Pictures of the artwork of Beryl Gilroy outside West Hampstead Primary School
(Picture: Supplied)Camden’s “inspirational” first black headteacher has been honoured with a 15 metre long mural outside her old school.
Dr Beryl Gilroy is believed to have become London’s second ever black headteacher and the first in Camden at West Hampstead Primary School in 1969. The school was then known as Beckford Primary School.
Dr Gilroy has been hailed as one of Britain’s most significant post-war Caribbean migrants, and she is well known for her autobiography Black Teacher, published in 1976.
The artwork outside West Hampstead School, by visual artist Fipsi Seilern, shows three pictures of Dr Gilroy and includes quotes about her life taken from the British Library archive.
Her daughter Darla said the “exciting” artwork “is inspirational and a reminder of the work that she did and the many children whose lives she influenced.”
Sam Drake, Headteacher at West Hampstead Primary School, said: “Beryl Gilroy is a key figure in our school’s history and role model and inspiration for all of us.”
Dr Gilroy, who died in 2001 at the age of 76, arrived in the UK from Guyana in 1952 as part of the Windrush generation and studied Child Development.
She became an author, broadcaster, headteacher and ethno-psychotherapist.
The British Library has held an exhibition of her work, which explored the lives of families, particularly women and children and the impact of migration and the societal change that came about.
She worked at the West Hampstead school for 13 years until 1982, and before that at Montem Primary School in Islington and Tufnell Park Primary school.
The 15 metre wide mural is the last installation of a series of free public artworks called LDN WMN, which is a collaboration between City Hall and Tate Collective, and is part of the mayor’s #BehindEveryGreatCity campaign.
Artists created works to mark 100 years since women won the right to vote in the UK and were inspired by unsung female heroes from London.
Dr Debbie Weekes-Bernard, Deputy Mayor for Communities and Social Justice, who unveiled the artwork, said: “Dr Gilroy’s story is a significant part of London’s history and this work captures her outstanding achievements.
"It shows that education does not always happen in a classroom, and that information and knowledge can reach so many more people through the medium of art and culture."
