Farewells

Susie Jones

The scene: Year 5 Maths with Mr Burns and Mrs Jones.

Mr Burns (internal monologue): I’m crushing this! No one has ever explained decimals this well! This is brilliant – I am amaz…

Mr Burns glances at Mrs Jones. In just 2.67 nanoseconds, she twitches an eyebrow, purses her lips ever so slightly, and glances meaningfully at the back row. The message is clear.

Mr Burns: Right everyone! Let’s stop all that and go back to the beginning.

An audible sigh of relief gently whistles around the room…

Susie Jones has taught all ability levels of Maths since her arrival in 1999, but she has made her specialist area the teaching of children who find it very difficult. When she returned after spending some years raising her own children, she created a role that had not previously existed, that of an in-class specialist support teacher solely dedicated to Maths. Although she soon took over teaching, to great effect, full sets in Years 7 and 8, she has continued, for about eight years now, to provide a wholly different dimension to the teaching of children in Years 5 and 6. We had always tried to do what we could to alleviate the fear some children have of Maths, but Susie’s return enabled us to do something much more designed, by putting two teachers into one room.

The effect was clear in two aspects, only one of which is measurable in the usual ways. The most important is that the children come to the Maths room without any sense of dread, and instead find good humour, support, Sidney the Snail, and as many explanations as you need. Susie is extraordinarily good at creating a calm, unflustered yet productive atmosphere. You can’t measure atmosphere, but you can measure Maths attainment with a variety of standardised tests, and by the end of Year 8, a great many of our weaker children have become increasingly indistinguishable from those who were “above” them to start with.

One perhaps surprising thing is that Susie is a degree mathematician, a group of people which, while indisputably brainy, are not renowned for having terrific skills communicating their wisdom to those who find the allegedly simple things rather mysterious. In her second spell here, Susie has directed her considerable intellect towards creating the school timetable each year. These years have seen the return of the winter timetable and the introduction of the two week timetable, among many other changes. Year after year, she has proven equal to this mammoth task with all its potential roadblocks and unforeseen changes.

Susie has had a great many roles in her time here – Maths and Science teacher, form tutor, games taker and school parent among them. I think her most lasting legacy will be the hundreds of children she has taught who will grow up remembering that, even if Maths was hard, it was never something to be afraid of. Thank you for everything you have done for us.

KDB

Suzy Temblett

Suzy joined us at Beaudesert in the Autumn Term 2021 to take on the mammoth task of School Secretary in the School Office. Smiley and confident with a South African lilt, she settled in quickly, taking on parent queries and always being a friendly face for visitors as they arrived. Suzy had a good knowledge of school administrative systems, and as a former graphic designer, she had a great eye for designing show programmes and tickets. Suzy has moved on to an exciting new opportunity, which will allow her to have more time with her family and her dog Jet. We wish her all the best in whatever comes next. SL

Louis said farewell to Beaudesert in October 2021, as he sought to focus upon his work as a composer. He was instrumental in forming the Beaudesert Piano Quintet who performed Mozart’s Piano Quintet in G minor to pupils and staff in the Autumn Term 2020. His enthusiasm for composition is infectious, and we are grateful to Louis for encouraging and inspiring our young musicians to create their own music, whilst also aiming to be the best pianists they can be. RS

Louis Mander

Lola Lagomarsino Lisa Nicole

Lively and lovely and firm and fair. Older than her years in experience, but forever the baby of the department and a perennial spring chicken of just 21! Leaving Pre-Prep after nine years. Acrylic nails, eyebrow shaper, nit checker and vintage clothing enthusiast. Lover of reading and books; the darker and more thrilling the better. Always a straight-talker, candid, direct, and therefore rarely misunderstood! Going to leave big boots to fill (although actually has very tiny shoes). One of a kind, unique and original. Multi-talented and capable. ‘Au Revoir’ NOT goodbye. Reception TA extraordinaire, who is both romantic and pragmatic. Safeguarding champion, advocate and upholder. Interesting first aid practitioner, who is squeamish of both vomit and blood… Not afraid of a good hug. Nice (but ever so naughty sometimes too), with a beautiful smile and contagious laugh. Onward… To Hereford. To marriage. To life’s next adventures. Bee happy. Bee lucky. Bee missed. Bee Lola. Always.

HP

Lisa joined the Matrons’ team in May 2017, working two afternoons a week, although she eventually changed her hours to being our cover on a Friday, which worked really well. She was always reliable, conscientious, hardworking and very much an asset to the Boarding House.

Lisa was familiar with Beaudesert as her four children had attended years before, until they moved on to their senior schools. She had a good sense of humour and was good fun, which you certainly need working with children! Lisa didn’t like waste and would often do mend and repair work on uniform, telling us that it was the ‘Northerner’ in her! Anyone who has visited Highgrove may even have seen Lisa, as she has worked as a tour guide for the gardens.

