Awards and Presentations

AWARDS AND PRESENTATIONS

Bergman Österberg Union Physical Education Award 2017

Our winner this year was George Woods who had the best Independent Study by a student who is going into teacher training (PGCE from September). George attended the reunion lunch with his family and briefly spoke to members about his study.

“A study of the socio-economic effects of the London 2012 Olympics on residents of the London Borough of Newham.”

Abstract The purpose of this study is to uncover the socio-economic impacts of the 2012 Olympic Games on residents of the East London Borough of Newham.

Using data collected from the Land Registry, we assess the impact on the property market that hosting the Olympics has had in Newham, comparing these findings with three separate locations of Birmingham, Liverpool and Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Our findings highlight the disparity between the rising cost of housing in Newham compared with elsewhere. Following the Olympics in 2012, prices rose by 65.0 per cent in Newham, 19.2 per cent in Birmingham, 11.3 per cent in Liverpool, and 13.2 in Newcastle Upon Tyne.

These findings lead us to explore socio- economic issues such as gentrification. In the light of previous research and our findings, the discussion concludes with recommendations regarding unbiased transparency and public consultation in the bidding and planning stages for future Olympic host cities.

We congratulate George and wish him all the best for his future career in teaching.

AWARDS AND PRESENTATIONS Bergman Österberg Union Netball Teacher Award The Netball Teacher Award, donated by the Bergman Österberg Union, is presented to a teacher at any level who has made an outstanding contribution to the development of netball in primary and/or secondary schools outside of their statutory teaching responsibilities.

To be eligible the nominee must be affiliated to England Netball (either as an individual or via the school) and have volunteered for a minimum period of three years, having had particular impact in the last 12 months.

Recent Recipients of the Netball Teacher Award 2013 Tanya Cornish, Rainham School for Girls 2014 Kerry Murray, Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Girls 2015 No Award 2016 Barbara Taylor, Walthamstow Hall, Sevenoaks 2017 Carol Duffy, St Paul’s Academy, Greenwich

2016 Barbara Taylor, Walthamstow Hall “End of an Era” – quote from School website: The end of this academic year also marks the end of an era as we say goodbye to legend Miss Taylor, Wally Hall PE teacher extraordinaire for over 43 years. Miss Taylor has been inspiring Wally Hall girls to get involved in sport and aim high since she joined the school as a newly qualified young teacher in 1973. With a calm, unflappable and down-to-earth approach she has sown the seeds for a lifelong love of sport in generations of girls. Her kindness, warmth and loyalty to her pupils and the school has been unstinting and Wally Hall will definitely not be the same without her. Barbara organised weekend tours for all year groups nationally and internationally over the 43 years spent at Walthamstow Hall, both for Netball and Lacrosse. She helped develop girls’ interest to play netball in out-of-school leagues and many have gone on to play in local clubs and certainly when at University. Wally Hall has been affiliated to Kent Netball since the 1950’s and takes part in the County School Tournaments at every age group and won the U12 County Championships in 2003. Barbara has represented Kent Schools on the County Committee and since retiring from school has been helping at the County School Tournaments.

2017 Carol Duffy – St. Paul’s Academy, Greenwich Since Carol took up her full-time post as a PE teacher in St Paul's Academy, Greenwich in 2013, she has set up and established Netball within the school, as it was not previously a sport played at St Paul's. Each week up to 70 plus girls across years 7 to 11 participate in regular netball training sessions, with Carol delivering 29

up to 3 netball training sessions a week in addition to her other responsibilities. Carol has dedicated her time to delivering training sessions for pupils both in the afternoon and in the morning, with some sessions beginning at 7am before normal lessons begin at 8.15am.

Carol is responsible for coaching 4 netball teams at St Paul's between years 7 to 10. With the help of another member of staff, Carol ensures the participation and engagement of all 4 teams in regular competitive fixtures throughout Greenwich and Kent.

In addition to her coaching responsibilities, Carol also ensures the involvement and development of a number of school Sports Leaders in assisting to deliver training sessions and develop their officiating skills on a regular basis. Carol aimed to set up a league which would allow girls to engage in regular competitive netball fixtures, in turn developing the skill and understanding of the game, as well as building meaningful and lasting relationships between Greenwich schools.

