Dainfern College

Our Founders’ Day service was a wonderful opportunity to honour our retiring Chairman of the Board of Governors, Mr James Forson, with one of our most special awards – The Red Lion Award.  The award is based on the heraldic significance of the Dainfern College badge where the red lion rampant stands for qualities such as dauntless courage, bravery, strength, ferocity and valour, and the golden shield stands for qualities such as generosity, insight and wisdom. The citation for the award reads as follows:

Dainfern College reserves this award for those of the Dainfern College family who through their generosity of time, expertise, wisdom and energy, and through their determined courage, commitment and strength of purpose, make an invaluable contribution to the well-being and honour of Dainfern College.

We have only presented two such awards in the past, both to Governors who have played a significant role in key times of the College.  They are Mr Philip Parker and Mr Barrett Jerling. On Friday 16 September we presented the third Red Lion Award to honour James Forson, a Governor who has dedicated himself to the College with extraordinary wisdom, expertise, insight and leadership for the past seven years.

Mr James Forson has served Dainfern College as Chairman of the Board of Governors for six years. He took over the reins at a critical time in the history of the College when the College needed to transition from its founding framework to become a modern, dynamic, traditional and established school in its own right. His eloquent wisdom, deep integrity and warm engagement have shaped the Heads and the role of the Board of Governors, and have indelibly shaped us as a College. We want the award to acknowledge and celebrate his discerning leadership, his astute guidance and his resolute commitment to our College as a premier guiding light of this College for the past seven years.