Yvonne Conolly
Cecile Yvonne Conolly
Early years
Yvonne Conolly arrived in the UK from Jamaica in August 1963, as part of the
Conolly later recalled, "I had had so much experience in things which were British history and literature. For example, I wanted to see daffodils, I had read a poem about daffodils and had never seen a daffodil. So, it was natural for me to come to England. There's something about the quality of Britishness which meant something for me which is why I thought this was going to be the best fit for me. I came on the 11 August 1963 on a very grey day. I was actually taken aback by the greyness and the houses, the red-bricks. I could see in fact, smoke coming from chimneys. I wondered what I had done because there was a lack of sunshine, a lack of blue skies, the closedness of houses, lack of space."[3]
Undeterred, she moved to Canfield Gardens in West Hampstead, north London, where she took jobs as a babysitter, cleaner and typist, as well as securing work as a supply teacher.[4]
Teaching career
As a relief teacher, Conolly was very aware that there were
After being appointed to this position, Conolly received racist abuse and required a bodyguard to accompany her to work. Her appointment to the post attracted much attention from the British media, and she was subjected to repeated attacks in some national newspapers, as well as receiving hate mail at home. In an interview, she remembers, “When I was appointed as headteacher, somebody threatened to burn the school down. I had newspaper articles which had announced my appointment, sent to me, crossing out my photograph with nasty comments. Happily, the parents were only interested in whether their children would get a good education and that certainly was my focus.”[8]
Conolly did not let the reaction to her headship prevent her from delivering an effective education service to the children of her school, and much of her experience at Ring Cross was to inform her later career. Carrying the responsibility of being the first-ever female black headteacher in the country, it was the reason she gave for setting up the Caribbean Teachers Association. This was to give confidence and practical advice to black teachers who wanted to become school heads.[9] Conolly spent nine years as headteacher of Ring Cross Primary School and, in 1978, she left to take up a position as a member of the multi-ethnic inspectorate created by the ILEA (Inner London Education Authority).[10] As an inspector she looked into how to deal with racism, in particular examining schools in Camden and Islington. In addition, she was an active voice in the home secretary's advisory council on race relations.[11]
Conolly formally retired in 2001, after 40-years-of service in education, but remained chair of the Caribbean Teachers' Association.
Death and legacy
Yvonne Conolly died of
The UK's
A former
Honours and recognition
In October 2020 Conolly was honoured for her services to education with the Honorary Fellow of Education award from the Naz Legacy Foundation. HRH Prince of Wales,
In the
Yvonne Conolly is also remembered in Islington where, near to her home in Finsbury Park, the 'Yvonne Conolly Garden' in Wray Crescent Park was dedicated to her in 2019.[18]
References
- ^ Phillips, Jacob (2021-01-31). "Tributes paid to London's first black female head teacher". MyLondon. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ "How Yvonne wrote history as UK's first black headteacher". Islington Tribune. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ "Yvonne Connolly: Britain's first black woman headteacher". Humans of Africa. 2020-10-08. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ "Tributes to Britain's first black headteacher as Yvonne Conolly dies at 81". Camden New Journal. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ "How Yvonne wrote history as UK's first black headteacher". Islington Tribune. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ "From Jamaica to London, and into Black British history:Remembering the life of Yvonne Connolly | OBV". www.obv.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ "UK's first black female headteacher: 'I had to have a minder with me on my first day in the job'". Islington Tribune. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ "Yvonne Connolly: Britain's first black woman headteacher". Humans of Africa. 2020-10-08. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ "Yvonne Connolly: Britain's first black woman headteacher". Humans of Africa. 2020-10-08. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ Phillips, Jacob (2021-01-31). "Tributes paid to London's first black female head teacher". MyLondon. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ "From Jamaica to London, and into Black British history:Remembering the life of Yvonne Connolly | OBV". www.obv.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ "How Yvonne wrote history as UK's first black headteacher". Islington Tribune. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ Phillips, Jacob (2021-01-31). "Tributes paid to London's first black female head teacher". MyLondon. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ Phillips, Jacob (2021-01-31). "Tributes paid to London's first black female head teacher". MyLondon. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ admin (13 October 2020). "Yvonne Conolly CBE Announced as Recipient of NLF Honorary Fellowship of Education 2020 | Naz Legacy Foundation". Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ "2020 Birthday Honours", Wikipedia, 2021-02-09, retrieved 2021-02-16
- ^ "Queen's Birthday Honours: 'Strictest' head recognised". Tes. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ says, Our congratulations to Yvonne Conolly-Friends of Wray Crescent (2019-06-17). "Photos from the Kitchen Garden launch party". Friends of Wray Crescent. Retrieved 2021-02-16.