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1958-2010
That Liz Bird was head of the Open University's education department, and yet did not quite manage to finish her own PhD, was entirely typical. Working for others - whether schoolchildren, mature learners or teachers in Africa - always took priority over doing things for herself.
Elizabeth Brickstock was born in Reading in April 1958. Teenage Liz had no plans to go into teaching. But, on completing a degree in metallurgy at Cambridge University, she enrolled in a PGCE programme purely so she could stay in Cambridge with her boyfriend. The relationship did not last, but her new career did: it was true love, right from the start.
It was not, however, her only love. After graduation, she had spent several months travelling across sub-Saharan Africa with friends. This, too, was the beginning of a long-term relationship.
And so, after working for two years in Cambridge, she applied for a job teaching English in Sudan. This was followed by several years as a science teacher in Botswana. It was here that she met Michael Bird, a fellow teacher; the...