Over the last 3 years the Greenwich School's Netball League has continued to grow and within the last 12 months has seen the involvement of 8 secondary schools in regular netball fixtures across the borough each week. A further 3 schools to date will also join the league next year. Working closely with staff across all schools, Carol's passion and enthusiasm for netball has helped to hugely enhance its status and levels of participation throughout Greenwich Borough. Carol also delivers tournaments for each year group.

Acutely aware of the lack of competitive fixtures available for her girls to play when she first started at St Paul's and the lack of structure for secondary school Netball in Greenwich, Carol made it her mission to establish a sustainable league.

Within the last 12 months Carol has been working extremely closely with members of Greenwich Borough Sports Development Department to help develop netball in Greenwich even further. She has worked hard to source much needed funding for the league, enabling purchase of equipment and kit for schools as well as medals and shields for the league and Greenwich tournaments. Carol is Carol Duffy also working hard to establish strong club links with schools and aims next to develop a sustainable under-age club structure in Greenwich which is accessible for all students. Joan Mills M.B.E.

AWARDS AND PRESENTATIONS

The Spirit of Dartford Greenwich honours decades of alumni achievement in education Thursday 26th October, 2017

Professor David Maguire, Vice-Chancellor, University of Greenwich

It is a very special honour and a privilege to welcome you all – alumnae of Dartford College, families, and friends - to this unique graduation ceremony. I am delighted that you have joined us today, as treasured members of the wide and diverse University of Greenwich community, to celebrate your educational and professional achievements through the tradition of formally presenting academic awards.

It is clear, not least from how the University was inundated with responses to the invitation to today’s ceremonies, how much pride and affection is held for the Dartford College of Physical Education by its alumnae. This is not least because of the inspiring legacy of Martina Bergman Österberg, founder of the Bergman Österberg Physical Training College in 1895, whose passion for physical education and the emancipation of women lives on in Dartford’s many graduates.

Dartford College forms just one part of the University of Greenwich’s rich heritage through our forerunner institutions. Indeed, both Dartford and the University can trace their history back to the same era. Only five years before Madame Bergman Österberg founded her college at Dartford, just upstream of the Thames, Woolwich Polytechnic was founded, the second such polytechnic college in the United Kingdom. These institutions of higher learning in South East London and

Kent have moved and been rearranged over the decades. Yet they are part of a continuous tradition of education in the region that now resides with the University, based across three campuses at Medway, Avery Hill, and of course here, at the Old Royal Naval College, in the heart of maritime Greenwich.

We are blessed here at the University of Greenwich to occupy the buildings of the college. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren, and situated directly on top of the ruins of the Tudor royal palace, this building has served as a hospital, a world-class naval academy, and now a university. This glorious Neoclassical chapel, designed by James ‘Athenian’ Stuart and William Newton, is a truly special venue to host today’s ceremony.

This setting reminds us of Greenwich’s long history as a seat of learning, which the University is continuing today; a thriving centre of teaching, research, and enterprise, made up of 38,000 students from more than 140 countries, and 1,800 members of academic staff.

Greenwich is a place where outstanding students, with endless potential, achieve extraordinary things. Our diverse academic portfolio includes subjects ranging from engineering to education, business to biology, and computing to creative arts. A high proportion of our programmes are professionally accredited and all prepare our graduates for a world that demands employees of high academic calibre who are self-sufficient, enterprising, and savvy. The University has an outstanding employability record: 91% of last year’s graduates are in employment or are pursuing further study. In June, the University was awarded a Silver rating in the government’s Teaching Excellence Framework, and official recognition of our excellent teaching.

And following the legacy of Dartford College, Greenwich continues to train outstanding teachers and education professionals fit for the twenty-first century. Our primary teacher training is recognised as Outstanding by Ofsted, which recognised the University’s excellent partnerships with schools across London and the South East. Many of these schools now employ or are headed by graduates of the University and its forerunner institutions.

