Betty Joan Johnston, Lady Johnston,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

( Harris; 18 May 1916 – 28 November 1994) was a British educational administrator and parliamentary counsel. She led a number of organisations - notably the Girls' Public Day School Trust.

Life

Johnston was born in

Morriston Morriston (; cy, Treforys ) is a Community (Wales), community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales and falls within the Morriston (electoral ward), Morriston ward. It is the largest community in Swansea county. Morriston is sometimes ref ...

in 1916. Her parents were Catherine Anne (born Williams) and Edward Harris. Her father was a solicitor, and his wife, Catherine Anne Williams. She attended the private school of

Cheltenham Ladies' College Cheltenham Ladies' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. Consistently ranked as one of the top all-girls' schools nationally, the school was established in 1853 to pr ...

before proceeding to

St Hugh's College, Oxford St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a women's college, and accepte ...

. In 1937, she was awarded a first class degree in

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

and in 1938 a second class in Civil Law. She worked in the Treasury after she was called to the bar in 1940. She was promoted to assistant parliamentary counsel in 1942 and served until 1952. In 1955, she began working with the Girls' Public Day School Trust. The trust had been devised in the nineteenth century by

Maria Georgina Grey Maria Georgina Grey (''née'' Shirreff; 7 March 1816 – 19 September 1906), also known as Mrs William Grey, was a British educationist and writer who promoted women's education and was one of the founders of the organisation that became the ...

to build schools to allow middle-class girls to obtain a secondary education and later to go to university. In the twentieth century it could provide a grant so that talented girls could go to one of their schools even though their family could not afford the bills. She served on various committees rising in 1972 to lead the finance committee and three years later in 1975 she was the chair of its council and she became one of the governments parliamentary counsels. She and the trust had to reconsider when the government closed down the direct grants system. Stop gap means had to be created as it was not until 1979 that an

Assisted Places Scheme The Assisted Places Scheme was established in the UK by the Conservative government in 1980. Children who were eligible were provided with free or subsidised places to fee-charging independent schools - based on the child's results in the school ...

could be devised which was again funded by the government. She retired as a parliamentary counsel in 1983 and then spent five years volunteering a similar service for the general synod of the Church of England. At the same time she became the chair of several organisations. She led the governors of the Girls' School Association from 1979 to 1989 and the Independent Schools' Joint Council from 1983 to 1986. She was still chair until 1991 of the Girls' Public Day School Trust and then she was promoted to president for three years. In 1989 she was appointed a

. Johnston died in

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in 1994.

Private life

She married Sir Alexander Johnston GCB KBE in 1947 and they had two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Betty 1916 births 1994 deaths People from Swansea British civil servants Members of Gray's Inn Alumni of St Hugh's College, Oxford Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Wives of knights