The educational community bids farewell to the founder of Canterbury School, who passed away last Friday at the age of 92. Beryl Pritchard, Gold Medal of the Canaries, created a benchmark in bilingual education that today welcomes over 1,000 students from 30 nationalities.
Beryl Pritchard, founder of the Canterbury School in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, passed away last Friday at the age of 92, as confirmed by the educational community of the centre. The British national, who arrived on the island in the 1970s, leaves an indelible legacy in English teaching in the Canaries.
From a kindergarten to three campuses with over 1,000 students
Pritchard founded a small kindergarten in 1970 at 44 Juan XXIII Street, in the Ciudad Jardín neighbourhood of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. That seed grew into the current Canterbury School, which has three campuses in Gran Canaria: two in the capital (Infant and Primary-Secondary-Bachillerato in San Lorenzo) and one in Maspalomas, where it offers Infant and Primary education. Today, more than 1,000 students from over 30 nationalities study in its classrooms.
The nonagenarian was the widow of aviation commander Francisco Javier García Muro and had three children, some of whom continue her educational legacy. Her remains were cremated last Saturday in a family ceremony.
Awarded the Gold Medal of the Canaries in 2019
Beryl Pritchard's work was recognised in 2019 with the Gold Medal of the Government of the Canaries, the highest distinction in the archipelago. The award valued both her professional career and the legacy she leaves for Canary society: the promotion of English studies at a time when public Spanish schools offered a very different education.
Betty Burgues, president of the English Club in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and a personal friend of Pritchard, remembers her as a woman of great strength and energy. "She had a very particular vision of what education should be," explains Burgues, who met Beryl over fifty years ago. "It must not have been easy at that time to let a woman manage an educational centre. She must have faced many obstacles," she adds.
An active woman, skier and with a sense of humour
Beyond her educational role, Pritchard was a multifaceted woman. "She was a magnificent skier, even after having two new hips," recalls Burgues. Sports, especially basketball, were one of the hallmarks of the centre, which has an academy and a basketball club that has produced important figures. Since its inception, Canterbury promoted art, music, literature, social values, and the spirit of cooperation.
The president of the English Club highlights that the founder had a "very active" personality and was a staunch advocate of what she believed in, but without losing her more comedic and fun side. "She was a very singular and interesting woman," she sums up.
The British educational system that Pritchard implemented was initially successful among the English community residing in Gran Canaria and soon also among Canary families with purchasing power. In those 1970s, public schools were overcrowded, and many parents sought secular centres that offered studies in English.
With the passing of Beryl Pritchard, Canterbury School loses its alma mater, but her legacy continues in the classrooms where children from dozens of nationalities study every day. The educational community is already preparing a tribute for when classes resume after the holidays.
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