At the University of Greenwich, we take exceptional pride in the diversity and inclusivity of our student and staff communities. In 2016, we were named as one of the “most international” universities in the world by Times Higher Education Magazine, ranking us alongside 100 institutions with the most global outlook. Moreover, according to the Hotcourses Diversity Index, Greenwich is considered one of the most globally diverse universities in world, and we are committed to ensuring that our community continues to grow. The flourishing international community at the University enhances the outlook of our teaching and research, and our capacity to save lives and enhance wellbeing through exceptional research is contingent upon the international funding we receive through exceptional investors such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the European Space Agency and Santander.

The mission to transform lives through exceptional teaching and research is at the heart of all that we do at Greenwich. It is a deeply embedded principle in our voluntary and outreach work, the research undertaken by our staff and students, and the careers and journeys of alumni of the University and our predecessor institutions including Dartford.

We are so very proud of those alumni who go on to make a difference in their regions, countries, and the wider world, many of whom we have highlighted in our Greenwich Portraits Project. Some of our most notable alumni include the Principal of Medway University Technical College, a former England women’s cricket captain, and the founder of one of China’s leading fashion brands.

Many, if not most of you, will have had long and distinguished careers in education, and so live in this spirit of transforming of lives and making the world a better place, as did Madame Bergman Österberg herself. You, are members of the Dartford College community, and so also a core part of the University of Greenwich community, and that is why we have gathered here today.

On behalf of the University, I wish you all a day of enjoyment and celebration.

Stephen Howlett, Pro Chancellor, University of Greenwich

Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Chief Operating Officer, Graduands, families, colleagues and friends, I too would like to welcome you all most warmly to today’s graduation ceremony. It is wonderful to see so many of the family, friends and supporters of our graduands in the audience, and I would like to thank you all for joining us here today in celebration of the University of Greenwich’s treasured relationship with the alumnae of Dartford College, and the Bergman Österberg Union.

This is a unique and stand-out ceremony from the many others that we are hosting this week, presenting the University’s formal awards to our most recent cohort of graduates.

At our ceremonies so far this week I have found myself addressing the gathered graduands in this beautiful chapel, looking down upon a crowd of bright, young faces. Many of them are barely twenty one. All having completed successfully a finite chapter of their lives in their time studying with us, and set to begin another in the world of work.

Few of these young graduates will have had experience of what we so imprecisely tend to call 'the real world'. An ordinary graduation address tends to dwell on this. I might find myself exploring themes of personal journeys and growth, of living authentically, showing determination and resilience, of the ways in which their time at Greenwich will serve them well in their lives ahead. In many ways, the graduation address is the final conclusion to our students' formal education received at the University.

Such reflections may pass for addressing an ordinary graduation ceremony at the University of Greenwich. But this is an extraordinary graduation ceremony. Certainly, those of you gathered here today are much more versed in the 'real

world' than our typical graduands - wiser, more astute, more… judicious, perhaps. Indeed, many of you seem much more so than me! So, far from the usual fare of dishing out life advice and practical wisdom, today’s ceremony has stopped me to reflect on the great passions of Martina Bergman Österberg: education, sport, and their respective roles in the emancipation of women.

In the most functional sense I might say that we are all gathered here today because you are alumnae of Dartford College, one of the University of Greenwich's many forerunner institutions.

Universities, particularly modern universities such as our own, have many predecessor and associated institutions. But few, so far as I know, appear to carry with them the unique community spirit and the fierce pride and attachment that one finds in the alumnae of Dartford, stewarded today by the Bergman Österberg Union. There are, I believe, a number of reasons for this. Not least is the philosophy and inspiration provided by Madame Bergman Österberg herself, upon which I shall reflect in due course, and the excellent standard of teacher training provided at Dartford at its time.

But I believe that the main reason that the Dartford community remains so strong today is that first and foremost it is a coming together of educators. Educators, and education itself, are founded upon the strong roots of community and shared values.

This is why universities such as ours continue to arrange communal gatherings such as these, complete with pomp and circumstance, to bring together a community and many sub-communities of students and scholars. We take these occasions to celebrate our collaborative culture, and the often unspoken bonds of trust and assistance that bind together our University; our uni-veritas; our singular and collective purpose to value truth above all else.

