Margaret was born in St Helens in Lancashire, grew up in Wetherby in West Yorkshire, went to secondary school in Leeds and studied English at London University, where she met her husband. She worked in the civil service in central London for 2 years and then moved to Birmingham when they got married. They had 2 children very quickly and she was a stay-at-home mum until the younger one went to school when she felt she needed to do something else as well.
Margaret started teaching English and Communication Skills part-time at Bournville College. Since then, she has always worked in the FE sector, gradually moving up the career ladder at Bournville and picking up a Cert Ed on the way before moving to Halesowen College, a vastly different kind of place, as Head of the English Department.
At Halesowen Margaret became involved in school liaison and admissions, setting up and managing the re-vamped college-wide Admissions system and she split her time initially between teaching English and doing the cross-college role, having handed over the running of the English department. As time moved on, Margaret dropped the teaching element and concentrated on the management role. Margaret got to know a lot of the secondary schools in the Black Country and south Birmingham and really enjoyed the opportunities to work with young people in an advice and guidance role.
Margaret has always been very involved in church activities, including a period as churchwarden and membership of Moseley Deanery Synod and now of the new “super-deanery” of Kings Norton, Moseley, and Shirley. Through involvement with the wider church Margaret signed up to be involved in Appeals Panels for church schools and has done that for several years which has given her quite an insight into how primary schools work – a sector vastly different from post-16 and secondary.
When Margaret fully retired, she responded to a request for volunteers to be school governors. Nonsuch Primary which had just joined with St Michael’s, Bartley Green and Christ Church, Quinton in a little MAT, was suggested. Margaret became Chair of Governors within a short space of time to assist the school through a challenging time. The school is now back on track and has made tremendous improvements.