Grey Coat 2 Issue 11: March/April 2011 Headteacher's let ter to parents


all. I have enormously enjoyed my eleven and a half years as Headteacher of The Grey Coat Hospital, and will take many happy memories away with me. With the passing of time, I have got to know a great many parents, through parents’ evenings, individual meetings, special events and, above all, the Parents’ Guild. Parents’ commitment to the school, and to upholding our ethos, always impresses me, and it is good to know that so many of you feel fully involved in our Grey Coat community. I thank you for all your support over the years.


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From the day I first came here I was impressed by the creativity and energy of the staff and students at Grey Coat. This is a place where individuals can find a profound freedom of expression, because there is a firm foundation of respect for others that underpins relationships in our school community. This gives a great deal of security. It also makes this a very exciting place to work and study. The ethos of the school is not all dependent on one person, but is created by all the members of the community interacting together. During my time here I have learnt a great deal from other members of the Grey Coat community, including the children, and I value the lessons I shall be taking away with me. I hope I shall be able to make a better contribution to


s my retirement date is rapidly approaching, this is my chance to say good bye to you


the Christian community where I live, as a result of what I have experienced in the Grey Coat community. I also intend to make the most of new opportunities as they arise, just as we constantly urge the students to do in school.


The new arts block has taken up a lot of my time over the last few years, and it is exciting to see it so nearly finished now, and to know that those ideas we first expressed on paper have been turned into classrooms which encourage the best teaching and learning. The finishing touch will be the stained glass window. My heartfelt thanks to all who have contributed towards this – we are almost half way there. It is a lot of money to collect now, but the window will be a lasting legacy which will affect the lives of present and future students for as long as the school continues to exist – I’m thinking at least another 300 years!


I am sure you will give my successor, Siân Maddrell, a warm welcome. She already knows and loves the school, having worked here earlier in her teaching career. I got to know and respect her during my first year when she was Head of Modern Foreign Languages at Grey Coat. One of the reasons that I chose to leave at Easter, rather than at the end of the summer term, is because I felt it would be best for the new Head to be in position during the summer term, when all the planning for the next academic year takes place. With all the changes introduced by the


new government, this seems even more sensible now than it did when I made the decision.


Another reason is a more personal one. My husband and I have often talked of what we would do ‘when we retire’, and retiring at Easter allows us to put a long-held dream into practice without delay. When term starts again, we shall be setting off on a leisurely Spring Holiday, not governed by school holiday dates. We shall be taking our caravan across the channel, and then following our inclination on a daily basis, rather than having any detailed schedule. It will be particularly delightful to have no deadlines to meet! I would like to get right down to the heel of Italy, visiting lots of places I have never been on the way – but if we end up going to see the Northern lights from the farthest tip of Norway, that will be great too! Our theme this year at Grey Coat has been Discovery. Although no longer in school, I shall be developing that theme in new ways throughout the summer term. I shall not forget Grey Coat, and will always remember the members of the Grey Coat community in my prayers.


With very best wishes to you all.


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