?"

  • "So, today is a level playing field, yeah? May the best man win - or woman."

  • Simon: "No, I'm not nervous. I'm just not the man for the job."
  • Robert: "Not the man for the job?"
  • Simon: "I'm sorry for wasting your time, everyone. I'd like to withdraw my application. Performance. Principles. Passion. Words synonymous with Christine Mulgrew."
  • Sally: "You're endorsing Mrs Mulgrew given her history?"
  • Simon: "You know, Christine's not perfect. But who is? And anyway, this job isn't about perfection, is it? It's about instinct. And heart. And she's got both in spades. And what you call her history, well...it's actually life experience. Something she's prepared to use for the good of the pupils."

  • "And you know that right hook you gave me in the dinner hall? Ah, I'll let you have that one. We've got the same hair."

  • "Mrs Lowsley! No public displays of affection in school."

  • "All I'm asking is that you give this approach a fair chance. Yeah? It's time to think outside the box, George. Stand under a thought shower, and let yourself get wet."

  • Simon: "The very talented Mrs Lowsley will be taking a multi-age group first-aid class, utilising her expert training as a flight attendant!"
  • George: "Invaluable for when the school crashes into the ocean, I'd imagine."

  • "I'm sure they'll understand that there's more to just teaching here at Waterloo Road. We have to be mentors. Life coaches, even."

  • "Yeah but, George, a teenage pupil has had a massive stroke - a much-loved pupil. If he dies, I'm just saying, we need to prepare them properly."

  • George: "No need to get heated, Simon. I was off-campus, and you simply couldn't deal with the situation."
  • Simon: "No, no, you were there when the pupils were on the roof, and what did you do? Nothing!"

  • "No, that is not fair! I've done everything I can to stand by you! Yeah, it's no secret that I want to be a headteacher, but that doesn't mean to say I want your job!"

  • Nikki: "Could you just hear yourself defending her, Simon? She's a borderline sociopath!"
  • Simon: "No she isn't, she's a kid! An upset kid in our care! We should be helping Gabriella, not condemning her! Look, I'm head now, alright, and what I says goes, so just drop it, OK?!"

  • Simon: "If she steps out of line, then I'll accept full responsibility. I'm her headteacher."
  • Robert: "Well, for the rest of the year, maybe. See you at Sunday dinner, son."

  • Simon: "Yeah. Sure. Just the one though. I wanna work on some ideas for Vaughan's community initiative."
  • Sue: "Oh, you are such a swot."

  • "I 'believed'? Dynasty. You need to brush up on your English. 'Believe' is what we do when we are not 100% positive. I believe that life might exist on other planets, I believe that Swansea City might win the Premiership one day. But you...making a success of your life? That I know."

  • "Carol Barry can smell pay dirt a mile off, it's in her blood. Say goodbye to a few grand."

  • Simon: "Good to see you two actually having a conversation! Your dad will be pleased."
  • Justin: "Yeah, actually, sir, it was more of a monologue. Floyd just kinda listened."

  • Simon: "Yeah, quite a few. And they all say that kid came from nowhere, jumped him."
  • Vaughan: "But he hit back?"
  • Simon: "Wouldn't you?"

  • "Our weekend away - total disaster. Arguments, silences, more arguments. I think this school's really getting to her."

  • "Maybe it'll be good for us, you know? New start, new challenges. The B word. Babies, Hector, Babies. I don't expect you to understand, but it's what we both want, you know? We're gonna move on to the next level. Don't tell Sue you know anything, right? She's gone all Secret Service on me. Probably have you assassinated."

  • "If this goes to plan, we could be starting a new life in Wales in a month. Wish me luck!"

  • "What happened? Eh? Did you bottle it? You cowardly, two-faced, lying cheat. You didn't even have the guts to tell me to my face that you're SLEEPING WITH MY WIFE!"

  • "Where'd you do it? Eh? Hotels? My house?! You were there last night, weren't you? The minute my back was turned! IN OUR BED! Just give me one good reason why I shouldn't!"

  • "I'm not being cruel, I'm being honest. I've spent my life treading on eggshells around you. Dealing with your moods, your constant whining neediness, sorting out the mess of your frankly disastrous teaching career, and having to be grateful for the scraps your father throws us."

  • Simon: "Listen to me. What I did today was nothing to be proud of. No matter how angry you get, violence is never the way to resolve things."
  • Darren: "If you say so, Sir."
  • Simon: "Yeah. Yeah, I do." (final line)
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