A POPULAR teacher who died unexpectedly was honoured by students and staff who held a celebration of the school’s diversity in her name.
Heather Murgett (pictured), who was head of learning development at Bentley Wood High School in Stanmore, set up the annual international food and costume day as a celebration of the diversity of its pupils.
But having taken a couple of weeks off sick last month, 61-year-old Mrs Murgett, who had worked at the girls’ school for nine years, sadly died several weeks before the event following a heart attack.
Deputy headteacher John Jowers said: “Having worked closely with many students who speak English as a second language and refugees, Mrs Murgett took on the responsibility of running the event to celebrate the school’s rich diversity.
“The news of her death has obviously sent shockwaves through the whole school and having died unexpectedly just weeks before the event we thought it would be suitable to honour her in this way.
“We had a number of former students come back to pay their respects to her and the event proved to be the biggest and best one yet, which is testament to how popular she was.”
In honour of her tireless work at the Bridges Road school, it renamed the event The Heather Murgett International Food and Costume Day, in which students and staff dressed up in clothes and made food synonymous with their cultural backgrounds.
The event had been set up shortly after Mrs Murgett, a mother-of-two, had arrived at the school as a way to raise money for Refugee Week, a charity which supports a UK-wide programme of arts, cultural and educational events that celebrate the contribution of refugees to the UK and encourages a better understanding between communities.
During the celebrations, pictures of Mrs Murgett were displayed on a screen in the hall, while her husband and two children were there to see the event first hand.
There was also prizes dished out for a poster competition and costume competition.