And it is that collective endeavour towards a singular goal that characterises that other great passion of Madame Bergman Österberg: sport. Sport, like education, builds communities. And these are strong communities of players, spectators, coaches, commentators and fans. Sport, like education, brings out the best in human beings: the will to excel ourselves; to show empathy and sympathy; to be gracious in success and accepting of setbacks. In Madame Österberg’s words,

sport develops one’s "appreciation of space and time, discipline, reason, quickness and unselfishness". It is clear then why Madame Österberg so valued the combined role that sport and education could play in the emancipation of women, at the turn of the twentieth century. She lived at a time of great changes in education, sporting culture, and the advancement of women's rights.

Her career spanned seminal events in these fields: the passage of the Elementary Education Acts; the foundation of new colleges and universities; the emergence of high profile sporting events such as the football league and the modern Olympics; and the height of the women's suffrage movement.

Madame Österberg was a pioneer in all of these areas – the sort of polymath that is rarely encountered today. Her introduction of an innovative physical training curriculum based around Swedish gymnastics remains the basis of modern physical education. The development of the gymslip, in partnership with Mary Tait, enabled women to engage in physical activity within the confines of Victorian modesty. A passionate suffragette, she was one of the largest financial supporters of the National Association for Women's Suffrage in her home country of Sweden. And perhaps most famously, the development of Netball at Dartford has been enjoyed by women and girls the world over.

Over a century on from Madame Österberg’s passing, it strikes me that we need to cherish the high value she placed on education and sport more than ever. We live in uncertain times. The questions of what, how, and why we educate our children, young people, and adults here in the UK are more pertinent, and political, than ever. These are challenges which we must confront every day as a modern university, and which I’m sure many of you have confronted in your own careers.

Such challenges are even more pertinent for women, and we still have a long way to go in realising Madame Österberg’s vision for equality of the sexes in education and sport. Globally, UNESCO estimates that two-thirds of the 774 million illiterate people in the world are female. 31 million girls of primary school age and 34 million girls of secondary school age are unable to go to school. A recent study of women in the UK aged between 16 and 24 found that more than half gave up sport when compulsory PE lessons ended. Only 35% believe that society encourages women to play sport, compared to 88% who believe it does for men.

Like Martina Bergman Österberg, we need to dedicate ourselves to the task of furthering sporting and educational opportunities for women, both in the UK and around the world. And indeed, I know that this is what so many of you have done through your professional careers, as a direct result of the education you received at Dartford.

And it is what we at the University of Greenwich endeavour to do also, with our excellent track record of training teachers, and our recent investment in new sporting facilities and opportunities for all our students. And there can be few greater indicators of success in this work than the formation of lifelong bonds of friendship and affinity that I can see before me today among the members of the Bergman Österberg Union.

Today is a celebration of this community, and is a formal recognition of your membership of the wider University of Greenwich community. To borrow a metaphor from another source of our University’s cultural heritage, we are here as an anchor for our thousands of diverse graduates living all over the world, a line of longitude, providing orientation and safety to those who take their measurements against the Greenwich meridian.

So it remains for me to once again thank and congratulate you all for joining us here today: for being a part of our Greenwich community; for continuing the legacy of Martina Bergman Österberg; and for your achievements and successes, both academic and professional. May they long continue.

Standing for Degree Conferment

Professor Jennifer Hargreaves

Pro Vice-Chancellor, Chris - very many thanks for your most kind and generous account of my career, and to University of Greenwich for the award of an honorary doctorate. Many thanks, too, to all those people who have been involved in the organisation of this historic day, who have individually and collectively been doggedly questing for retrospective honorary degrees to be awarded to the alumnae of Dartford College of Physical Education.

Later in the programme Anne Stuart will be thanking individual people for their particular contributions, but in case she gets left out, I want to give her a huge thank you from all of us here for her indomitable spirit, consistent enthusiasm and unbeatable determination, that today would materialise and be successful. The response has been amazing, signalling that it matters to all of us here today that there is formal recognition that the programme at Dartford was of a high academic standard commensurate with degree status, and secondly, that there is a general feeling among us of a shared sense of belonging – that Dartford was a very special place, reflecting, and in some respects continuing, the ideals of Madame Bergman Österberg and the early intrepid ladies who trained with her. Undoubtedly, like them, we continued to battle for subject recognition, and, following what has been described as the feminist dimension of the early years, we also had to address the dominance of men in the field.

