A.O.S.A. 2005 ANNUAL REPORT

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One of my first memories of Maeve was when she and her friend Helen Kitson, played the parts of Doves in Benjamin Britten’s Noyes Fludde, which was performed in the tin hut known as the gym. (Situated where the carpark opposite Worthy Pearson’s, now stands.)

Maeve comes from a musical family. Her father played the organ and her mother sang. At one time the whole family, including her brother, who teaches English in York, were active members of the North Yorkshire chorus.

Maeve was born in Northallerton and attended the local primary school in Romanby. She began piano lessons at the age of four and played duets with her brother as well as beginning work for music exams with the Associated Board of Music. By the time she reached Ayton she had reached Grade 5. The 11+ was still a part of the Education system in the area at that time and Maeve failed the second part of the exam. Her parents, who were very keen for her to continue her work with music, decided to send her to Ayton. This was of great excitement to Maeve who was also an avid reader of books like 'The Famous Five' and 'Secret Seven'; boarding school, for Maeve, was going to be fun! From day 1 she enjoyed her time at Ayton and took part in everything and anything. She joined the school choir and participated in many of the large choral works we performed, one of which was Bach’s B Minor Mass. As a sixth former she also became a member of Small Choral.

Maeve also continued her piano lessons with me (and later took up the clarinet) and by the time she left in 1970 she had passed Grade 8, and won the Ruth Arundel music prize, one of the judges being Chris Thompson, also an Old Scholar. She and I had many happy times playing duets. She was also a member of the tennis team and was, at one time, champion scorer in the Netball team.

As she approached the Upper 6th she was asked to be Deputy Head Girl. Leven Hall had just been completed and she and her friend Carol Jackson were asked to try out the new accommodation. It was quite a trek from Leven Hall to the dining room but on the first morning having experienced a very cold shower (the hot water had not been turned on!) they made it in ample time!

Ever since she was a child, Maeve had always wanted to become a teacher. In 1970 she left Ayton to attend a one-year course at Dartington College of Arts in Devon, where she studied piano, clarinet and dance. In 1971 she moved to Rolle College in Exmouth to complete her teacher training, leaving in 1973 to take up a teaching post in Northallerton. From there she moved to an infant school on Catterick Garrison, a junior school in Ripon and eventually became Headteacher of Masham School in 1990.

In 1994, as well as doing the job of Headteacher, Maeve began a three-year course - one evening per week, at Leeds Metropolitan University in order to gain a BEd degree in School Management.

It was while she was working in Masham that she met Mike who has now been her partner for about 15 years. Mike worked in the film industry as an accountant and was making a film for television in Masham called ‘A Day in Summer’. The school community was involved with the filming and they needed a choir of children. Mike didn't have a lot of success persuading the children to sing, so Maeve came to the rescue! Maeve is still teaching at Masham but is now looking forward to retirement!

Taking over from Helen Stansfield, Maeve became the Editor of the Annual Report from 1979-82, and served on the Old Scholars’ executive committee during that time.

Maeve hopes that becoming the President of the Old Scholars’ Association will encourage her peers to return to reunions.

I wish her well during her period of office.

Dorothy Dawson (Easton 1947-53)

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