Professor Roy Anthony Lowe, OBE (1940-2026)
We are sad to inform you of Roy Lowe’s death in February 2026. Roy played central roles in the History of Education Society and made a major contribution to the field. He served as President of the History of Education Society and was always a lively and supportive figure at our annual conferences. Among his many administrative roles, he edited History of Education for a decade (1985-95) and then the Journal of Educational Administration and History (2002-07). At Birmingham and Swansea universities, Roy held academic and professorial roles where he worked in education and history. After retirement, he was an active visiting professor at the Institute of Education in London.
Roy was a highly respected historian of education whose work spanned the history of schooling and higher education. From the late 1960s and early 1970s, he was a pioneer in the social history of education and was fascinated by the relationship between education systems and inequality, focusing especially on the role of social class. He himself was the first in his family to experience free secondary education and university and his experience testified to possibilities that could be achieved through education. From his first article, in 1969, in the British Journal of Educational Studies, he kept researching and writing for over half a century, up until his death. In 1972, along with Asa Briggs and Simon Schama, he wrote for the very first issue of History of Education on ‘Some Forerunners of R.H. Tawney’s Longton Tutorial Class’. More recent publications included an article on the charitable exemption of ‘public’ schools as well as a book on the history of education and inequality, Schooling and Social Change since 1760. While his work mainly focused on Britain, Roy was a committed internationalist, gave talks and developed many collaborations, not least with the Japanese academic Yoshihito Yasumara, which led to The Origins of Higher Learning.
Roy understood professional relationships as a form of friendship. As a supporter of so many younger academics, Roy was an inspiration who sparked with energy and enthusiasm. He will be fondly remembered and sadly missed. Full obituaries will follow.