WINKLEY, David (Ross) 1941-

PERSONAL:

Born November 30, 1941, in England; son of Donald Joseph and Winifred Mary Winkley; married Linda Mary Holland, 1967; children: Katherine, Joseph. Education: Selwyn College, Cambridge, M.A.; Wadham College, Oxford, D. Phil., 1975. Hobbies and other interests: Writing fiction, philosophy, playing piano.

ADDRESSES:

Home—68 Butlers Rd., Handsworth Wood, Birmingham B20 2PA, England. Office—National Primary Trust, Martineau Education Centre, Balden Rd., Birmingham, England. E-mail—drwinkley@appleonline.net.

CAREER:

Educator and author. Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, England, member, 1964-66; Perry Common School, department head, 1968-71; fellow, Nuffield College, Oxford, 1971-74; Grove Junior School, Handsworth, Birmingham, head, 1974-97, National Primary Trust, Birmingham, founder and president, 1987—. Honorary professor, Westhill College, Birmingham, 1999—. Children's Community Venture, Birmingham, founder and chairman, 1967—; member, Stevenson Committee on Information and Communication Technology, 1996; member, Standards Task Force, 1998—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Knighted, 1999; D.Litt., University of Birmingham, 1999; honorary degree, University of Central England, 2000.

WRITINGS:

Handsworth Revolution: The Odyssey of a School, Giles de la Mare (London, England), 2002.

Also author of Diplomats and Detectives, 1986. Contributor to academic journals.

SIDELIGHTS:

Honored with a knighthood for his dedicated efforts to transform a racially fragmented inner-city school into one of the top primary-grade educational institutions in England, David Winkley is the author of Handsworth Revolution: The Odyssey of a School. In this 2002 work Winkley discusses his approach in dealing with the economically disadvantaged Grove Junior School, located in Handsworth, a poor section of the heavily industrialized city of Birmingham. As a Birmingham Post contributor also noted of Winkley's accomplishments, as headmaster he "influenced teaching methods and Government education policy," and through his efforts Grove Junior School became an effective "catalyst" for improving neighborhood race relations in an area known for rioting during the early 1980s. Beginning with his first years at Grove during the mid-1970s, Winkley goes on to describe the day-to-day systems used in the school, the policy changes that he implemented—including creating a database for every child, which has since become standard practice throughout Great Britain—and the special problems encountered in an area where poverty, racism, drug use, and violent crime detracted from students' education. Although noting that portions of Winkley's discussion are not relevant to U.S. schools, due to his "conversational tone," LibraryJournal contributor Terry Christner maintained that the "glimpse into the British educational system" provided in Handsworth Revolution "… should intrigue anyone interested in education."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Birmingham Post, May 22, 2002, "Celebrated Head Reveals Secret of Success," p. 3; June 3, 2002, Ross Reyburn, "The Revolutionary" (interview), p. 11; July 13, 2002, Ross Reyburn, review of Handsworth Revolution: The Odyssey of a School, p. 49.

Library Journal, November 1, 2002, Terry Christner, review of Handsworth Revolution, p. 103.

Times Literary Supplement, March 26, 1999, "Knight of Passion," p. B4.*