On February 4th 2021, Mrs Sue Timperley celebrated thirty years working at St Mary’s Church of England Primary School and Nursery.

Mrs Timperley is treasured and valued by the whole school community both now and for the many years she has worked as a cleaner and a midday supervisor at the school.

Mrs Timperley has seen the school grow from a small school of seventy children to the single-form entry school of 170 pupils that are educated at St Mary’s today.

Many changes have occurred during her time, including the building of the school hall, the opening of the school Nursery in The Woodland Building, creation of a sensory garden and conservation area and the final classrooms completed for Years 5 and 6 a few years ago. Through all of this Mrs Timperley has served the children with a smile on her face and a joke or laugh with her colleagues; she is a much loved and valued member of the St Mary’s Team.

Mrs Timperley’s celebrations included a lunch where she was the guest of honour and lunch was served to her (in a socially distanced way). The staff at school bought her a Pandora gift, a rose named ‘Simply The Best’ and a Magnolia Tree to plant in the beautiful school grounds. Additionally, she was presented with a ‘This is your Life Book’ and a card which all staff contributed to making.

The children in school created a banner to mark the occasion and those at home, through social media, were encouraged to send cards – there were so many!

Mrs Timperley received a stunning bouquet of flowers from the Governing Board to thank her for her commitment and a cake stand of delicious bespoke cakes to have with a well-earned cup of tea. An emotional Mrs Timperley said: “I have loved working at St Mary’s, the children and staff at our school are very special.

“Thank you – I really wasn’t expecting anything.”

Headteacher, Cathie Lampert, added: “The staffing team at St Mary’s really is unique. This is a school where everyone

supports each other and all are prepared to go above and beyond to nurture the children to achieve their goals. The fantastic length of time that Sue has worked at the school embodies the ethos and values which we all share.”