We are very sad to report that our friend and colleague Dr Alison Louise Wilkinson died last week after a short illness.

Alison made a huge contribution to the creation and development of the Morecambe Bay Curriculum (MBC) as part of our Steering Group and as Chair of the Cumbria Schools Working Group.

A dedication to bettering education has shone through all her work - here at the MBC, through her PhD in Educational Research, as Strategic Lead for the South Lakes Federation and, of course, as the founding principal of the innovative QEStudio School.

Alison was an incredibly inspiring and passionate person, and whatever we do next collectively as the MBC community, we know that we will honour Alison’s tenacious spirit and dedication to improving education for all.

We have invited a couple of our colleagues and friends to say a few words about Alison and what she has meant to us all.

Alison and Linda, both educators and chairs of MBC working groups, sharing their vision for the Morecambe Bay Curriculum, July 2023

Ceri Holman, a member of the MBC Cumbria Schools Working Group and a colleague and friend of Alison writes:

‘The education community is shocked and deeply saddened by the passing of Dr Alison Wilkinson. The schools in Kirkby Lonsdale at which Alison taught and led as Deputy Headteacher of Queen Elizabeth School, and founding Principal of QEStudio School, will shut on the day of the church service to celebrate her life. Closing is a difficult decision to take, but it shows the extent of the loss that staff and students feel.

Since retiring as Principal in 2021, Alison was the Strategic Lead for the South Lakes Federation and was closely involved in academic education research projects with universities, while steering Cumbrian schools’ involvement in Eden Project Morecambe and the Morecambe Bay Curriculum. She would talk of the ‘golden thread’ in education, but for so many of us she was the golden thread running through myriad aspects of teaching, learning, managing, researching, extra-curricular activities, community wellbeing, sustainability, job and apprenticeship creation and so much more.

Alison had a pioneering spirit. Brilliant, fiercely intelligent and determined, she simultaneously inspired staff and nurtured students. While English was her original teaching subject, she engaged in and delivered different disciplines, striving for academic success within the schools while placing high value on technical and professional learning. From coaching students through an additional Latin GCSE to introducing valuable new subjects like Engineering and Countryside Conservation Skills, she oversaw an amazing breadth in curriculum. Remarkably, alongside setting up the Studio School she worked to achieve a doctorate at Lancaster University, bringing her research learning back into school education.

Alison has been a mentor to me for many years. As my manager, while librarian at the schools, she encouraged my endeavours to develop students’ enjoyment of reading and literacy skills in diverse and exciting ways. She recognised the value of the librarian in supporting information skills for students and staff. Introducing the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) has given numerous young people the chance to delve deeply into interesting subjects of their choice and support their transition to university. It was also a delight to work with Alison on the Morecambe Bay Curriculum, sharing our enthusiasm for supporting young people’s learning and attachment to the special area in which they live. Chairing meetings with educators from across Cumbria schools, Alison brought to us her sharp insights, intellect and warmth.

As well as her boundless energy, Alison had a great sense of fun and a fantastic, raucous laugh that echoed down school corridors. She seized opportunities and involved us in them. For me and many others, Alison will remain a guiding light in our work. We were fortunate to learn from one of the best.’

Ceri Holman is a member of the Morecambe Bay Curriculum Cumbria Schools Working Group and a colleague and friend of Alison over many years. Her Environment MA at Lancaster University (2021) focused on the development of the MBC and its integration in Cumbrian schools. She first worked with Alison as school librarian at Queen Elizabeth School in Kirkby Lonsdale. Ceri is currently studying for a PhD at the University of York, focused on place-based education and deliberative pedagogy.

Professor Jo Warin, Professor in the Educational Research department and Alison’s PhD supervisor, writes:

‘It was an immense privilege to supervise Alison’s PhD and have the pleasure of getting to know her as both a research student and a friend. She had a highly focused intellectual curiosity about the ‘black box’ of young people’s learning in school, which she investigated with an equal measure of enthusiasm and rigour. Her thesis was entitled ‘Do Mindsets Matter? What can we discover from the learning experiences of secondary school students about the relationship between identity, Implicit Theories of Intelligence, and growth?’

I was amazed and impressed at her capacity to juggle the PhD alongside the truly innovative achievement of bringing about the Queen Elizabeth Studio School. I had the pleasure of being shown around the school by Alison in quite recent times and was so impressed at the practices and purposes behind this initiative. I know that part of Alison’s drive was to break down barriers between so-called academic and vocational pathways for young people. In this she was courageous and pioneering.

Alison also made a very important contribution to partnership work between university-led research and school-based research. Together with Dr Ann-Marie Houghton, the Schools and Universities Partnership Initiative (SUPI) was launched and successfully engaged young people in developing their understanding and experience of research.

Alison was a truly remarkable woman devoted to understanding educational processes in order to make lives better for children and young people.’

Curriculum Design Launch, where Alison and other brilliant educators identified the key subject areas where academics could support teachers to embed sustainability and place into the National Curriculum.