Mavis Grant

Dame Mavis Grant, DBE (née Edgar; born 1948) is a retired British teacher. Personal life Born in 1948 to Joseph S. Edgar and his wife, Edna M. (née Hewson), she married Roger M. Grant in 1970. She attended the Northumberland College of Education and received a Certificate of Education and an Advanced Certificate in Education Studies. She began her teaching career in 1969; in 1978, she became Deputy Headteacher at Cowgate Primary School in Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1984, she moved to the city's Mary Trevelyan Primary School as head teacher, serving until 1999, when she took up the same role at Newcastle's Canning Street Primary School. Career Grant campaigned for security measures and protection in schools for teachers and students, and panic buttons (for summoning police) were installed in nearly all 120 schools in Newcastle. The campaign was prompted by an incident where Grant was assaulted by the mother of a pupil in 1991, who objected to a letter she had received regarding the student's behaviour. The assault resulted in a prosecution and suspended sentence. In March 1994, she highlighted the importance of mutual respect in managing students, and noted concerns around budget cuts and limited student access to educational psychologists. Grant retired from teaching in 2008.