The Department of Education and Children is deeply saddened to hear of the death of long-serving secondary school headteacher Ian Masterton, who died today at a hospice in Bury, aged 75.
 
Stuart Dobson, Chief Executive Officer of the Department, said: ‘Although I didn’t work with Mr Masterton, I know from colleagues that he was a much-respected headteacher who positively influenced many thousands of students’ lives. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this sad time.’
 
A geography and geology teacher, Mr Masterton was deputy headteacher at what is now St Ninian’s High School from late 1976 until 1984.
 
At that time, children transferred from Ballakermeen to St Ninian’s at 14.
 
Mr Masterton took over as head of Ballakermeen in 1984 immediately prior to it becoming an 11-18 school in its own right and he oversaw the creation of the ‘new’ school, which started in 1985.
 
George Quayle said: ‘I first met Ian when I took over from him as deputy head at what was then the Douglas High School and he became Head of Ballakermeen High School. When I became Head of St Ninian's High School in 1994, he was always available to give me advice and the benefit of his enormous experience.
 
‘Ian was a man passionately committed to his work. He had a supreme work ethic and would spend endless hours working on behalf of his students to do everything he could to ensure they had the best possible opportunities in later life. He set very high standards and I am sure many young people benefited from his dedication, his high expectations and his disciplined approach to life in general.
 
‘Ian was deeply interested in education. He was always looking for ways of doing things better and challenged others to do likewise. He enjoyed innovation and was very successful in bringing about improvements beneficial to his school and its students.
 
‘Ian was a man of enormous energy with a ready wit and a sometimes wicked sense of humour. He was a man of conviction and yet he had time for people and was always receptive to others' opinions. In what little spare time he had, he devoted himself to photography and, as with his professional life, he achieved outstanding results there, too.’
 
Mr Quayle said: ‘Ian left his mark on education, particularly for his work in Ballakermeen High School and his legacy there is evident to this day. Life was never dull when Ian was around. It is a real shame that someone who put so much into his working life did not get to enjoy a longer retirement.’
 
Annette Baker, current deputy headteacher at Ballakermeen, was appointed Head of Languages under Mr Masterton’s leadership, and said: ‘He was an outstanding headteacher, not always the easiest man to work for, but this was because he always insisted on the highest standards from his staff for the benefit of his students.
 
‘He was hugely popular with parents, who knew that he would move heaven and earth for their children. Students' best interests were at the centre of his world and we all knew that. He was a man ahead of his time and his insistence on the highest quality in resources, teaching methods and information technology placed the school at the cutting edge of education on the Island and beyond.’
 
Dylis Watson, who – as Head of Sixth Form – was on Mr Masterton’s leadership team at Ballakermeen from when he arrived, said:  ‘Ballakermeen was effectively a totally new school, although we were putting two schools together. From 1984 to 1985 he was not only planning the new school but also running an existing school with more than 1,000 11-14 year olds. It was a huge job. He had incredible energy and he worked really hard and was never afraid to get his hands dirty. If furniture needed to be moved, he would roll up his sleeves and get on with it.’
 
Mrs Watson said students always came first with Mr Masterton. ‘He had their interests at heart. He was a very gritty eager beaver, always prepared to go the extra mile to achieve the best. He would grab every chance to promote the school and the students’ interests,’ she said.
 
Mr Masterton was always forthright, Mrs Watson said. ‘One of his famous lines was “if you don’t like it, there’s a boat in the morning at 9’o’clock”. But what mattered was the children. He really wanted the children to get the best deal. Every summer he worked for weeks to get children into university in the days when it was a lot harder to do so.’
 
Mr Masterton returned to Ballakermeen for its 25th anniversary celebrations in 2010/11.
 
Current headteacher Adrienne Burnett said: ‘Ian was passionate about Ballakermeen. He lived and breathed the school. He was an entrepreneur by nature and when delegated budgets were introduced in 1998, Ian was in his element. He liked a bargain and arranged to buy tiles straight from the manufacturer in Spain. The more tiles he purchased, the cheaper the cost of the tiles. Every corridor in the school was subsequently tiled. In fact, only now, 14 years later, are we are down to the last pallet.
 
‘When I joined Ballakermeen as a deputy head, I persuaded Ian that I was a big fan of Coronation Street, just so I could leave school before 7.30pm a couple of nights a week. Invariably, he would still be in his office working away.
 
‘It was a difficult decision for Ian to retire, but he was keen to travel and pursue some hobbies, especially photography. I shall miss his irascible and sometimes taciturn nature. Behind the gruff exterior was an educator who wanted the best for the students, someone who would not accept second best from his staff and especially not from himself. I was proud to become headteacher of Ballakermeen and owe Ian a huge debt of gratitude for the great school that he passed on to me and that will be part of his legacy.’

Mr Masterton retired to Ramsbottom in Lancashire and, for a while, he enjoyed being a professional photographer.  He continued to work for AQA as an assistant examiner until 2010. He continued to indulge in his love of good food, was becoming quite proficient in growing his own fruit and vegetables and thoroughly enjoyed the company of his little dog, Max.

His son, Robert, an ex-student of Castle Rushen High School and later of the Ballakermeen 6th form, is now living and working in Melbourne, Australia.