Farewells

Theresa Yates-Round

“It’s Theresa here, how can I help?”

Back in the day, a little before 2010 I think, the School engaged a company called RS Academics to do a survey of the place, encompassing everyone and everything. After a few weeks of analysis, they were ready to report to the Governors. Their presentation began like this. They had asked the parents to write down five things they liked most about Beaudesert, and were left with a question they had not anticipated: “Who, or what, is Tree?” This mattered, because the number one most common answer was just that – Tree.

I think if the parents had been surveyed at any time in the past nineteen years that outcome would have been the same. The School has changed, and grown, but in the heart of it there has always been Theresa Yates-Round, not your average School Secretary. In many ways, Tree reflects something of the magic of Beaudesert as a whole. Thoroughly professional, crisp, articulate and clever, she is also utterly daffy, with a “distinctive” laugh, and an almost eerie ability to mimic members of staff. Her Jayson Bird is particularly good.

Having had the most extraordinary life prior to pitching up at Beaudesert she has always had many tales to tell. A great multi-tasker, she can tell quite remarkable stories of escapades at convent school, while organising mailshots to the entire school, while answering the phone, while tracking down Quentin’s black shoes… The more serious side to this is that she is able to understand the people she encounters, and to see things from their side. Not only parents I must add! Many times I have taken my latest brainwave to try out on her. She listens carefully to my finely-tuned arguments and says, “just playing devil’s advocate here…” not to prove me wrong, but to ensure that I have looked at all the angles. I haven’t, of course, which is why I go to her. I will miss this, deeply.

As the School’s Registrar she is the first voice that most of our parents will hear, and the first person they meet when they arrive to look around. She knows where to find the shoes, how to name the clothes, who teaches Science, when the play is, why we aren’t having a Leave-out, where the match is, whether she is on the bus tonight, whether he needs his trainers tomorrow… You get the picture. When our parents tell their friends to come and look around, part of it must be because they feel well-supported, and much of that feeling surely has come from Tree.

An abiding picture of her is in the Office, late in the day. There are small children yet to be picked up who have migrated there. There are books of reading and colouring, and various toys, with role-playing going on, often of the surreal sort that only small children can so effortlessly bring forth. Tree alternately answers the telephone for all the world as if she is speaking to the Duchess of Cambridge herself, and then pretends to be a Fairy Godmother who may or may not have snacks in her desk.

Finally, I would like to say a heartfelt thank you on behalf of all the teachers who have worked here alongside her. Her support for us has been constant – always encouraging, always positive. It has been a joy working with Tree all this time, and I join with everyone in our little community, past and present, in wishing her a happy and joyful life after Beaudesert.

KDB

Robert Kirby

Robert has been a brief, yet welcome addition to the MFL Department. He is a highly experienced teacher, who has taught French in the top three year groups in the Prep School over the past six months, including guiding a set of Year 8s to considerable success in Common Entrance. He has combined a dynamic, energetic approach to instructing French with instilling high expectations and standards, yet flavouring his lessons with just the right amount of fun too.

We are very sorry to say ‘au revoir’ to Robert, but we quite understand that he is needed to work alongside his wife down in Devon, where the rest of his family are based. Keep in touch, Robert and best wishes from us all.

Ellie Toseland

Ellie has brought such joy and fun to her oboe lessons, and the children have thoroughly enjoyed having her as a teacher. Ellie leaves us to take on more teaching at a local primary school and to balance her time with looking after her twins, Tom and Evie. We wish Ellie all the best for the future.

Maria Poll

In September 2001, Maria Hussey crossed the threshold to join the Beaudesert community. Over the next twenty years, it became apparent to anyone that she taught or worked with the extent to which Port Regis’s loss was emphatically our gain.

She has been a teacher of many parts but her heart and soul have always been in the English department. Her commitment to accuracy and presentation, her enthusiasm for the limitless expressive range of language, her patience with those who struggle and her glorious, unaffected sense of humour have lit up the classrooms in the School. Over the years, her ability to engage pupils of every ability has become legendary. The fact that she has probably taught every age group in the Prep School speaks volumes for her versatility and commitment to the subject she loves.

Her marriage to Bill seemed to cement her happiness in the school community. The Headmaster, Mr Womersley, was desperate that she return after her spells of maternity leave that saw the arrival of Chloe and Adam. Return she did, initially part-time and helping in Learning Support but later, into the hurly-burly of the classroom and later, as co-Head of English with Jess Porter. Their contribution to the department was detailed and great; they made the need for viable and useful assessment into a reality, as well as setting the Governors of the Education Committee an imaginative writing test to demonstrate exactly what the pupils have to face.

