Michael William McCrum
Encyclopedia
Michael William McCrum CBE
(23 May 1924 – 16 February 2005) was an English
academic and ancient historian
who served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Master
of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
, and Head Master of Tonbridge School
and Eton College
.
. The son of a naval Captain, he grew up at naval bases where his father was stationed. He was educated at Horris Hill School
, Newbury and Sherborne School
before 2nd World War service as an able seaman and then sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy
. He then won a scholarship to read classics
at Corpus Christi College. He graduated in 1948 with a Double First
.
After graduation in 1948, McCrum became a master at Rugby School
. He married the daughter of the headmaster, Sir Arthur fforde
, in 1952. He was appointed Fellow of Corpus Christi in 1950 and was (an innovative) Tutor there under the Master, Sir George Thomson
, and was also Director of Classical Studies.
McCrum left Cambridge in 1962 to become headmaster of Tonbridge School
, where he made a good reputation and transformed the school, emphasising academic standards and implementing sweeping reforms, including the abolition of the old traditions of fagging
and caning (corporal punishment) of junior boys by praeposters (senior boys). However, he did not abolish caning
by masters, and made considerable use of it himself. He made the cadet corps voluntary instead of compulsory. The Tonbridgian (the school magazine) wrote in 1967 that "Never have there been so many changes in so short a time". However, his proposal to abolish straw boater hats was defeated by a poll of the boys themselves. His impressive stature and ability or determination to memorize the name and face of every boy (and teacher) in the school during the first week of the autumn term helped him to command respect. He later described part of his task at Tonbridge as having been "the reduction of stupid anachronisms" and "giving boys more liberties, provided they do not take them"; corporal punishment, he said, was "often the lesser of two evils".
While at Tonbridge, McCrum was an early supporter of the idea of education vouchers, and he opposed Labour Party proposals for school reform.
He criticised the reduction of the age of majority and the voting age to 18, saying that while they may be outwardly more mature than formerly, 18-year-olds "were still searching for guidance and authority" and "were less aware than formerly of the framework of tradition and the concept of the family community" under the increasing influence of the press and media.
In 1970 he became Head Master of Eton College, a post arguably more prestigious but curiously one that allowed less initiative or authority than at Tonbridge, though it did still allow him to cane boys. He raised standards at Eton too after the era of Anthony Chenevix-Trench
, whose weaknesses differentiated him from the self-disciplined McCrum. The curriculum was modernised and academic standards improved. Just before leaving Eton he oversaw the final abolition of fagging, as he had at Tonbridge earlier.
As Chairman of the Headmasters' Conference in 1974, McCrum called for greater co-operation between the independent and maintained sectors of education.
In 1980, McCrum returned to Corpus Christi as Master, introducing women to the college in 1982. In 1987 he became the last of the University of Cambridge
's part-time Vice-Chancellors. He was president of the Cambridge Society from 1989 to 1996.
He chaired the Oxford and Cambridge Schools Examination Board from 1981 to 1987, and the School Governing Bodies Association from 1989 to 1994.
In his farewell speech as Vice-Chancellor he called for university lecturers to be better paid.
An Anglican, he was chairman of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England (from 1991) and was a member of the BBC/IBA religious affairs committee (while headmaster of Tonbridge, where, despite his reforming zeal in other respects, formal daily chapel services remained part of the fabric of school life while he was there; he did make attendance voluntary at Eton).
McCrum was married to Christine and had four children. One, Robert McCrum
, was Literary editor of The Observer
. He was appointed CBE in 1998.
In addition to a classical text written while first a fellow at Cambridge, he wrote a biography of Thomas Arnold
, the noted headmaster of Rugby. This was published in 1990.
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...
(23 May 1924 – 16 February 2005) was an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
academic and ancient historian
Ancient history
Ancient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history to the Early Middle Ages. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, with Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing, from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC...
who served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Master
Master (form of address)
Master is an archaic masculine title or form of address in English.- In English and Welsh society :Master was used in England for men of some rank, especially "free masters" of a trade guild and by any manual worker or servant employee to his employer , but also generally by those lower in status...
of 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...
, and Head Master of Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School is a British boys' independent school for both boarding and day pupils in Tonbridge, Kent, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judd . It is a member of the Eton Group, and has close links with the Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the oldest London livery companies...
and Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
.
Life
McCrum was born at Alverstoke in HampshireHampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
. The son of a naval Captain, he grew up at naval bases where his father was stationed. He was educated at Horris Hill School
Horris Hill School
Horris Hill, is a boarding and day preparatory school for boys, situated in the far north of Hampshire in England, south of Newbury in West Berkshire and near the village of Newtown. The school was founded on its present site in 1888 by A. H. Evans, a master at Winchester College...
