My mother, Barbara Webb, who has died aged 88, was a teacher who began her career at a primary school in South Africa and ended it as head of a school run under the auspices of the Parents’ National Education Union (PNEU) in West Sussex. She was a strong advocate of single-sex schools for girls, believing that for them to achieve their full potential, particularly in subjects areas such as maths and science, it was important for girls to be taught separately.
She was born in Helensburgh, Scotland, to George Haydock, a professor of philosophy at Glasgow University, and Cora (nee Mackenzie), a teacher. When the second world war broke out George sent Barbara and Cora to South Africa to escape the German bombing of the Clyde. She spent much of her teens in Cape Town, while Cora ran a nursery school in Muizenberg, a suburb of the city.
When the war ended Barbara returned to Britain and began nursing training at St Mary’s hospital, Paddington, where she met a patient there, Les Webb, a fitter who later became a teacher.
Barbara’s father retired from Glasgow University in 1948 and he and Cora moved permanently to South Africa. In the early 1950s Barbara and Les married, and were asked by her parents to move to Somerset West, near Cape Town, to help run the primary school they had set up there.
It was meant to be a short assignment but lasted more than 20 years. While Les played the role of inspirational teacher, Barbara, the titular “matron”, focused on making sure everything ran smoothly. During this time she enrolled in the University of South Africa (the equivalent of the Open University) and was awarded a BA in history. With this qualification behind her she started her new career as a history teacher.
At the beginning of the 70s it looked as if their dream of returning to the UK was about to be fulfilled. But Les died suddenly, and my mother had to start her new life back in Britain alone, with her youngest child, Kate, who was then only four. My sister, Amanda, and I had already gone ahead to study in the UK.
Her first job was at Bicester school, Oxfordshire, teaching the sons and daughters of local farmers and those working on the nearby RAF base. Before long she was appointed deputy head at Overstone school, a PNEU school for girls, near Northampton.
In 1979, after four years at Overstone, she was appointed headteacher of Burgess Hill school for girls, West Sussex, another PNEU school, where she remained until 1992.
She enjoyed a long retirement, first on the Isle of Wight, where she spent some time as a schools inspector, served on the board of a housing association and painted seascapes. She then moved to the village of Stanton St John in Oxfordshire.
She is survived by Amanda, Kate and me, and by her grandchildren, David, William, Jamie, Iona and Tom.
