Peggy Dunn: Long-serving head saw school numbers double

Miss Dunn, who was headmistress at the London Road independent girls’ school for 23 years from 1959 to 1982, passed away on November 1 at Braemar Care Home in Southsea.

Miss Dunn was born in 1922 in Paignton, Devon, and moved to Portsmouth with her family while still a small child. Her father was in the Royal Navy.

Miss Dunn graduated from Bedford College, London, where she took a BSc in Mathematics in 1943, gaining her Teachers’ Diploma in 1944 at the London Institute of Education.

After positions at St James Allen’s School, Dulwich, and Bradford Girls’ Grammar School she took up her appointment as headmistress of Headington when there were only 270 girls in the school.

By the time she retired in 1982, she had increased the number to 666 by steadily expanding the numbers of both boarders and day girls.

Among her many accomplishments during her time at Headington, Miss Dunn was responsible for the building of two new boarding houses, Hillstow and Latimer.

She also helped to promote the school abroad.

She returned to the school on Headingtonians’ Day in 2002 to celebrate her 80th birthday among former students and staff.

Miss Dunn, who never married, told them: “I always enjoyed teaching and found it a privilege being allowed a small share in helping in the development of the young, nurturing them in their early years and encouraging their sturdy independence later on.”

Corinne Petford, a teacher at Headington from 1957 to 1993, describing Miss Dunn in the school’s Headingtonian publication in 1982, paid tribute to her foresight, courage and determination in driving forward with the building programme.

Mrs Petford added: “Numerous eminent educational bodies have sought Miss Dunn’s help and leadership recognising her insight, wisdom and integrity, but at heart she is first and foremost a teacher anxious always to bring out the best in other people.”

Her funeral will be held at Portsmouth Cathedral, on Monday, November 26, at 11am.