Published: Wednesday, 2nd April, 2008 10:00
'The best headteacher in the world'
By Ally McGilvray
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Some of the floral tributes outside the school.
CRYING children were comforted by their parents in the playground of a local primary school as emotions erupted following the death of their head teacher.
Irene Hogg, 54, who dedicated her life to teaching, was remembered at a special service conducted by Reverend Morag Dawson at Glendinning Primary School in Galashiels on Friday.
She was reported missing after failing to return to school following the Easter weekend last week and, on Wednesday night, was found by a search team not far from her car at the Towford Outdoor Centre, near Jedburgh, following a massive search.
Tributes have been paid to the head, who taught for more than 30 years, after she was found dead in the Borders last week. She was described as a “great leader”, a “wonderful friend” and “the best headteacher in the world”.
A floral message left at the door of the school, which summed up the mood, read: “To Miss Hogg, You will be sadly missed by us all. You were a great teacher and a friend. We will never forget you.”
Stunned parents, teachers, and pupils, who joined together to pay their respects after learning of her death, were still coming to terms with her sudden death this week.
Paying tribute to Miss Hogg, Patricia Touw, chairwoman of Glendinning’s parent council, said: “Everybody is just shocked by what has happened but most of all just so sad because she was such a great headteacher and a great leader of this school.
“Glendinning Terrace Primary School is a close-knit bunch and we thought it was appropriate to have a celebration of her life because she gave so many years to our school.
“It was for the parents and the pupils who respected and cared for her. Some of them have made lovely pictures and written wonderful poems in her memory.”
Police have so far not released any details of how the headteacher died, other than to confirm there were no suspicious circumstances and a post-mortem examination would be carried out.
Miss Hogg, who lived alone in Bowden, was last seen on Easter Sunday and colleagues raised the alarm when she failed to turn up on Tuesday before she was found at the remote beauty spot she visited frequently, occasionally with her pupils.
It was feared she may have been concerned about her school’s performance.
Glendinning had been visited by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIe) officials before the break and a report is due to be published in June.
However, speculation over her death has provoked an angry response from close family and friends, some of whom blame the Government reporters for driving her to her death.
It has been said that the HMIe report’s conclusions had been critical of Miss Hogg specifically and not the school itself.
A source close to the headteacher told us: “It’s a disgrace.
“The HMIe inspectors degraded her and humiliated her. Miss Hogg has worked there for 30 years - it was her life - and they went there to find fault rather than help her.
“I’m just so annoyed with these people. They shouldn’t be able to come into schools and drive people to that. She was a brilliant headteacher.”
But our source added: “This isn’t the first time this has happened and it can’t go on.
“HMIe inspectors have come into schools before and left teachers in floods of tears. They are just a shower of bullies.”
Teaching unions said there was a “huge” pressure on school staff during inspections but that education officials were not at fault.
Bill McGregor, general secretary of the Headteachers` Association of Scotland, said: “We have no doubt about the pressures that the Government's inspection teams impose on schools and on headteachers in particular.
“However this is an extremely unusual case and we would hope that there was no connection with the visit.
“I suspect there were other extraneous factors and perhaps the inspection was an extra pressure.
“But even if it was in part in connection with the inspection then there
is an urgent need for the Government and HMIE to take a look at the process.”
Mr McGregor added: “We were very sorry to hear that this had happened.
“This is a tragedy and my heart goes out to the family.”
A spokesman for HMIe refused to comment on speculation or confirm whether it would be carrying out a review of its procedures following the headteacher’s death.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The inspection process is still ongoing and no evaluations are in the public domain.
“The school was inspected last week and the inspection followed standard HMIE procedures.
“This is a very sad situation and our thoughts are with the headteacher’s family and with the staff, pupils and parents at the school.”
George Hogg, the brother of the headteacher, flew to Scotland from Australia after her death and said he was proud of his sister.
He was reported as saying her cottage was full of gifts she had received from pupils over the years.
And Scottish Borders Council has been inundated with messages of support for Miss Hogg since setting up a virtual book of condolences on its website – scotborders.gov.uk/irenehogg
The local authority’s Director of Education Glenn Rodger said: “We are all deeply shocked and distressed by the tragic news of this much loved headteacher’s death.
“Having been at the school for the last few days and seeing how emotional the staff and parents and pupils were, it is obvious just how much loved and respected Miss Hogg was and she is going to be a sad, sad loss.
“It will be our job to help the school keep as much continuity going as possible and have acting headteacher arrangements in place for after the holidays.”
He added: “We would like to extend our profound sympathy to her parents and family.”
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