Blue Plaque for Mo Mowlem Unveiled

Coundon Court has unveiled a memorial plaque for one of our former students who became a hugely influential politician. Mo Mowlam was head girl here in the 1960s. She was a pupil here from 1962 to 1968.  She enjoyed a career that saw her be a driving force in one of the defining moments of Tony Blair's New Labour government of the late 1990s.

Ms Mowlam was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and used her position to help create "The Good Friday Agreement" which brought a much sought after peace following decades of a struggle known collectively as The Troubles.

She is credited with breaking the impasse between Republicans and Unionists, notably by going into the Maze Prison and talking to senior paramilitaries from both sides. She did this while battling various serious health issues. Sadly, she died in 2005 aged 55.

20 years on from her death, Journalist Julia Langdon, the former Political Editor for the Daily Mirror who wrote a biography of Mo Mowlam in 2000, unveiled the blue plaque at Coundon Court.

The blue plaque was commissioned by "The Coventry Society" and installed in partnership with the school, led by head teacher Chris Heal. Also amongst the speakers was Sue Cooper, a classmate of Ms Mowlam. Three current pupils at the school also took part in the ceremony.