Michael Duane

William Michael Duane (26 January 1915 – 21 January 1997) was an Irish born, British teacher known for his progressive educational views, his belief in inclusivity and a multi-racial approach, his encouragement of informal relationships between staff and pupils and his opposition to corporal punishment. He was also the head of the controversial short-lived Risinghill School in Islington.

Biography Early life and education Duane was born on 26 January 1915 in Dublin, Ireland to John Joseph Duane (1888–1922) and Mary Ellen Fogarty (1893-1975). When Duane was 7 his father died when he was shot in Waterford during the Civil War; three years later Duane and his mother moved to London. He was educated at Dominican School at Archway, London before going to the Jesuits' School, Stamford Hill. He trained as a teacher at the Institute of Education, University of London, before taking up at teaching post at Dame Alice Owen's School, Islington, until he joined World War II in 1940. Until the school was ready, Duane was temporarily appointed the head of Beaumont Secondary Modern School in St. Albans for one term. After a good inspection report, Duane felt it was time to move on and left in 1959.

Risinghill School Headmaster Michael Duane welcomes pupils to the new Risinghill School, 4 March 1960. In 1959, Duane became the head of the comprehensive Risinghill School in Islington, the post which was to make him a famous figure. The secondary school was an amalgamation of four other local schools and included pupils of nineteen different nationalities from variety of backgrounds and abilities. He was also faced with shortages of staff and a poorly built building. Duane introduced a non-authoritarian programme of pastoral care, pupil democracy, frank sex education, close co-operation with parents, promotion of creativity and multi-culturalism. The school received an hostile inspection report which recommended the reintroduction of corporal punishment and expulsion, but Duane refused. In 1965, the newly formed Inner London Education Authority decided to close the school. by Leila Berg in 1968.

Later career After Risinghill controversy, Duane was never appointed a head teacher again. He became a lecturer at Garnett College of Education and wrote and lectured on his educational philosophies. In 1977 he received a MPhil from the University of Nottingham for his research on The Terrace, an experimental ROSLA (raising of the school leaving age) scheme, jointly organised by Royston Lambert (head of Dartington Hall School) and Alec Clegg of the West Riding Education Authority, to provide education for 15-year-olds from Northcliffe School in Conisbrough who no longer saw relevance in standard education. He later published his research in 1995.

Death Michael Duane died in Exeter on 21 January 1997, shortly before his 82nd birthday.

Collections The papers of Michael Duane are held in the Archives of the Institute of Education, University College London. The collection was heavily used by Leila Berg for her work Rising Hill: Death of a Comprehensive School (Penguin, 1968). The collection was donated by Duane's family in 2000. The archive primarily contains reports, memoranda and correspondence relating to Duane's headships of Howe Dell Secondary School, Hatfield (1949-1951); Alderman Woodrow Secondary Boys' School, Lowestoft (1951-1959); and Risinghill School, Islington (1959-1965) alongside writings and press cuttings.

Publications and writings

Writings on Duane

Risinghill: Death of a Comprehensive School, Leila Berg, Penguin Books