Sarah Yelf - Edge Hill Principal

I was pleased to come across an entry on the 125 by 125 blog by Mike Nolan who posted the following article on May 4 2010 about Sarah Yelf, a pioneering female educator who spent much of her career in the Liverpool/Manchester region and eventually became Edge Hill College's first principal. 

I can't see anyway of contacting Mike on his blog so I've taken the liberty of both linking to the original article and, as it's basically a photo and a quote, posting the entire entry (in italics).
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Sarah Yelf was the first principal of Edge Hill College from 1885 to 1890. On her retirement on health grounds the committee had the following to say:

Miss Yelf by the wisdom with which she arranged the general rules, discipline and curriculum of the College, not less than by the conscientiousness, earnestness and christian temper of mind with which she addressed herself to the arduous duties of her anxious task soon raised the College to an honourable position among the Female Training Colleges of the kingdom, and she leaves it with the high rank of fifth on the list of all those Colleges as attested by the last Government examination. it is impossible for the Committee to speak too highly of the beneficent influence which Miss Yelf by her strength of character, firmness, loftiness of mind and affectionate solicitude for their truest welfare, has exercised upon the development of the characters of the Students committed to her charge.

Well said!