Tribute to ‘inspirational’ headmaster of Kettering Grammar School who has died aged 92

Mr Steane, had served as headmaster of Kettering Grammar School for 12 years from 1964 to 1976.

He was appointed at the age of 32 making him the youngest senior school headteacher in the country at the time.

Former pupil Kettering Grammar School Dr Paul Stamper kept in touch with his former headteacher as he described Mr Steane as ‘inspirational’.

He said: “He was a bullish character, full of enthusiasm. He was physically imposing and would wear a gown, tweed suit and heavy brown leather shoes. He would crash around the school corridors so people could hear him coming. He admitted to me later that it was deliberate and a means of exerting his presence. He was intimidating and I wouldn’t have dared to be cheeky to him.”

A keen archaeologist while during his teaching career, Mr Steane would take pupils out in his Morris Traveller on expeditions and field walks to look for evidence of archaeological sites.

The boys spent several summers on digs on the site of mediaeval pottery kilns near Lyveden New Bield and even recreated a kiln in the grounds of the grammar school, fuelling the fire with broken school chairs.

Mr Steane met his wife, artist Nina Carroll, when they were studying at Oxford University. They had three children – Kate, Anna and Peter.

Dr Stamper said: “In addition to generations of schoolboys, he taught many adult education classes, and was the founding secretary of the Kettering Civic Society.

"He was also involved in numerous other organisations, among them the Northamptonshire Record Society.

"His enthusiasm for local archaeology included many seasons of excavation at Lyveden, near Oundle, as well as in Kettering, and several of his ex-pupils became professional archaeologists.

"He wrote a number of books on archaeology and history including The Northamptonshire Landscape.”

It was the switch from grammar to the comprehensive education system that saw Mr Steane move to a role at a museum in Oxfordshire, where he eventually became County Archaeologist.

Many of his former pupils took up careers in archaeology inspired by Mr Steane’s enthusiasm for history.

Dr Stamper said: “He was a very liberal and stimulating teacher – dynamic and forceful. He was inspirational. I was very, very lucky to have him as a headmaster.”

Mr John Steane died at his home on Friday, April 12, aged 92. He funeral was held in Oxford last month (May).