My friend Madeline Held, who has died aged 76, spent much of her working life championing educational opportunities for adults who have been disadvantaged by their lack of literacy, English language or numeracy skills.
For 20 years she was director of the Language and Literacy Unit in London, which she helped to develop from a small teacher support unit within the Inner London Education Authority (Ilea) to a national organisation supporting teachers of adults.
The unit (later re-named LLU+ because of the wide range it covered) was a pioneer and innovator in the field of literacy, numeracy, English for speakers of other languages, parental education and dyslexia support. Its work ranged from large government projects, such as training probation staff throughout London in dyslexia awareness, to smaller programmes such as supporting a football team for young Somali men as an incentive to attend literacy classes. In 2006 Madeline was appointed MBE for her services to adult literacy.
Born in Corbridge in Northumberland, Madeline grew up in the Lake District market town of Cockermouth. She was the second daughter of Hunter Duff, a headteacher, and Annette (nee Ross), a wool shop owner. In the early 60s she studied for an English degree at Manchester University, followed by an English language MA there in 1968.
From university she moved straight to Yugoslavia to take up a British Council post teaching English at the University of Ljubljana, where she met her future husband, the writer and artist Wolfgang Held. In 1971 they moved to the UK to marry and settle first in Edinburgh – where Madeline completed a diploma in applied linguistics at the University of Edinburgh and gave birth to her daughter, Natasha – and then, in 1973, in London.
In south east London Madeline began to teach English to adults as a foreign language and then also as a second language . From 1978 onwards she headed the English as a second language section at South East London College in Lewisham, until she was headhunted to join the LLU in 1989.
Madeline’s optimistic and principled approach was crucial in the expansion of the LLU. She took over as its director in 1990, just as Ilea was ending. Overnight, the LLU was expected to seek its own funding, in a culture where teachers had never before had to think about income generation. Madeline doggedly pushed, cajoled and supported her staff to keep going and take up the fight. When she retired in 2008 LLU+ had a national and international reputation and was generating income in the millions of pounds. Her leadership was a key factor in its success.
Madeline took her sharp intelligence and curiosity into all her activities outside work. Walking anywhere with her always took longer than expected as she would be diverted by a statue, a blue plaque, or a particular kind of tree. An activist, she was an early member of CND and went on to chair its charitable arm, the Nuclear Education Trust, in her retirement. She was also a member of the Labour party for most of her adult life.
An inventive cook who was warm and hospitable, she and Wolfgang frequently opened their home to friends, colleagues and ex-students, many of whom kept in touch right to the end of her life.
Wolfgang died in 2016. She is survived by Natasha.
