A NEW hall was opened on Friday (April 24) in Court Fields School, Wellington, and officially named after World War Two heroine Odette Hallowes.

Odette lived near Wellington in the early years of the war until she was recruited in 1942 by Britain’s Special Operations Executive (SOE) and sent into France as a spy.

Her bravery saw her become the first woman to be awarded the George Cross, and she also received France’s highest honour the Légion d’honneur.

Naming of the school’s Odette Hallowes Hall was officially carried out by family members during a ceremony attended by students, staff, and invited guests.

The hall represented a major development for Court Fields and will serve as a central space for assemblies, performances, and a wide range of school and community events, and marks an important investment in the school’s future and the experiences of its students.

Headteacher Polly Matthews said: “Odette Hallowes Hall will be a place of voice, belonging, and shared humanity.

“A place where differences are respected, ideas are exchanged freely, beliefs are honoured, and history reminds us of the responsibility we carry for the future.

“In naming this hall after Odette Hallowes, we are not only honouring an extraordinary woman, we are setting a standard for the generations who will pass through these doors.

“At a time when generationally the links to the experiences of everyday men and women in World War Two become less tangible, it is vital that we provide opportunities for remembrance, to remember not only those impacted by the horrors of conflict as combatants or civilians, but those, like Odette, who lived extraordinary lives to help others survive.”

Ms Matthews said Odette’s story was a reminder of courage, humanity, and the characteristics vital for the many children who would pass through, ‘resilience, integrity, leadership, duty, empathy, and bravery’.