Rhodes Boyson
Encyclopedia
Sir Rhodes Boyson is a British educator, author and politician and a former Conservative
Member of Parliament
for Brent North. He was knighted
and made a member of the Privy Council in 1987.
The son of Alderman William Boyson MBE
JP
, Rhodes Boyson was educated at Haslingden Grammar School, University College Cardiff
, the University of Manchester
, the London School of Economics
and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
.
based in India at the time of Independence
and then was a head teacher
, first at Lea Bank Secondary Modern School in Rossendale
(1955–61), then at Robert Montefiore Secondary School, Stepney
, London (1961–66), and finally and famously from 1967 to 1974 at Highbury Grove School
, a new all-boys comprehensive in Islington, North London, of which he was the founding head; in this capacity, and subsequently as an MP, he was vocal and outspoken in support of the retention of corporal punishment in British schools. He opposed "progressive" teaching methods and what he perceived to be lax discipline both in modern education and in the wider society, and at Highbury Grove he introduced an unfashionably traditional regime, with strictly enforced uniforms
, caning
for misbehaviour, and a house system. This proved so popular with local parents that the school was consistently oversubscribed.
In 1977 he was co-author (with Prof. C.B. Cox) of one of the series of Black Papers
on education, criticising many aspects of the comprehensive school
s system.
Boyson was a severe critic of what he regarded as the influence of "mindless sociologists" and the accompanying "mush which has corrupted the national character", noting in 1978 that "it has not gone unnoticed that crime has increased parallel with the number of social workers". The Daily Mirror responded with an editorial comment "that crime has also increased parallel with speeches from Dr. Boyson".
He served as Chairman of the National Council for Educational Standards.
1984-1986 and for Local Government 1986-1987.
Boyson was a strong opponent of homosexuality
and a supporter of Section 28
. He said:
Boyson was a supporter of the Conservative Monday Club
and frequently addressed them. At the Conservative Party Annual Conference at Blackpool on 10 October 1991 he was the principal speaker at a Club fringe meeting on the subject of A Conservative Revolution in Education.
In 1994 he appeared on the BBC
topical panel TV show Have I Got News For You
and seemed not to appreciate the light-hearted nature of the programme. He also appeared on Brass Eye
.
Boyson lost his Brent North seat in the Labour landslide of 1997, his 24% majority turning to a 10% majority for the opposition, partly because of what was perceived to be his lack of commitment to the campaign to retain Edgware
General Hospital; in 2001, the seat, no longer contested by Boyson, swung a further 9% to Labour.
In 2007 he received an honorary degree from The University of Buckingham
. He now lives in a nursing home (Cedar House, Harefield).
Distinctive personal features are his mutton chop whiskers and his strong Lancashire accent.
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Brent North. He was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
and made a member of the Privy Council in 1987.
The son of Alderman William Boyson MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
JP
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
, Rhodes Boyson was educated at Haslingden Grammar School, University College Cardiff
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
, the University of Manchester
Victoria University of Manchester
The Victoria University of Manchester was a university in Manchester, England. On 1 October 2004 it merged with the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology to form a new entity, "The University of Manchester".-1851 - 1951:The University was founded in 1851 as Owens College,...
, the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is notable as the only college founded by Cambridge townspeople: it was established in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary...
.
Early career
He served with the Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
based in India at the time of Independence
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
and then was a head teacher
Head teacher
A head teacher or school principal is the most senior teacher, leader and manager of a school....
, first at Lea Bank Secondary Modern School in Rossendale
Rossendale
Rossendale is a local government district with borough status. It is made up of a number of small former mill towns in Lancashire, England centered around the valley of the River Irwell in the industrial North West...
(1955–61), then at Robert Montefiore Secondary School, Stepney
Stepney
Stepney is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in London's East End that grew out of a medieval village around St Dunstan's church and the 15th century ribbon development of Mile End Road...
, London (1961–66), and finally and famously from 1967 to 1974 at Highbury Grove School
Highbury Grove School
Highbury Grove School is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school in the London Borough of Islington. It covers the age range 11 to 18 inclusive and currently has about 1,100 pupils. It is classified as a Community School, specialising in business, enterprise studies and music . The head...
