You will be saddened to learn that our Chair of Governors, Derek Loughborough, died last week.
Derek had been Chair of Governors here since 1992 and a member of the Governing Body for an even longer period (certainly from at least the early 1980s).
Derek gave tremendous service to our school, always valuing the efforts made to give our pupils the best possible start in life. He always spoke well of us and worked tremendously hard in the background to help wherever he could.
As an ex Chair of the Education Committee and former Mayor of Croydon, Derek had considerable local influence and was held in high regard by politicians of all persuasions. He has been known to strike fear into officers of the local authority!
Derek was made an Honorary Alderman and Honorary Freeman of the London Borough of Croydon in 2006. The latter is the highest award that can be bestowed by a council.
Derek will be a great loss to our school and to the wider community of Croydon. On a personal note, I have always found him a great support, particularly when his wisdom has helped us through difficult times.
Our thoughts are of course with his family.