New Year Honours for school Vice Principal
Our school Vice Principal, lain Prain, is to be awarded an MBE this year for his services to education. He was included in the New Year Honours List – the British Honours System that rewards individuals’ personal bravery, achievement or service. An MBE is a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, an order of chivalry which was established on 4 June 1917 by George V.
Commenting on the honour, Iain said he was thrilled at news but does not yet have a date for the ceremony, which normally takes place in London. ‘I’m so pleased’, he said. ‘The honour is not just about the work I’ve done, it’s also about the people I have worked with and all of the vulnerable young people I have tried to help over the years.’
Currently living in the Borders with his wife Victoria, Iain was educated at Dundee High School and Strathallan School in Perthshire. He attended St Andrews University and then went on to study teacher training at Moray House in Edinburgh. Between 1975 and 1977, he studied for a Masters degree in education at Dundee University and also worked part-time at the former Coldside School (now the Five Ways Club) where he taught children with different needs.
Since joining the Royal Blind School in 1978 Iain has held various posts and has been Vice Principal for over a decade. He specialises in teaching pupils at Canaan Lane, our purpose-built educational and residential facility for children and young adults with multiple disabilities in addition to their visual impairments (MDVI). In addition to his role in the school’s senior leadership team, Iain is also involved with working with schools in the European Union and is a co-ordinator with MDVI Euronet. Euronet is a group of professionals dedicated to extending knowledge, understanding and best practice in the education of children and young people with MDVI.
