Thanks to his keen sense of humour, my friend Alan Dean, who has died aged 63 of a heart attack, had a large following among young people through his mentoring programme Burning2Learn, which he founded in Swanley, Kent, in 2005.
It offered work-related learning to several hundred young people, initially through construction projects. The aim was to build self-esteem, confidence and motivation. Alan became their mentor, champion, confident and sounding board.
As alternatives to the classroom, he took the students to motor and superbike racing events, including at Brands Hatch, Silverstone, Donington Park, Imola, Monza, Misano, Laguna Seca, Phillip Island and Valencia. He used these trips as a way of subtly imparting maths, English and science skills. They met the Prince of Wales through the Prince’s Trust. These were opportunities they could not have imagined if it hadn’t been for Alan’s innovation and encouragement.
In 2006 they formed a B2L media team whose activities included writing conference reports. One of his B2L proteges, Maria Peters, remembers asking Alan what the secret of his family life was. He replied: “We have never stopped laughing.”
Alan was born in Croydon, south London, the son of Ken and Vi, who ran a family grocery store called Ken Tea in Nunhead. Aged seven, Alan was diagnosed with a hole in his heart. He had surgery and made a full recovery. He went to Swanley secondary school before joining his parents’ business.
In 1991, he founded Alan Dean and Associates, a construction company for commercial and residential properties in Swanley, and became chairman of the Swanley chamber of commerce. He encouraged youngsters in local schools to consider the benefits of vocational careers, including bricklaying, plastering and landscaping.
He met Janet Izzard on the dance floor at a Saturday night club in Hastings in 1977. They were married in 1982, on the day that Tottenham won the FA Cup final.
In 1983, the Ken Tea Store morphed into a door and timber business, which grew into the construction company. Alan became a passionate advocate for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. He joined the Ecological Sequestration Trust and the Pivot Projects, both of which work for sustainability.
He will be remembered for his catchphrase at the end of every conversation: “You look after you.”
Alan is survived by Janet and their daughter, Rachel, and by his brother, David.