Ted Milburn, a dedicated figure in youth and community education, has passed away at 88. His career spanned decades, marked by a commitment to providing second chances and fostering supportive environments for young people.
Milburn's early work included heading the Marmion further education centre in Brighton in the 1960s. Here, he and his team offered hot food and shelter, aiming to ease tensions between opposing groups like the mods and rockers.
His belief in offering opportunities was rooted in his own childhood experiences, which included missing two years of primary education due to tuberculosis. He later achieved a first-class degree in sociology from the University of Sussex in 1973.
Milburn's influence extended across the UK and Europe. He became the UK's first professor of community education in 2000 at the University of Strathclyde. He also chaired the Prince's Trust for Strathclyde and South Scotland and was president of the YMCA in Scotland.