Professor Richard Pring (1938 – 2024)

Posted on 30th Oct 2024 by Aidan Thompson

Professor Richard Pring (1938 – 2024)

Editor of the British Journal of Educational Studies (1986-2001) and 

Honorary Fellow of the Society for Educational Studies

Richard’s funeral Mass was celebrated in the Oratory Church, Oxford on 30th October 2024. A church Richard was thoroughly familiar with because of the Latin Masses he attended there. He would often drop in to pray during the week as he passed by. He told me that it reminded him of his time as a seminarian at the Venerable English College in Rome where he went to train for the Roman Catholic priesthood immediately after leaving school. Richard first began his philosophical studies in Rome and at the age of twenty graduated with a License in Philosophy from the Pontifical Gregorian University which was mostly taught in Latin by Jesuit priests. He was most proud of the Bene Merente Medal awarded to him personally by Pope Pius XII in 1959 for success in his philosophical studies. It should not be forgotten that Richard had a deeply held Catholic faith, which for him was inseparable from his worldview. 

I was delighted when Richard accepted a Research Fellowship in the Jubilee Centre at Birmingham University during his retirement and regularly accompanied my research fellows on their staff retreats to Rome where he would offer insights during the day on ethics and virtues and in the evenings regale us with extracts from his seminarian diaries over a limoncello. We stayed at the English College summer residence, twenty or so miles south of Rome overlooking Lake Albano – it is called Palazzola. Richard would always insist on the same room – room 19 – the one he had as a student. In April 2010 we were in Palazzola when all the flights were cancelled because of the volcanic eruptions in Iceland – it was a Friday with our return flight cancelled and Richard due to run the London marathon on the Sunday for the sixth time, we knew we had to get him back. I hired a coach which took us to Calais and during the exhausting 30-hour journey we celebrated Richard’s 72nd birthday at some motorway station in Northern Italy. Richard had a quick wit and a sharp sense of humour that was so uniquely his own – he entertained the whole coach over the speaker system with more anecdotes from his diaries! Incredibly, Richard ran the marathon one day after arriving back home on 25th April despite the gruelling bus ride. He was even interviewed live on BBC TV. With Richard, there was very rarely a dull moment. A sharp and insightful mind but never condescending, generous in his assistance and appreciation of others, and a great sense of humour. Richard was a charming and engaging man as the many who joined him for a drink at the Rose and Crown on North Parade, Oxford, will testify. 

Richard returned to England from his studies in Rome and read philosophy at University College London before training as a teacher. He taught in a comprehensive school and joined the civil service for a short time, but subsequently decided to study for a doctorate supervised by R S Peters at the Institute of Education in London. Professor John Haldane at St Andrew’s University once observed that Richard reminded him of Simon Callow, ‘in part a passing physical resemblance but also a raconteur’s sense of fun and of the lighter absurdities and comedy of the human condition.’ Richard’s contributions on educational theory and practice were always delivered with style and presence. Haldane said that ‘Philosophy of education is now more professional but less fun and Richard was a main source of its happier and more entertaining mode.’ Richard’s educational philosophy was grounded in a belief that teaching is a moral practice, not merely a technical activity. He rejected the notion that education should be measured solely by economic outcomes or narrow academic benchmarks. In 2008 he succeeded Lord Hattersley as President of the Socialist Education Society. His Presidency is probably why his name did not appear on any Queens honours list.   

It is often said that ‘All people die, but not all people live’. Richard certainly lived packing so much in his life and did so with grace, dignity, integrity, and courage in illness and in health. I first met Richard in the Spring of 1989 when he came to be interviewed for the Directorship of the Department for Educational Studies in Oxford. He was appointed and supervised me for one term during my doctoral studies when my supervisor was on a sabbatical. I attended his inaugural lecture which was a grand affair on 8th May 1991. He was robed in the finest academic attire inside University College, Oxford and then he processed with many other similarly dressed academics up the Oxford High Street. Traffic was stopped for him, with the University Mace carried in front of him. He then entered the University Church and climbed into the pulpit to deliver the address. It was a significant moment as he was the first ever professor of education to be appointed by Oxford to a full university chair. Richard had also been elected to a Professorial Fellowship of the then-Green College in 1989.  

In 1986 Richard was elected Editor of the British Journal of Educational Studies and remained editor until 2001. I succeeded him as editor in 2006 and we worked together with Professor Jon Davison in editing a collection of the 20 best journal articles which was published as Education Matters to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the journal in 2012.  He was an outstanding editor with the journal always in the top rankings. In 2006 I watched Richard be awarded his first honorary doctorate from the University of Kent – a Doctor of Letters in Canterbury Cathedral – he once again climbed into a pulpit to deliver an address. In fact, I have seen Richard speak in pulpits at Palazzola, Oriel College, Oxford, St Mary’s Church, Oxford, and Canterbury Cathedral. There was irony in these settings and occasions when you think of his earlier decision to train for the priesthood. Richard was a substantial figure in post-war educational thought and his publications are considerable as can be seen with his numerous books and articles. There is hardly a British university where he has not been invited to speak.     

Richard was involved in active research to the point of his death, never losing his extraordinary energy and true love and passion for knowledge and research. He became one of the first fellows of the Society for Educational Studies and always attended the annual dinners at the Athenaeum Club in London. He touched many lives and leaves a rich academic legacy, not least through the innumerable doctoral students he has supervised. He will be deeply missed and mourned; but his life and legacy will be remembered and celebrated in the lives of all who work in education and who have learned so much from the joy of his enthusiasm, warmth, collegiality, generosity, kindness, and friendship. There can be no more appropriate epitaph to his life than: ‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.’ 2 Timothy 4:7

James Arthur 

Chair, Society for Educational Studies