Lisa leaves us to pursue another new venture which I am sure will be successful. We all wish Lisa well, and the best of luck in her next endeavours.

Lizzie Bailey

Lizzie joined the MFL Department at very short notice nearly two years ago. Since then she has taught French, as well as Latin, to Years 7 and 8, preparing pupils for Common Entrance. She soon instilled high expectations, good discipline and a mature work ethic. As well as being a conscientious teacher, Lizzie has proved to be a committed colleague. For instance, she took an elite Year 7 group (‘la crème de la crème’) to a challenging Languages Day at Malvern College; being a native speaker herself, she has done extra oneto-one sessions, either with pupils with parents who are native speakers, or with those with years of experience of living in a francophone country; she has given up valuable free time to practise for the CE oral exam with her Year 8 set.

Having relinquished her retirement in the autumn of 2020, she has now decided, entirely understandably, that retirement beckons once again, presumably permanently this time! The prospect of reclining in the Spanish sunshine at her new home in Menorca proves too alluring. I hope she will keep in touch, perhaps sending us occasional photos in sunny climes (probably during the drab winter months chez nous!). Lizzie’s professionalism, organisation and mild yet good-humoured demeanour will be much missed. We wish her the best of luck, all health and happiness for the future, and my sincere thanks for all you have done here, Lizzie.

JAE

OF

James and Alex Standen McDougal

James and Alex arrived in 2010, having worked previously at Ludgrove, St Anselm’s and Sunningdale. James was being headhunted vigorously by other schools at the time and we were lucky to get him. He was never one to make his mark with noise or bombast though. Teaching History and Sport, and especially as a Year 8 Form Tutor and Head of Year 8, he led with a quiet authority that quickly made him trusted and turned to by children, staff and parents. As part of his History teaching, he developed a range of annual trips. The Purbeck trip for Year 6, as well as the delights of camping, always included some educational diversions to places such as the Bovington Tank Museum. There were regular Year 8 trips to HMS Victory and Warrior in Plymouth, and a variety pack of castle visits including to Chepstow. Over the years a number of his keen History students did very well indeed in the prestigious Townsend Warner History Prize, which was always a source of great satisfaction. A talented games player, James has been an exceptional coach, particularly of rugby and cricket, where he was always a leading light in Rats and staff fixtures. For a man defined by an air of calm, he has no shortage of competitive spirit! Year after year, he organised the brilliant Cornwall week for Year 8 after their exams, and what wonderful memories the children have of these.

Alex’s roles for many years were as a Year 4 Form and English Teacher, plus drama across the whole of the Prep School. Her Year 8 productions displayed levels of creativity which amazed audiences year after year. In the early days, the apparently unpromising space afforded by the Sports Hall would be transformed for the children to display their talents more freely. Termly Year 4 plays remained a constant highlight. Alex branched out into teaching English further up the School, enthusing children with a love of reading and writing, while paying close attention to the necessary fundamentals of good grammar and structure. Having always been a teacher to whom children naturally gravitate when troubled, it was a perfect fit for her to become involved in the formal processes around safeguarding, and then Head of Girls.

Listing off the details of what roles Alex and James have held in their time at Beaudesert does not even begin to scratch the surface of what their presence has meant to us. The Standen McDougal family, including George, Issy and Molly, have been central to the life of the School, setting standards and perpetuating the unique atmosphere that we value so much. Every organisation ultimately runs on trust and goodwill, and every organisation wants to have, at the heart of it, people who can be relied upon to help, support, cheerlead, organise and be there for each and every member of the community. Since the announcement of their departure to Kenya, the warmth and affection for Alex and James has been loud and sincere. They leave behind memories of a multitude of happy times, and our thanks go to them with all our best wishes for the future! KDB

Lesley Hale

Lesley Hale has brought many years of dedicated care and guidance to our Music Department at Beaudesert. Her piano pupils have benefitted from her thorough grounding in music, both technically and theoretically, and she has always challenged her pupils to aim for their very best. In addition to her piano teaching she has also been a dedicated advocate for learning the recorder, and has taught so many Beaudesert pupils their first instruments as they joined the Pre-Prep Recorder Ensemble in Year 2. We wish Lesley a very happy and long retirement as she enjoys spending more time with her grandchildren and travelling the world.

Matt Richardson

During the summer holiday Matt Richardson chose to bid farewell to us at Beaudesert. After a few years teaching piano to many pupils we wish him the very best for the future; and we are sure that he will continue to enjoy performing lots of music with his Barber Shop Choir, as a Musical Theatre Director and as a pianist.