, a new all-boys comprehensive in Islington, North London, of which he was the founding head; in this capacity, and subsequently as an MP, he was vocal and outspoken in support of the retention of corporal punishment in British schools. He opposed "progressive" teaching methods and what he perceived to be lax discipline both in modern education and in the wider society, and at Highbury Grove he introduced an unfashionably traditional regime, with strictly enforced uniforms
School uniform
A school uniform is an outfit—a set of standardized clothes—worn primarily for an educational institution. They are common in primary and secondary schools in various countries . When used, they form the basis of a school's dress code.Traditionally school uniforms have been largely subdued and...
, caning
Caning
Caning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of a number of hits with a single cane usually made of rattan, generally applied to the offender's bare or clothed buttocks or hand . Application of a cane to the knuckles or the shoulders has been much less common...
for misbehaviour, and a house system. This proved so popular with local parents that the school was consistently oversubscribed.
In 1977 he was co-author (with Prof. C.B. Cox) of one of the series of Black Papers
Black Papers
The Black Papers were a series of pamphlets on education, their name being a contrast to government White Papers.According to the Critical Quarterly website the Black Papers were:...
on education, criticising many aspects of the comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
s system.
Boyson was a severe critic of what he regarded as the influence of "mindless sociologists" and the accompanying "mush which has corrupted the national character", noting in 1978 that "it has not gone unnoticed that crime has increased parallel with the number of social workers". The Daily Mirror responded with an editorial comment "that crime has also increased parallel with speeches from Dr. Boyson".
He served as Chairman of the National Council for Educational Standards.
Political career
Rhodes Boyson was first elected to the House of Commons in 1974, and was Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department of Education and Science 1979-1983. In this capacity he sought to uphold schools' right to use the cane, and was nicknamed the "Minister for Flogging" by the anti-corporal-punishment campaign STOPP. He was Minister of State for Social Security 1983-1984, for Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
1984-1986 and for Local Government 1986-1987.
Boyson was a strong opponent of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
and a supporter of Section 28
Section 28
Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 caused the controversial addition of Section 2A to the Local Government Act 1986 , enacted on 24 May 1988 and repealed on 21 June 2000 in Scotland, and on 18 November 2003 in the rest of Great Britain by section 122 of the Local Government Act 2003...
. He said:
"It is wrong biblically, is homosexualityHomosexualityHomosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. It is unnatural. AIDSAIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
is part of the fruits of the permissive society. The regular one-man, one-woman marriage would not put us at risk in this way. If we could wipe out homosexual practices, then Aids would die out."
Boyson was a supporter of the Conservative Monday Club
Conservative Monday Club
The Conservative Monday Club is a British pressure group "on the right-wing" of the Conservative Party.-Overview:...
and frequently addressed them. At the Conservative Party Annual Conference at Blackpool on 10 October 1991 he was the principal speaker at a Club fringe meeting on the subject of A Conservative Revolution in Education.
In 1994 he appeared on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
topical panel TV show Have I Got News For You
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
and seemed not to appreciate the light-hearted nature of the programme. He also appeared on Brass Eye
Brass Eye
Brass Eye is a UK television series of satirical spoof documentaries. A series of six aired on Channel 4 in 1997, and a further episode in 2001....
.
Boyson lost his Brent North seat in the Labour landslide of 1997, his 24% majority turning to a 10% majority for the opposition, partly because of what was perceived to be his lack of commitment to the campaign to retain Edgware
Edgware
Edgware is an area in London, situated north-northwest of Charing Cross. It forms part of both the London Borough of Barnet and the London Borough of Harrow. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
General Hospital; in 2001, the seat, no longer contested by Boyson, swung a further 9% to Labour.
In 2007 he received an honorary degree from The University of Buckingham
University of Buckingham
The University of Buckingham is an independent, non-sectarian, research and teaching university located in Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Great Ouse. It was originally founded as Buckingham University College in the 1970s and received its Royal Charter from the...
. He now lives in a nursing home (Cedar House, Harefield).
Distinctive personal features are his mutton chop whiskers and his strong Lancashire accent.
Further reading
- Boyson, Rhodes, Centre Forward - A Radical Conservative Programme, Temple Smith, London, 1978. ISBN 0-85117-148-6
- Boyson, Rhodes, Oversubscribed: The Story of Highbury Grove School, Ward Lock Educational, London, 1974. ISBN 0-7062-3385-9
- Dod's Parliamentary Companion 1991, 172 edition, East Sussex, ISBN 0-905702-17-4.