, Newbury and Sherborne School
Sherborne School
Sherborne School is a British independent school for boys, located in the town of Sherborne in north-west Dorset, England. It is one of the original member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference....
before 2nd World War service as an able seaman and then sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy
Royal 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...
. He then won a scholarship to read classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
at Corpus Christi College. He graduated in 1948 with a Double First
British undergraduate degree classification
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom...
.
After graduation in 1948, McCrum became a master at Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
. He married the daughter of the headmaster, Sir Arthur fforde
Arthur fforde
Sir Arthur Frederic Brownlow fforde, GBE, was a solicitor, civil servant, headmaster, writer and businessman. The surname fforde is spelled with two lowercase f's....
, in 1952. He was appointed Fellow of Corpus Christi in 1950 and was (an innovative) Tutor there under the Master, Sir George Thomson
George Paget Thomson
Sir George Paget Thomson, FRS was an English physicist and Nobel laureate in physics recognised for his discovery with Clinton Davisson of the wave properties of the electron by electron diffraction.-Biography:...
, and was also Director of Classical Studies.
McCrum left Cambridge in 1962 to become headmaster of Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School is a British boys' independent school for both boarding and day pupils in Tonbridge, Kent, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judd . It is a member of the Eton Group, and has close links with the Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the oldest London livery companies...
, where he made a good reputation and transformed the school, emphasising academic standards and implementing sweeping reforms, including the abolition of the old traditions of fagging
Fagging
Fagging was a traditional educational practice in British boarding private schools and also many other boarding schools, whereby younger pupils were required to act as personal servants to the most senior boys...
and caning (corporal punishment) of junior boys by praeposters (senior boys). However, he did not abolish 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...
by masters, and made considerable use of it himself. He made the cadet corps voluntary instead of compulsory. The Tonbridgian (the school magazine) wrote in 1967 that "Never have there been so many changes in so short a time". However, his proposal to abolish straw boater hats was defeated by a poll of the boys themselves. His impressive stature and ability or determination to memorize the name and face of every boy (and teacher) in the school during the first week of the autumn term helped him to command respect. He later described part of his task at Tonbridge as having been "the reduction of stupid anachronisms" and "giving boys more liberties, provided they do not take them"; corporal punishment, he said, was "often the lesser of two evils".
While at Tonbridge, McCrum was an early supporter of the idea of education vouchers, and he opposed Labour Party proposals for school reform.
He criticised the reduction of the age of majority and the voting age to 18, saying that while they may be outwardly more mature than formerly, 18-year-olds "were still searching for guidance and authority" and "were less aware than formerly of the framework of tradition and the concept of the family community" under the increasing influence of the press and media.
In 1970 he became Head Master of Eton College, a post arguably more prestigious but curiously one that allowed less initiative or authority than at Tonbridge, though it did still allow him to cane boys. He raised standards at Eton too after the era of Anthony Chenevix-Trench
Anthony Chenevix-Trench
Anthony Chenevix-Trench is best known as the Headmaster of Eton College from 1964–1970.-Family and education:He was the son of Charles Godfrey Chenevix Trench and Margaret May Blakesley...
, whose weaknesses differentiated him from the self-disciplined McCrum. The curriculum was modernised and academic standards improved. Just before leaving Eton he oversaw the final abolition of fagging, as he had at Tonbridge earlier.
As Chairman of the Headmasters' Conference in 1974, McCrum called for greater co-operation between the independent and maintained sectors of education.
In 1980, McCrum returned to Corpus Christi as Master, introducing women to the college in 1982. In 1987 he became the last of the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
's part-time Vice-Chancellors. He was president of the Cambridge Society from 1989 to 1996.
He chaired the Oxford and Cambridge Schools Examination Board from 1981 to 1987, and the School Governing Bodies Association from 1989 to 1994.
In his farewell speech as Vice-Chancellor he called for university lecturers to be better paid.
An Anglican, he was chairman of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England (from 1991) and was a member of the BBC/IBA religious affairs committee (while headmaster of Tonbridge, where, despite his reforming zeal in other respects, formal daily chapel services remained part of the fabric of school life while he was there; he did make attendance voluntary at Eton).
McCrum was married to Christine and had four children. One, Robert McCrum
Robert McCrum
Robert McCrum , is an English writer and editor. He served as literary editor of The Observer for more than ten years. In May 2008 he was appointed Associate Editor of the Observer and was succeeded as literary editor by William Skidelsky...
, was Literary editor of The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
. He was appointed CBE in 1998.
In addition to a classical text written while first a fellow at Cambridge, he wrote a biography of Thomas Arnold
Thomas Arnold
Dr Thomas Arnold was a British educator and historian. Arnold was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement...
, the noted headmaster of Rugby. This was published in 1990.
Publications
- McCrum, Michael; & Woodhead, A. G. (1980). Select documents of the principates of the Flavian emperors: Including the year of revolution, A.D. 68-96. Cambridge: University Press.