Fran was a highly-respected and much-loved colleague in the Faculty of Education at HKU, and a good friend. Always helpful and supportive to students and colleagues, he made a significant and lasting contribution not just to the field of Maths Education but to teacher preparation and supervision across every specialism in the Faculty. Above all, he was one of life’s good guys, and will be greatly missed by all who knew him. My deepest sympathy.

I am deeply saddened by the passing of Fran. Fran was one of the best colleagues I have ever worked with. His dedication to teaching and teacher education was exemplary. To ensure that he kept in touch with frontline teachers and classroom teaching, he spent one day a week in a school teaching mathematics. I had the privilege of co-authoring a book with Fran, together with several other colleagues in the Faculty, Learning in School-University Partnership: Sociocultural Perspectives, published by Routledge in 2009. In particular, the co-authoring of Chapter 2, with him (and Gwyn Edwards, another colleague), which expounds the theoretical underpinning of the volume, was intellectually most stimulating. The positive reviews of the book received, particularly on the theoretical explorations, were testimony to the intellectual engagement we had had. I am very proud that we had such a fine scholar and colleague in our Faculty and the University of Hong Kong, and I will miss him dearly!

How I wish I had managed to see Fran after my return to the UK. Rest well my dear school friend.

Rest well, dear Fran.