Rée , Harry Alfred , 1914-1991 , teacher and educationist

Harry Rée (1914-1991) was a student at the Institute of Education, University of London, from 1936-1937. He went on to become a language master at Bradford Grammar School and, after gaining a distinguished war record for his activities with the French resistance, was headmaster of Watford Grammar School. He then became the first Professor of Education at York University, 1961-1974. In the 1960s and 1970s he was a strong proponent of comprehensive education and was actively involved in a number of pressure groups, including the Society for the Promotion of Educational Reform through Teacher Training and the Programme for Reform in Secondary Education. In 1974 he left his professorship to return to classroom teaching in Woodberry Down Comprehensive School, London, where he remained until his retirement in 1980. In his retirement he continued to campaign for comprehensive education, for exchanges between young workers within the European Community and the reform of the 1988 Education Act. He was particularly influenced by Henry Morris (1889-1961) who, as Chief Education Officer for the County, had pioneered 'Village Colleges' in Cambridgeshire in the 1930s, and Rée became Morris's biographer and a strong advocate for community education.