Her skills extended beyond the classroom, too: Maria was a great sportswoman, responsible for hockey tours to the Netherlands and always striving to develop the idea of the team before the individual. She also took part in one of the early Year 7 trips to Outward Bound in Aberdovey. Her own recollection of the challenges, fears and pleasures she experienced there with the children deserve their own book.

She was fully involved with the pastoral life of the School and was a very successful and popular Year 7 Form Tutor. She has been particularly effective in supporting the girls, always offering firm but fair advice on the plethora of issues that arose. Coming from a large family herself, she understood intuitively the dynamics of the family; these she deployed with great sensitivity and discretion.

Her enthusiasms and interests are boundless – writing, always with a fountain pen in a beautifully legible, rounded hand, all things natural, the rhythms and patterns of the seasons but it is, perhaps, the sea that holds her in rapt attention.

Maria has been an exemplary Prep School teacher throughout these past two decades. We will miss a colleague who is truly compassionate, humble, honest and loyal. Our loss is Bill’s, Chloe’s and Adam’s gain and the entire Beaudesert community, past and present, wish her every happiness in that loving family environment.

Claire Clarke

We are sad to say goodbye to Claire, who has worked in the Year 3 department for the past few years. She has worked alongside the children in the classroom, helping and encouraging them to achieve their very best as well as support them outside during break and lunchtime. She has also been a great support to the teachers and we will miss her enormously. We wish her all the best as she embarks on her new career.

KH RT

John Harris

John leaves us after 17 years at Beaudesert, having taught so many pupils and bands throughout his time. John has made such an impact upon music at Beaudesert; his kindness and dedication both to his pupils and the department as a whole will be missed greatly. Over the last 4 years I have particularly enjoyed performing with John in many concerts and shows; Rock on Summer, Bugsy Malone, Oliver with a Twist and The Ash Girl… to name a few. John’s expertise in sound has been invaluable at Beaudesert. He was instrumental in sourcing and setting up the sound system in the Performing Arts Centre, and installing the new equipment in the drum pod to house a recording studio. I am so grateful for his calm approach, extensive knowledge and advice. Always an immensely kind, supportive and dedicated colleague, we will really miss John at Beaudesert and wish him the very best for the future.

RS

Gill Price

Back in September 1999, Gill Price began her reign the leader of Beaudesert Park’s Pre-prep swimming, and what a lot of water has literally passed under the bridge since then… Gill has contributed so much to the swimming development of several generations of Beaudesert swimmers and as such, helped to bring home the accolades and reputation that Beaudesert swimming has had in the intervening years. Gill’s commitment and dedication to this has set so many of our children on their early swimming journeys, helping to turn them into confident, independent swimmers who are safely able to enjoy the water.

Of all the lessons I have been lucky enough to teach with Gill, one session in particular always sticks in my memory, that of rescue techniques and survival skills that is taught in Year 2. To make the lesson more experiential, the children are always asked to bring in lightweight clothing such as pyjamas to wear whilst swimming. On one occasion I can recall a rather overexuberant but very dapper tuxedo and bow tie being produced from a swim bag, and Mrs Price politely but firmly informing the child in question that PE shorts and a t-shirt would do!

As well as running Pre-prep swimming, Gill has also been a teaching assistant within the Pre-prep. Regardless of the task, she is a shining light of helpfulness, rational pragmatism, professionalism and kindness towards her colleagues and the children. Her presence on a Pre-prep class visit is always reassuring, and her willingness to help in the classroom and assist the staff is endless. To borrow a lyric, “You don’t know what you’ve lost ‘til it’s gone.” This will only prove true in the oncoming months, but we wish her the absolute best in her retirement. Gill – your professionalism, dedication, kindness and friendship will be truly missed within these walls.

Bethan Jones

Bethan arrived at Beaudesert in 2017 as Head of the Pottery department as well as teaching DT and Art. Her contribution across all three of these departments has been immense. She has been the glue that has bonded the departments together, enabling us to form an even better creative provision. She has been a source of joy and inspiration to all the members of staff she has worked with and children she has taught. She has modernised the Pottery department into Ceramics, developing a vast range of exciting and engaging projects for the children to get stuck into. She is a champion of practical subjects, of getting children to create, build and use their hands. She encourages exploration of materials, of learning through doing and of having a massive amount of fun in the process. Children will remember her for her series of funny voices, for encouraging dancing in the classroom and for turning washing up into a fun competition.

Bethan leaves us to relocate to North Wales and we wish her all the very best for the future. We have been so lucky to have had her in our departments for the past four years and know that the future schools she works in will feel exactly the same.

