From MHSG Kathleen went to Somerville College, Oxford, to read Modern Languages.  She met her husband Brian in the second week and next year they will celebrate their golden wedding.

After Oxford Kathleen taught for five years at a Croydon independent grammar school, after which a daughter and a son and a nine year career break followed.  In 1971 she returned to teaching in a large Brixton comprehensive school, where she became Head of Languages.  Four years later, Kathleen moved to a comprehensive in Tooting where she became the Deputy Headteacher and from 1983 to 1997 she was Headteacher of Norbury Manor High School, a girls' comprehensive in Croydon.

After retiring from full time employment, Kathleen became an Assessor for the National Professional Qualification for Headship, an External Advisor for Headteacher appraisal, and a Threshold assessor.  Voluntary work in the educational sector, including as a school governor, has also ensured that Kathleen is kept busy.

Says Kathleen: "My career has stemmed entirely from the opportunities provided for me at MHSG.  As the child of a disabled widow, dependent on National Assistance, I was lucky enough to be among the first cohort to benefit from the provision of direct grant free places, introduced by the 1944 Education Act, which required schools such as MHSG and MGS to provide a proportion of its places to pupils who passed the entrance exam and the local eleven plus.  As one of the few pupils in receipt of free dinners and a uniform grant, I can recall how sensitively this was handled by the School, who also assisted with a travel scholarship and a leaving bursary.

The direct grant free places were eventually replaced by the Assisted Places scheme, and it is very sad that these avenues of opportunity no longer exist."