Lincolnshire school named after 'Dambuster' Barnes Wallis

Mary Stopes-Roe said she hoped her father would help inspire pupils at the school

A Lincolnshire school has been renamed after the Dambusters bouncing bomb inventor Barnes Wallis.

The Gartree Community School in Tattershall became the Barnes Wallis Academy after it was taken over by the David Ross Education Trust.

The ceremony was marked by a Lancaster flypast and was attended by Mary Stopes-Roe, Barnes Wallis' daughter.

Engineer and inventor Barnes Wallis invented the bouncing bomb which was used in the Dambusters raid in 1943.

Students said the name was chosen by parents after a shortlist was drawn up by the school.

Ms Stopes-Roe said: "I was surprised and impressed to see the (commemorative) plaque was in the shape of a propeller - usually you get a brass thing with names and dates.

"I hope my father serves as an example that while some people invent, other people have to make it work and he always put the credit for the dams raid with the crews."

The Tattershall school is an area which was dominated by World War Two airfields, including RAF Coningsby, the present day base of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

The David Ross Education Trust currently runs more than 20 academies across the east of England, including number of smaller secondary schools in the county.

The school's last Ofsted report in June 2013, following a period in special measures, rated it as 'Requires Improvement'.