A FORMER mayor, councillor and MEP has been nominated in our Pride in Our People awards for half a century of work as a school governor.

Michael Elliott, 79, has been a governor of Greenford High, the school he attended when it opened as a grammar school in 1943, for 52 years.

He was put forward for the Community Champion award by the school’s headteacher Mathew Cramer, who said: “Michael has lived in Ealing virtually all his life, contributing hugely to the area.

“He is a man of great social conscience. More importantly, Michael attended this school when it first opened, and became a governor here in 1960.

“Fifty-two years on, he is still a governor, attending meetings, contributing to government and politics lessons, going on learning walks in the school, meeting students, attending concerts and performances.

“His contribution helped the school and the governing body to get an outstanding judgment from Ofsted in November. Governors do not get paid, they do it out of a sense of social responsibility.

“To go to a school as a pupil, to still be an active member of it 69 years later, and to have given loyal service as a governor for 52 years without any personal reward is, I believe, quite exceptional. He is incredibly modest and unassuming but he deserves the recognition.”

Mr Elliott, 79, who lives in West Ealing, said: “It is very nice to be nominated, but I am sure there are lots of other people who deserve it more.”

He said he had always been interested in education, as well as politics, adding: “There have been so many changes on governing bodies since I started. Now there are so many more representatives and Ealing was one of the first to do this.

“I have really enjoyed being involved in the school, going in and giving talks. The children are really interested in politics. At my last talk four or five aspired to be PM.”

As an associate member of the European Parliament he has given talks both here and abroad and has campaigned against age discrimination as a member of the UK group of the European Age Platform.

A former scientist, Mr Elliott – a father of two and grandfather of five – has also been chairman and trustee of Ealing Age Concern.