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Michael William McCrum CBE (23 May 1924 – 16 February 2005) was an English people academic and Ancient History who served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and Head Master of Tonbridge School and Eton College.
After graduation, McCrum became a master at Rugby School. He married the daughter of the headmaster, Sir Arthur fforde, in 1952. McCrum was appointed Fellow of Corpus Christi in 1950 and was an (innovative) Tutor there under the Master, Sir George Thomson, and was also Director of Classical Studies.
Through a clever strategy, he ensured that straw boater hats ("barges") remained, despite a clear majority in a poll among the boys that favored abolishing them. His imposing stature and remarkable ability to memorize the names and faces of every boy (and master) in the school within the first week of the autumn term earned him respect and command. He later described part of his task at Tonbridge as having been "the reduction of stupid anachronisms" and "giving boys more liberties, provided they do not take them"; corporal punishment, he said, was "often the lesser of two evils".Rogers, Byron. "Eton's new head: a man for freedom". The Times, London, 2 December 1969, p. 1.
While at Tonbridge, McCrum was an early supporter of the idea of school voucher, and he opposed Labour Party proposals for school reform."An educational 'toothless wonder'", The Times, London, 14 September 1964, p. 6.
He criticised the reduction of the age of majority and the voting age to 18, saying that while they might be outwardly more mature than formerly, 18-year-olds "were still searching for guidance and authority" and "were less aware than formerly of the framework of tradition and the concept of the family community" under the increasing influence of the press and media."Votes at 18 was 'hasty'", The Guardian, London, 18 February 1970, p. 5.
As Chairman of the Headmasters' Conference in 1974, McCrum called for greater co-operation between the independent and maintained sectors of education, a co-operation which Eton has maintained under its present Provost.Devlin, Tim. "Heads see big demand for more independent schools despite Labour threat to end benefits", The Times, London, 1 October 1974, p. 2.
McCrum banned Nigerian writer Dillibe Onyeama from visiting Eton after the latter alleged having experienced racism at the college. This decision was overturned in approximately 2010.Bakare, Lanre, "Nigerian ex-Eton pupil says he will return to accept racism apology", The Guardian, London, 23 June 2020.
He chaired the Oxford and Cambridge Schools Examination Board from 1981 to 1987, and the School Governing Bodies Association from 1989 to 1994.
In his farewell speech as Vice-Chancellor, he called for university lecturers to be better paid.Gow, David. "Exam warning in vice-chancellor's parting shot", The Guardian, London, 3 October 1989, p. 2.
An Anglican, he was chairman of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England (from 1991) and was a member of the BBC/IBA religious affairs committee (while headmaster of Tonbridge; despite his reforming zeal in other respects, formal daily chapel services remained part of the fabric of school life while he was there; he did make attendance voluntary at Eton).
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