John Christopher Dancy (13 November 1920 – 28 December 2019) was an English headmaster, at

Lancing College Lancing College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in southern England, UK. The school is located in West Sussex, east of Worthing near the village of Lancing, on the south coast of England. ...

, where he was appointed to improve academic standards, and

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

, and academic. He was best known for his reforms at Marlborough, including the introduction of a coeducational

Sixth Form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

Life

The son of Dr. John Dancy of

Richmond, Surrey Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commis ...

, he was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

, and studied at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

. Dancy served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, first as a 2nd lieutenant in the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

in 1940. He was in its 8th Battalion to 1944, when he became an intelligence officer in the Second Army. He was a

General Staff Officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

in 30 Corps 1944–5, and in the I Airborne Corps in 1945.

Educator

After the war, Dancy lectured in classics at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, from 1946 to 1948. He taught as an assistant master at Winchester College from 1948 to 1953, and became headmaster of Lancing College in 1953. where academic standards had fallen. He went on to become Master of Marlborough College, in 1961. In 1965 Dancy introduced

business studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource management, a ...

into the Marlborough curriculum, a high profile reaction to the

Robbins Report The Robbins Report (the report of the Committee on Higher Education, chaired by Lord Robbins) was commissioned by the British government and published in 1963. The committee met from 1961 to 1963. After the report's publication, its conclusions wer ...

. In 1968 came the introduction of girls to the Sixth Form, Marlborough being the first of the

Headmasters' Conference The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) is an association of the head teachers of 361 independent schools (both boarding schools and day schools), some traditionally described as public schools. 298 Members are based in the Uni ...

institutions for boys (including most of the traditional

British public school In England and Wales (but not Scotland), a public school is a fee-charging endowed school originally for older boys. They are "public" in the sense of being open to pupils irrespective of locality, denomination or paternal trade or profess ...

s) to take this step.

Later life

After leaving his post at Marlborough, Dancy was Principal of

St Luke's College, Exeter St Luke's Campus is a small university campus which is part of the University of Exeter. The School of Sport and Health Sciences, the Graduate School of Education, and the Medical School are all based at St Luke's. St Luke's is also home to the ...

, from 1972 to 1978. St Luke's became part of the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...

, and Dancy was Professor of Education there. Dancy died aged 99. He walked with a

limp A limp is a type of asymmetric abnormality of the gait. Limping may be caused by pain, weakness, neuromuscular imbalance, or a skeletal deformity. The most common underlying cause of a painful limp is physical trauma; however, in the absen ...

, caused by

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

Works

* ''Commentary on I Maccabees'' (1954) * ''The Public Schools and the Future'' (1963) * ''Commentary on the Shorter Books of the Apocrypha'' (1972) * ''Walter Oakeshott: a diversity of gifts'' (1995) * ''The Divine Drama: The Old Testament as Literature'' (2001)

Family

In 1944 Dancy married Angela Bryant, daughter of C. L. Bryant of Harrow. They had two sons and a daughter.

Jonathan Dancy Jonathan Peter Dancy (born 8 May 1946) is a British philosopher, who has written on ethics and epistemology. He is currently Professor of Philosophy at University of Texas at Austin and Research Professor at the University of Reading. He taugh ...

is one of the sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dancy, John Christopher 1920 births 2019 deaths Alumni of New College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II Schoolteachers from Surrey Head Masters of Lancing College Masters of Marlborough College People educated at Winchester College Rifle Brigade officers