Alec Clegg

Who is Alec Clegg?

Sir Alexander Bradshaw Clegg, also known as Alec Clegg became the innovative Chief Education Officer of the West Riding of Yorkshire County Council for whom he worked from 1945 to 1974.

Clegg, the son of a Derbyshire schoolmaster, attended Long Eaton Grammar School, Bootham School in York then went on to Clare College, Cambridge, where he took a degree in modern languages. When he completed his degree he went on to the London Day Training College. He got a job at St Clement Danes' Holborn Estate Grammar School where he taught French and games between 1932 and 1937.

Between 1939 and 1945 Clegg worked for Birmingham, Cheshire and Worcestershire education authorities before being appointed, in 1945, to the post of Deputy Chief Education Officer of the West Riding at the age of 34. The West Riding started on the road to becoming a pioneering and innovative authority when later that year he was appointed Chief Education Officer. During his tenure at the West Riding, Clegg was instrumental in introducing the first of thousands of Middle schools to the United Kingdom as part of a change to three-tier education initially in Hemsworth.