Undoubtedly our training prepared us for work in different fields of employment – notably teaching and physiotherapy – but also, to study further – for example, to go into medical and academic work. I am not unique among Dartford alumnae– all here today have achievements to be hugely proud of in a range of personal activities and professional careers. The course at Dartford prepared us well for our future lives – the standards were high, and academically demanding. I can remember the claim that our anatomy and physiology courses were equivalent to the Second MB level. On trips to Kings College we were shown various cadavers and their parts and instructed by the professor to show him the origins and insertions of particular muscles. My later interest in Sports History was triggered when I was at Dartford, where I also developed feminist leanings.

Following my time there between 1955 and 1958, I was lucky to spend 45 years in jobs that I loved, initially teaching in schools, then moving to higher education with opportunities for research and writing. But because we had only been awarded a Certificate of Education at Dartford, in order to gain academic credibility, I became an evening student at London University’s Institute of Education to get a Diploma, then an M.A.. Maybe the energy and ambition I had in those years resulted from our days at College when playing hard and working hard were the norm. I can’t imagine now, how I managed to work full-time, without study leave – or proper maternity leave – while bringing up 2 children and running a home!

My academic apprenticeship, through work for my M.A. dissertation in the Sociology of Education, focussed on the early years of the female Physical Education profession. I analysed evidence from official letters and documents in the Dartford Archives which led me to re-assess previous biographies of Martina Bergman Österberg and to assess some of the complexities and contradictions of her life and work.

Through the study of Sociology, at Masters level, came a growing awareness of the social and political worlds affecting the lives of individuals in all aspects of physical culture. A growing awareness of, and exposure to, individuals and groups who suffered from discrimination – especially girls and women – influenced all my future research projects. I came to understand that knowledge can be both political and potentially progressive, as well as being open to contestation. It was difficult, but possible, to get some funding for critical research, then to present the findings at conferences, and to publish papers and books for wider exposure.

I chose to work with disadvantaged groups in this country and abroad. For example, in South Africa in 1991, shortly after the ending of apartheid, a group of Black women in Guguletu – a township outside Cape Town – told me they were not represented in sports forums in the new South Africa or internationally. So I told their story whenever I could – most notably at the first IOC conference about women in sport at their headquarters in Lausanne.

One of the key themes that preoccupied me, was that in the school context, over the years, female PE teachers made a mark on the PE curriculum which was connected to fierce battles between the sexes. Nevertheless, I suspect that today very few young teachers know details of the gendered history of their subject. For example, “progressivism” in the 1970s and 80s (with its focus – both in the classroom and in the gym – on individual and creative learning) was embraced mostly by PE women and aggressively criticised by PE men. With a change of

terminology to “movement education”, we aimed for all children to become physically literate in all fields of movement. While a lecturer at Southfields College I worked with colleagues to introduce what I believe was the first mixed-sex teacher training course in the country, which countered the previously strictly gendered divisions between the sexes.

Fierce competition was not our primary consideration, but was an important extra -curricular activity. We coached school teams and worked with organisations and coaches in the community, to cater for physically gifted children who, like Ann (née Packer, Olympic gold medallist, whom we are lauding here today), could aspire to become illustrious performers. But in both the academic curriculum, and the physical curriculum, progressivism has arguably been “hidden from history”, and elite performance articulating with commercial and economic rewards is the norm, despite continuous lip-service to social and community needs. Some battles have been won, others were lost, but barriers and ideas can change and I urge that students should be encouraged to investigate the past and consider different philosophies and their relevance to contemporary contexts and struggles for social progress.

Finally, on behalf of all the “old” Dartford students here today, who have retrospectively been awarded an honorary degree, I want to salute the University of Greenwich for the long-overdue recognition of the value of the Dartford courses in previous years before PE and Sports Studies were recognised as degree subjects. For us, this is keeping alive Madame Bergman Österberg’s memory and idea that those early years in many ways shaped a whole generation of specialist Physical Education teachers. Thank you again.

*********************

Ann Brightwell M.B.E.

Thank you, so much, Mr Philpott, for your generous and very complimentary eulogy. I am truly humbled.

