A HASLEMERE man has received his knighthood from Prince Charles at a Buckingham Palace ceremony. James Rose, former director of inspection at Ofsted, became Sir James at the palace ceremony just before Christmas. Sir James, 68, of Bunch Lane, was honoured for his services to education and was named in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in June. He went to the palace with wife Pauline and daughter Alison who were seated in the front row of guests and Sir James was the first to receive the award as it was the only knighthood that day. Pauline said: "Prince Charles asked him about his work and what he was interested in. I was very proud of Jim. "They had to get the sword out just for him. It was so well organised and the pomp and ceremony was fantastic. The guards were standing on the staircase and the Palace looked wonderful with all the Christmas trees." She added: "Lady Pauline is just the official title, but I am not the type to go around calling myself that, although my friends call me Lady P as a joke!" Sir James spent all of his career in education, starting as a teacher, then as headteacher in Leicestershire before joining Ofsted as an inspector and moving to Haslemere 23 years ago. He was made a CBE in 1996 and retired from Ofsted in 1999, but continues consultancy work in education.
