Risinghill School was an early comprehensive school opened in 1960 in Islington, under the headmastership of Michael Duane; a charismatic advocate of progressive and non-authoritarian education. The school's methods prompted criticism in the media and disputes with the London County Council. The school was closed down in 1965. The school buildings in Risinghill Street, London N1, were subsequently utilised by Starcross School which later amalgamated with Barnsbury School to become Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School. Pupils received religious education through Saint Silas Church, which was part of Risinghill. Lessons included technical and craft skills, taught through dual or multi-purpose creative methods. Risinghill was a new, purpose built co-educational secondary school that opened in Islington, north London on 3 May 1960, and was closed four and a half years later, ostensibly because it had become unpopular with parents. A book chronicling its demise made publishing history in 1968 by becoming the UK’s first non-fiction best-seller. Risinghill: death of a Comprehensive School catapulted the author, Leila Berg, to fame, along with Risinghill’s progressive headmaster, Michael Duane. Over the years, the school has been described widely as a rogue school with a maverick head, who did not command the respect of his staff or the respect of his pupils. These assertions, some of which came from individuals claiming to be well acquainted with the school, and the events leading up to and including its closure, was the impetus for establishing the Risinghill Research Group. This was formed in 2004 to establish: the truth of the Risinghill affair; and the effects of the school on the children. Although forty years had passed, in educational circles Risinghill was still being talked about, and remained, very much, an enigma. The RRG comprises former pupils of the school, one of whom, Alan, was a pupil from 1960 through to 1965 when Risinghill closed. He appears in Berg’s book under the pseudonym ‘Roger’ and remembers Berg visiting his home to interview his mother. In the course of its research, the RRG not only found Berg, but others whom she had interviewed for her book. This included some of the teaching staff and others involved with the school, thus confirming the authenticity of her interviews which, at the time, were contested, strongly, along with her account of what had happened to Duane and to his school. While some of Berg’s descriptions of Islington, and of the pupils’ homes and family backgrounds were somewhat flamboyant, causing offence to some, including many of the Risinghill pupils, the events that she described were far from mythical. Insofar as Duane’s back-story was concerned, the RRG was fortunate to meet and interview Margaret Duane, who supported Berg’s account of what happened to Duane pre and post Risinghill. The RRG’s project took longer to complete than expected, but Risinghill Revisited, which comprises two books, was eventually published in September 2019*, almost 15 years after the Group had been established. The first book provides a detailed account of the events leading up to and including the birth and death of the school, which includes the testimonies of over two hundred pupils, seventy of whom completed a detailed pupil questionnaire, and eight former teachers of the school, who also completed a questionnaire for the teachers. The second book Risinghill Revisited: The Waste Clay focuses more on the research with the teachers and the pupils, giving them all a voice for the first time. The book also looks at Duane’s career post Risinghill, and includes a piece by Berg, entitled ‘The Next Room’, which is a moving tribute to Duane. The research with the pupils is of particular interest as many have prospered in life, despite all the meddling with their education, and despite them being written off as failures - on account of their association with a school that has been dubbed a ‘Blackboard Jungle’ and worse. Their contribution to the Risinghill story, and thereby the wider debate about the education of disadvantaged children is crucial to understanding not just what happened at Risinghill, but what is still happening in many of our state secondary schools today. The gap between the privileged and under-privileged child remains as wide as it has ever been, despite the fact that every child is supposed to matter, and that every child, supposedly, is be given equal opportunity to succeed. The latter principle was enshrined in the 1944 Education Act, but has still not been achieved. Duane was an embarrassment to the establishment in this regard as he firmly believed that every child did matter, and tried to do something about this. This belief shines through Berg’s story of Risinghill, as it does the two Risinghill Revisited books, and in this sense the Risinghill story is as relevant today as it was 50+ years ago - when Berg had the temerity to challenge the status quo.
