John Rae (headmaster)
John Rae (20 March 1931 – 16 December 2006) was a British educator, author and novelist. He was headmaster of Taunton School (1966–1970) and then Head Master of Westminster School (1970–1986).
In 1986 he became head of the Laura Ashley Foundation and was on the Board of The Observer newspaper from 1986 to 1993. In 1989 he became executive chairman of the Portman Group.
Education
Rae was educated at
Westminster School
Rae became Headmaster of Westminster School, an independent school in Central London, in 1970. During his time there he became a prominent and oft-heard voice on educational questions in the British media.
He modernised the school and rescued it from its perilous financial position. To do this, he cut staffing and moved the science department from its cramped building to a modern building within easy reach of the school. During his time at the school girls first became full-time members of the school, in 1973. In 1976 a new day house, Dryden's, was created. It is located next to Wren's and under College, just off Little Dean's Yard. In 1981 to cope with the increased number of girls a new boarding house, Purcell's, was opened located about 200m from Little Dean's Yard. In the same year a new building was bought for the Under School – Adrian House in Vincent Square.
Although it has been asserted that he was forced to resign because of negative reactions to his wife Daphne Rae publishing, A World Apart in 1983, detailing their joint experiences during their time at Taunton and Harrow, and raising the issue of gay teachers,[1] he remained at the school until 1986. According to his posthumously published diary, his departure was a combination of exceeding the typical term of headmastership (10 years), his opposition to the Assisted Places Scheme, and a desire to find a new challenge.[2]
Media appearances
During the 1980s, Rae wrote newspaper articles and regularly appeared as a panellist on programmes such as
Works
Rae was a
During the 1970s he published a short series of novels for teenagers, borrowing for the purpose the names, and to some extent the characters, of his own children.
His edited diaries were published in 2009 as
Commemoration
John Rae's ashes lie off the cloisters of Westminster Abbey, near a door from Little Dean's Yard used by Westminster boys when they go "Up Abbey". There is often a vase of fresh flowers at the commemorative stone.
References
- Times Educational Supplement. Archived from the originalon 2 April 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
- Short Books.
- ^ Newsnight, BBC 2, February 1983
- ^ Question Time, BBC 1, April 1985
External links
- Biography
- Obituary in The Independent by Jim Cogan
- Obituary in The Times
- Obituary in The Guardian
- Obituary[dead link] in The Daily Telegraph