THE chairman of governors of Chester-le-Street’s Park View Academy has received an MBE for services to education.
Dr William Forster Dennison, 72, has held the post for 25 years and is also a governor of Red House Academy in Sunderland.
Until his retirement he was head of the department of education at Newcastle University.
His citation says: “He is an active and committed chair, present in the school two to three times a week, and both supportive and challenging.
“Park View has a mixed intake from an area of relative deprivation but results have been very good over the years, in no small part due to his leadership.”
Dr Dennison said: “The school has been very successful and we went to academy status two years ago - that has ben a big boost to the staff and the pupils.”
He added that the honour came as a surprise: “Your see other people in similar positions getting it but it is always a surprise when it comes to you.
“It is very much a reflection on the school. It has been doing well for a number of years.”
Dr Dennison was designated a National Leader of Governance for the National College for Teaching and Leadership in 2012.
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