The history teacher who won the £1 million jackpot on ITV’s Who Wants to be a Millionaire? has quit his job as head of department at one of the country’s top-performing state schools.
Donald Fear, 57, last week became the sixth contestant to win the jackpot - beating his older brother, also a teacher, who last year won £500,000 on the show.
He has since resigned from his job at Haberdashers’ Adams Grammar School, in Shropshire, according to the Press Association news agency.
The school regularly places in the top 20 state schools nationally based on GCSE and A-level results.
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The final question he answered correctly was: “In 1718, which pirate died in battle off the coast of what is now North Carolina?”
The answer was: Blackbeard.
Taking the Who Wants to be a Millionaire? jackpot
“I’m a dates man,” he said, explaining that he’d covered the subject with Year 8 a few years ago.
He told host Jeremy Clarkson: “You don’t be a history teacher for 33 years without knowing a few dates, and the date 1718 and Blackbeard leapt out at me instantly.”
The father-of-four, who lives in Telford, will see out the school term, then begin his retirement two years earlier than planned.
He added: “Actually, I never investigated the possibility of whether it would be possible not to go back at all - but how unfair to my A-level students that would be?
“I was planning to go in two years anyway just before my 60th birthday.
“As it is, I’m going just after my 58th.”
Meanwhile, Haberdashers’ Adams Grammar shared its congratulations on Twitter.
A message said: “Wow, what a performance from as cool as a cucumber Mr Fear! Congratulations from everyone at Adams! ‘I taught it to Year 8 kids!’”
Mr Fear celebrated his win with his brother, who he claimed was the more intelligent sibling.
Davyth Fear, 59, a retired geography teacher who lives near Caernarfon, Wales, was just one question away from taking the top prize but opted to take the money after he and his “phone a friend” lifeline stumbled on the final question.
