When Ella Kathleen Wallen was nine in 1923 she announced to her parents she wanted to study history at Oxford University.

Miss Wallen, whose funeral was held on July 1 at St Peter's Church, Upper Wolvercote, also announced she wanted to become a history teacher.

She achieved her ambitions and more as she went on to become a headteacher before she retired to Oxfordshire, where she held executive positions with the Oxford branch of the United Nations Association and was the membership secretary of the Friends of the Ashmolean.

It was not easy for her to achieve her goals as her father was never highly paid and friends were amazed at what her mother managed to do on a small income.

Her family lived in West Hampstead, London, where she was born in 1914.

In 1933 she came to Oxford University to study for a degree in history at St Hugh's College.

She worked as a history teacher from 1937 to 1959 before she appointed headteacher of Queen Victoria High School in Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees, and later Bedford High School.

In her retirement she became a leading light of the UNA Oxford.

Family friend Herman Bell said: "She was always willing to provide guidance, leadership and hard work.

"She strongly supported the concept of education in world citizenship. She kept her clarity of vision and understanding as long as she lived. She was a great inspiration to her colleagues."

Miss Wallen died in Oxford on June 22, aged 89.