MELVYN LYNCH, assistant heidie at Dalziel High, Motherwell, adopted a refreshing approach to his biography when he addressed the Headteachers’ Association of Scotland the other week.
Lynch is taking the new Scottish Qualification for Headship and reveals his inspiration for a career in teaching came from watching Sidney Poitier in To Sir With Love and Peter O’Toole in Goodbye Mr Chips. Hugh McKenzie, former head at Edinburgh’s Craigroyston High, was a more serious influence.
Lynch knows a thing or two about discipline having been barred from his primary 1 Christmas party, given four of the belt in his first class in secondary and expelled (albeit reinstated) in his sixth year. Poachers and gamekeepers come to mind.