Pro Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, Dartford graduates & Guests – good day to you all.

Unfortunately, in my experience, it is not always appropriate to insert the ‘good’ into that

greeting on account of the dreadful weather, not feeling 100%, or facing a chal- lenging day ahead. But today, in this beautiful setting, it is very good! Why is that? Well, of course, I am proud and honoured to accept this award from University of Greenwich Court, but I am also grateful for this opportunity to congratulate and thank you graduates receiving honours today who revolutionised a lifestyle…and helped make my success possible.

It seems inconceivable, now, that as many of us were growing up, we lived in a world where sport was fundamentally a male preserve. It was a culture that dictated how we should be, rather than recognising how we were….

We were expected to be delicate, attractive, submissive, non-competitive. “Girls don’t sweat”, “Girls don’t run”, and “Girls certainly don’t get muddy”.

If we did cross the line, and engage in male-dominated sports, we were in danger of being labelled “odd” or “masculine”. And, if we married, you were expected to keep your husband happy and say, ‘yes, dear’ (isn’t that right dear?).

As a result, many girls and women avoided taking part in sports.

Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world, and thanks to the visionary leadership of Madame Österberg, Dartford College was established, the very first of its kind, whose female graduates became specialists in teaching physical education and sport.

Fired by Madame’s mission and driven by her inspiration, these “ambassadors” spread the virtues of their doctrine to their charges. As their message took hold, so their influence grew. Those with advanced specialist expertise became coaches. Some were promoted to senior administrative education posts. Others were elevated to Sport Governing Bodies, traditionally, a private province of power for men.

Then followed a “double whammy” - converts to active lifestyle invariably became mums, and, as we know, mum’s values can impact on lifestyle faster than any sophisticated advertising campaign.

So, today, whilst the race for gender equality in sport is not complete, great progress has been made. Daughters can grow up with the same sporting opportunities as their brothers. They participate in soccer, rugby, cricket, boxing, cycling, run marathons. At the highest level, in the Olympic athletic arena, women now compete in the same athletic events as men, bar one.

And you graduates here can stand proud, knowing your commitment to your chosen discipline, made it happen.

I know that I am standing here today, receiving this award because I won Olympic honours, but no matter what accomplishment we achieve, it has never been done alone. Many people have contributed and I am indebted to my “Band-of-Sisters” at Dartford and the excellent lecturing staff for their guidance, encouragement and support.

Finally…..a huge thank you on behalf of all Dartford graduates to David Maguire and staff here at Greenwich who, together with Anne Stuart, Dr. Jo Harris and the BÖU Committee, have worked so hard to make this memorable day happen…and long may this partnership flourish.

Sometimes it is very appropriate to put the ‘good’ into the greeting.

Today I think, we can all agree has been a great day. THANK YOU.

*************************

Anne Stuart, Chair of the Bergman Österberg Union

Pro Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, Pro Vice- Chancellor, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:

Since the University of Greenwich was created 25 years ago, the Bergman Ӧsterberg Union and members of the University staff have developed very warm relationships, which have gone from strength to strength over the years. So it is my great pleasure at this wonderful occasion today to be able to thank all those who have made these Honorary Degree awards happen.

Firstly, to the Academic Registry team, led by Dionne Glennon, for their organisation of the day, in particular Mary Draper on the ticket and enquiries desk and Julian

Murphy who has looked after our guests with special requirements. Our thanks to the staff and students who are stewarding today and the staff from the Greenwich foundation, in particular the Chapel Manager, Deborah Robson.

As most of you will know, the Bergman Ӧsterberg Union’s efforts to gain this recognition for our courses has been the subject of much discussion for over 70 years. We first began talks with the University over three years ago. It was through the support of Vice-Chancellor Professor David Maguire from January 2016 that our hopes started to become a reality. So our great thanks go to David who has been a tremendous advocate of the BÖU throughout this process.

Secondly, our warm thanks go to Sarah Cretch, Head of the Alumni and Development Office, for her boundless enthusiasm for the project. She and her Alumni team have worked tirelessly to make today happen.

We also need to thank Emma Townrow, Senior Administrative Officer from the Directorate of Communications and Recruitment for her work in sorting out the lists of attendees and liaising between the Alumni office and Academic Registry.

