Lynne’s legacy inspires stand-in head at Darwen Vale (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Lynne’s legacy inspires stand-in head at Darwen Vale

7:10pm Thursday 26th November 2009

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By Catherine Pye »

THE acting head-teacher of Darwen Vale High School has vowed to build on the legacy of is prede-cessor Lynn Dunning.

John Lawson has been in his interim role for just a few weeks and said he was thrilled with the staff and students at the school.

And he hailed plans to transform the school under the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) progr-amme, which he will head up until the end of the academic year.

An experienced head-teacher, Mr Lawson took on the role following the death of Mrs Dunning in September, who had been at the helm of the school for 10 years. She died after a decade-long battle with cancer.

He praised her contrib-utions to the school and its BSF programme, which launches in July and will see a state-of-the-art remo-delled building open in 2012.

A teacher for 37 years, Mr Lawson had worked with Mrs Dunning just after she started at Darwen Vale, while he was head of Southlands High School, in Chorley, a post he held for 14 years.

He has also been headteacher at Smithills High School, Bolton – where one of his pupils was world champion boxer Amir Khan, and Doha College in Qatar. Last year he joined Hameldon College, Burnley, as a temporary associate head.

Mr Lawson also spoke of the new developments at Darwen Vale, including involving students through observing and comment-ing on lessons, which he said was a great success.

“Their comments were incredibly insightful and very useful, and this is something we will be doing more of,” he said.

“Darwen Vale impresses me as a very ordered community where students are very proud to be part of the school and there is a great pride and commit-ment from the staff, who are talented, engaged and committed.

“The young people here have a really good aware-ness of the school, their commitments and of themselves.

“I have come in after all the hard work Lynn, the staff, governors and stud-ents have done for the BSF programme, and what I have seen in the design for Darwen Vale is one of the most impressive school designs I have ever seen.

“I want to pick up the agenda Lynn set, and I want to make sure students’ achievements are the best they can be.”

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