HP

LS and LW

Pete Allen

Pete only joined our team of drivers last September, having previously worked driving rather larger buses for Stagecoach. He fitted in very quickly and was extremely popular both with his colleagues and with the children (especially Margaret). Regretfully, home circumstances have changed for Pete but his passion for buses has landed him a perfect new job which will involve driving tourist buses around Bath. Fortunately, they are of the open top variety which will accommodate his height! We miss him, and wish him well in his new role.

MF-K

Alison Holland

Alison Holland joined the Learning Support Department in January 2016. Her qualities of kindness and patience were apparent and she was dedicated to the learning development of her pupils. Alison shared her love of art, literature and nature with her pupils and created beautiful bespoke resources to use with the children in her lessons. Alison was a main player when we introduced in-class specialist support and was well-respected by her colleagues in the classroom, providing assistance effectively and unobtrusively. We all appreciated Alison’s calm approach and words of wisdom. We are sending our very best wishes to Alison who is now able to enjoy more time with her family in her new home. HW

Christina Lincoln

“Quel dommage!” was my reaction as soon as I knew Christina was calling it a day. I simply could not have wished for a better member of the MFL Department over the past decade. Whatever was required, she did not do only willingly, but extremely well. She taught all ages and abilities in the Prep School, with clear purpose and enthusiasm, yet real patience and understanding. Albeit the opposite of a drama queen, she loves drama and this came to the fore, both in and outside of the classroom. Who could forget the Journée de la Francophonie assembly she produced a few years ago, with the Scholars dressed as giant fruit, leading a whole school rendition of J’aime les fruits?! She was a fantastic, versatile deputy on the annual French trip too, who even fulfilled the unenviable Florence Nightingale role, looking after the sick with commendable equanimity and good humour. Indeed, she always managed to see the funny side. Among the challenges of taking 50 or so twelve or thirteen year-olds to Normandy, we always shared plenty of laughter, (n’est ce pas, Marlene?!)

First-class teacher though she was, it was her many qualities as a person that made Christina such a popular member of staff. Naturally sociable, she was, and still is, always interested in other people. This friendliness, combined with an inherent kindness, was enhanced by calm, rational and wise support for both pupils and adults. Such qualities made her an excellent Form tutor, a part of the job which she shared for several years with the equally unflappable Sally Russell. I often asked Christina for advice, which was unfailingly helpful, based on her considerable experience and a shrewd notion of common sense. Having said that, she has offered to babysit my own children (foolishly). I fully intend to make her keep her promise!

Many of us know that Christina will remain a great friend, as well as having proved herself to be an outstanding teacher, a marvellous colleague and just a wonderful person. Beaudesert’s loss is her family’s gain. Her leaving card was a waterfall of gratitude and respect. We wish her every happiness in retirement, especially being able to spend more time with her husband Adrian and acting as ‘Nona’ to her beloved, lucky grandchildren. À bientôt Christina et merci mille fois. OF

Carl Sloman

Carl joined Beaudesert in the summer of 2018 and he most certainly didn’t fit the stereotypical ‘angry chef’ mould; quite the contrary. Each day, and even in the most challenging of circumstances, Carl greeted us all, children and staff alike, with warmth and a smile, which helped the delicious food slip down with even greater ease.

During the three years that he was with us, Carl worked tirelessly to ensure the quality and variety of food we were lucky to enjoy was of the highest standard. Word of his memorable match teas spread far and wide. If an army marches on its stomach, and ours most definitely does, it was Carl and his team that kept us going.

Carl left us at in order to be closer to his family and we all wish him every happiness in his future endeavors.

MP

Anna White

Anna White or rather, Madame White, joined Beaudesert just over three years ago. She bounded into the modern languages department with all the youth and energy of Tigger. Anyone who happened to walk down the “French corridor” will have heard her pupils singing their hearts out, blissfully unaware that they were learning key vocabulary; they were quite simply enjoying themselves. Anna was the only member of staff to have taught throughout the School from Reception through to Year 8, and although secondary trained, she increasingly enjoyed her lessons with the younger age groups. The creativity and fun – teaching in a banana costume on a “Fruit Friday” that she brought to her Zoom lessons will remain long in the memories of those lucky enough to be in her teaching groups. She has always been a professional and generous colleague, ready to help, whatever the setting, be it in School, during French trips, on crosscountry runs or leading House Shout rehearsals. Her classroom was always a sanctuary for any child who needed a boost.

We wish her all the best, as she embarks on her new role as a Year 4 class teacher in Morocco, and we are just a tiny bit envious of all that sunshine!

CL