Also thanks to Pro Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Education and Health, Chris Philpott, who has helped the process and been the orator for Ann Brightwell and Jennifer Hargreaves today.

Last but not least, our great thanks go to Martyn Stephenson from the Alumni Office, who has worked with us for nearly 20 years and has been highly instrumental in creating and nurturing the relationship that has developed between the BÖU and the University. We marked his contribution to our work by making him an Honorary Member at our AGM in September.

I know you will also want to join me in thanking the members of the BÖU committee who have all been very supportive. In particular I would like to thank Jill Ellis Williams, our Secretary, and Christobel Elliott, our Treasurer, who have given up a tremendous amount of their time working with me on all the responses to our letter, particularly in the last few months. Also our President, Dr. Jo Harris, and our archivist, Rosemary Moon, who have been involved throughout.

Madame Ӧsterberg’s life’s work was dedicated to the social, economic and spiritual freedom of women and I am sure that she would have been extremely proud of what is happening here today. Please join me in thanking the University of Greenwich for creating this award and honouring the work of Madame Bergman Ӧsterberg and all of us who trained or taught at Dartford. Here’s to the University of Greenwich, Madame Bergman Ӧsterberg and the Spirit of Dartford.

MEMORIES OF GRADUATION DAY

Dorothy Florence Crowther b.19.4.1919 (Dartford 1940)

I could hardly believe my eyes when I received notification that the students of Dartford College were going to be awarded their degrees. My mother, Dorothy Florence Crowther, at 98 seemed an unlikely student! There was great interest and excitement from her four granddaughters with questions like: “Will it be a traditional ceremony?” “Will Granny wear a gown and mortarboard?” “Where will it be?”

My memory drifted back to my childhood in Kent when my mother went off to work as a Physical Education teacher whilst my brother and I went to school. I remembered her pale blue cape hanging in the wardrobe. I fast forwarded a few years to the celebration of her success as a Lecturer at the Teacher Training College in Malta where she introduced modern physical education theories and practices in schools across Malta and Gozo. Throughout my upbringing, there was a strong backbone to our family values that girls were as important and as able as boys and that physical fitness was a key factor to wellbeing.

Now it seemed that at last she was to have her qualification fully recognised. How wonderful! Plans went underway and whilst the thought of all the practicalities of getting a 98-year-old with Alzheimer’s and continence problems to London from Bedfordshire was somewhat daunting, I received amazing support from Jill Ellis, Anne Stuart and Emma Townrow and we managed it!

My mother had to be informed about the award several times (due to the dementia) and on each occasion her remark was, “Well it’s about time”!

Upon our arrival on the day we were waved into a special parking space in the grounds and made our way to the area to collect the gown and mortarboard. We could not have been met with more courtesy and enthusiasm, especially when they realised Mum was 98!

We progressed to the Old Chapel and were absolutely amazed at the beauty and extravagance of the chapel itself. We were welcomed and shown where to sit. 44

Mum seemed a bit overawed, but as I had brought a big typed note explaining why she was there, she was able to keep reading it and remain abreast of what was going on.

We listened to the fascinating and touching speeches and then we were on – first up! How amazing! We decided not to chance climbing up the steps and the Vice- Chancellor, David Maguire, immediately came down the said steps to meet her, giving her his arm for support. Chivalry is not dead, even 2017! I felt so proud of my mother and pleased for her. The amazing applause and warmth coming from the audience was terrific. What fun for all involved!

The rest of the colourful ceremony proved equally touching and interesting and it was somehow comforting to me as I looked around that, even though my mother is in the twilight of her years, I was surrounded with many similar able and successful women like my mother, who would also carry on the Dartford traditions and values in their lives.

The legacy of Dartford College is firmly within me. I had already begun to appreciate its importance when my mother and I met Rosemary Moon and were shown the archives and the remaining buildings in 2014. The messages of the importance of equality and physical well-being have already been passed to all four granddaughters. The details of the graduation will be held lovingly within our own family archives along with Mum’s famous remark, “It’s about time!” – and she even remembered it the next day.

Thank you University of Greenwich! Jane Devitt