Hartlepool council chief pays tribute to dedicated Catcote Academy head Alan Chapman

Alan Chapman, who was CEO of Hartlepool Aspire Trust, which runs Catcote Academy, Catcote Futures and Catcote Sixth Form, passed away on Tuesday, October 15 after a short illness. He was 67.

Council chief executive Gill Alexander started the recent Full Hartlepool Borough Council meeting by paying tribute to his contribution to education in the town.

She also said a memorial service is to be arranged in the near future following his funeral to enable more people to pay respects to his life and work.

She said: “I think there isn’t anybody in this room who isn’t aware of Alan’s dedication to children and young people in this town, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities.

“He had a reputation nationally which went way beyond Hartlepool and he was able to achieve and create really unique opportunities for young people to live full lives.

“There will be a memorial service for Mr Chapman in the near future and a number of members have already asked me about it so they can pay their respects to Alan and also celebrate his life and contribution to the education system in this town.”

Mr Chapman’s funeral has been taking place today at St Hilda’s Church.

In lieu of flowers, the family of Mr Chapman asked for donations to be made to Catcote Academy’s outdoor learning and fitness zone.

Work and fundraising on the £450,000 outdoor learning zone at its Catcote Road site has been progressing for around two years.

An empty field around the size of a football pitch is planned to be transformed and will feature specially designed equipment, an accessible adventure play area, and tracks suitable for wheelchair users.

Following Mr Chapman’s recent death, a memorial garden to him is to be included in the plans.

More than £2,000 has already been donated to the project in his memory on a special online fundraising page created by the academy.