Tim Brighouse Obituary – “He made us proud to be teachers”

There have been several obituaries published in the national press and elsewhere describing the life of Sir Tim Brighouse. All are far better written and more comprehensive than I could possibly manage. For those younger members of NAPE, who may not know about Sir Tim Brighouse, I will supply links to some of the obituaries which give a picture of one of our greatest post war education administrators. What I can do is give the insights and memories of friends, teachers, heads, and colleagues who have heard Tim, spoken with him, worked with him and played golf with him. Most of these are NAPE members.

It is a cliche, but I will write it anyway, that they don’t make educators like Sir Tim Brighouse anymore. Those like Tim who have the intellect, the wit and the erudition to speak the truths and complexities of providing the best opportunities for children and young people to learn, are now a rare breed. He was a chief education officer who stood against government policy when he thought necessary, challenged it, took it apart, and sometimes even make mockery of it.

In 1999, at education secretary David Blunkett’s request, Tim was asked to work alongside the then chief inspector of schools, Chris Woodhead. He did so briefly, but then withdrew after infuriating the chief inspector by reporting to the education select committee that he was highly critical of the accuracy of school inspections.

Tim was President of NAPE from 2002 to the end of 2023. In typical Brighouse manner he never assumed to take any executive action, but always waited to be asked to contribute. This in most respects sums him up. He was unassuming, he put himself at the service of others, was in my experience invariably patient, and was a very good listener as well as speaker.

The title “He made us proud to be teachers”, comes from a special needs teacher who then added, "you always went away with a buzz”, having listened to Tim speak.

Another headteacher who was on a trip with Tim in Boston, USA observed Tim when visiting a nursery school, “I caught him lying down on the floor pretending to be a hospital patient, as young children dressed as doctors and nurses examined him, listening to his heart and trying to take his temperature. The adults were fascinated by this man who came with such an intellectual reputation but was able to show his natural humanity and connect with children.

Tim was one of the giants of education. He was authentically himself and always interested in others”.

Several others remarked on his tirelessness, starting work before anyone else, sending personally written notes to teachers and schools he had visited, and his ability to remember names having met them once. Tim certainly had many of his own stories which he would tell with great relish. He appreciated the many great characters who worked in Oxfordshire schools

in the 80s, understanding that diversity often led to greater creativity, unlike the uniformity that the government insists on imposing on schools these days.

One colleague remarked in a speech about Tim just recently: I would like to pay tribute to Tim as one of the great educators of my generation. He was an outstanding Chief Education Officer for Oxfordshire in the 1980s, for Birmingham in the 1990s and then led the London Challenge which was widely regarded as the most successful initiative in improving secondary schools and collaboration between them in London. He was an inspiration to thousands of teachers and headteachers across England and beyond with his vision of a humane and engaging education, where the relationships between teachers and young people was central in enabling this. Tim was an administrator who combined principled thinking with imaginative, creative and practical ideas, never afraid to take on those who underestimated what children and teachers can achieve, given the right support.

One colleague and fellow golfer observed, ‘Tim would not want a eulogy looking backwards”. And then recounted, “He upset one of my ten year olds when he surprised Alan in the entrance to my village school, a week after his appointment as chief education officer in Oxfordshire, but his suspicion of Tim being a vagrant was dismissed when the badly dressed adult displayed interest and curiosity.

Tim's philosophy on education was written on a postage stamp but the text expanded to encompass a potential for young people which extended beyond the spelling lists of traditional learning and also the colourful but bewildering text of poetry so favoured by Oxfordshire. It was like a Doctor Who Tardis where everything was possible from a man whose background was educational administration. He was the best advisor I ever met”.

Finally, two quotes from a friend and colleague: “his kindness, generosity of spirit, his modesty, wit and good humour. He could always be relied on, no matter who was in his company, to lift the conversation to new heights....”

And: Tim was an outstanding professional with a stellar career in education. He made a huge impact on each of the leading roles he played- as CEO in Oxfordshire and Birmingham followed by-arguably his greatest achievement-as Senior Education Adviser in London.
In personal terms he was a kind, modest and stimulating colleague with an optimistic view of human nature. He had a happy knack of getting the best out of anyone he was working with.

In this sense his professional and personal life was ‘all of a piece’”.

For me Tim was a ‘go to’ person whom I trusted on educational principles. He gave backing to NAPE and the Oxford Headteachers Conference when he was invited to attend events; and he sometimes took the limelight away from visiting speakers with his reflections after they had spoken. He gave much time to the Oxford School of Thought, when we were working out how to proceed, and there are videos of Tim explaining his ideas about Open Schools and moving schools into an age of hope and ambition on the website. He also helped edit the OST 2023 report on A Vision for the future of primary education.

Although initially he trained in and taught history in secondary schools, it says so much about Tim as an educational thinker that he knew learning should be a creative activity whatever the phase, and that he became president of NAPE, primary education’s foremost voice in promoting education for the country’s youngest children. His wit and wisdom will be missed.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2007/apr/24/schools.uk?CMP=Share_iOSA pp_Other

https://www.tes.com/magazine/analysis/general/sir-tim-brighouse-loved-cherished-a nd-respected-teachers

https://crookedtimber.org/2024/01/10/remembering-tim-brighouse/