Jackie Excell

At the end of the Christmas Term, we said farewell to Jackie Excell, our Head Matron since 2018. Jackie started life at Beaudesert in 1999, helping in the kitchens. She made the move upstairs in 2003 when she was employed by the School as a Matron. She used to stay over on Saturday nights to look after the full time boarders, amongst other jobs around and about the Boarding House. Jackie saw six sets of Houseparents and four Head Matrons, before she took Andy joined Beaudesert in the spring of 2021, just as lockdown was lifted, and was integral to getting the kitchen back on its feet and tantalising our taste buds once more. Andy worked tirelessly to reinstate culinary normality, always with a ready smile and a corny joke. He particularly enjoyed chatting with the boarders to discover their favourite foods, and to tempt them to try something a little different. Andy left us after in order to pursue a career in environmental operations, a subject very close to his heart.

Debbie Royston

Back in September 2012 just as Andy Murray won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open, and excavators announced they had found the remains of King Richard lll of England beneath a car park in Leicester, a certain Mrs Debs Gent joined the Pre-Prep as the Learning up the role as Head Matron herself when the Laytons arrived.

The number of Beaudesertians that have looked to Jackie for help over the past 24 years are countless. When recently asked to sum up Jackie in one word, one current boarder simply said, “marvellous”. Whether it was molding a mouth guard, making a bed, mending a nametape or clearing up sick (!), Jackie was always on hand to help. She wasn’t just helping the children, but the parents and the staff, with a smile on her face. She will always remember the children’s names, and the parents too, and she will take some delightfully funny stories with her. We will miss her warmth, her passion for the job and the School, as well as her unmatched knowledge of all things Beaudesert.

It is, though, out of the frying pan and into the fire for her as she starts her retired life as part-time Granny. She will continue to do all she can to help children within her care, however, this time it is her own family. We want to extend a huge thank you from all of us within the Beaudesert community, and send a hugely fond farewell to one of Beaudesert’s longest standing, most enduring members of staff.

TL

Support Teacher. A marriage, a name change and almost 3,500 days later, and Debs (now Royston) has moved on to pastures, fields, country tracks, and presumably many a dog walk, new.

To précis her time at Beaudesert is easy; genuine, helpful, lovely, kind, approachable. These are words that are repeated again and again from colleagues, parents and pupils. In fact, from anyone lucky enough to have met her. Both professionally and personally, people recall her with genuine affection.

Even if you did not know her, you should get a very clear picture of her character and qualities, and how much she was valued here at Beaudesert. Debs was never too busy to offer her advice, support, warmth, oodles of patience, compassion, empathy and kindness, whether in her Pre-Prep cupboard, around the department, the wider school, on the sports field or on many a class trip.

It has been our privilege to know her at Beaudesert Park. To sum her up, I have borrowed a small quote from the wonderful Maya Angelou (another marvellous and insightful female), who reminds us in her poem ‘I’ve Learned’ that a skilled teacher must be aware of the emotional valence of their words and actions: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

No matter our abilities, Mrs Royston made us all feel individually special. Debs, you have been a learning support angel, and we salute you and all you have done for us here. You are a truly lovely lady. HP

Andy Robinson

MP

Gemma Crane

Once upon a time (September 2014), in a land not too far away (Let’s call it Beaudesertia?), a beautiful lady with long lustrous locks started to work in the lower levels of the Pre-Prep palace. From the day she started work, Gemma Crane had a genuine and unreserved passion for teaching Reception children. This was evident to anyone fortunate enough to have visited her classroom, or witnessed her lessons over the last eight years.

Awesome. Wonderful. Passionate. Considerate. Generous. Committed. Funny. Lovely. ‘Crazy legs!’ Amazing. Professional. Warm. Genuine. Helpful. Kind. Super. Sometimes there just aren’t enough words, but to put it simply; children adore her, parents respect her, and colleagues admire her.

A co-worker recently said that whatever the lesson, “Gemma would know exactly what to teach and 20 different ways to teach it.” If you ever needed help, Gemma would always give it. If I happened to mention to her what our next topic was going to be, I would receive emails or texts with useful links, and resources would mysteriously appear on my desk overnight. The downstairs end classroom (and I’m sure every storage centimetre of her home) was an endless land of treasures that she was always happy to share. Generations of Reception children have been furnished with Miss Crane’s treasures, trinkets and gems, including many of mummy Crane’s knitted pumpkins and poppies. Her love of teaching and professionalism (alongside a sense of fun), were evident throughout her online teaching. Who could forget her colourful Harold the Parrot costume or Friday discos?

It is almost impossible to imagine Early Years without her. Miss Crane has been an absolute gem, and she leaves us all with memories we will treasure. May she and her prince live happily ever after.

Emma Holmes

Whilst Minchinhampton and the surrounding area has open green spaces, enchanted forests, and views that can only be experienced, not described; it is the sound of the ocean waves and the salty sea air that has won Emma’s heart, and we bid her farewell as she raises the jib, sets the bow to South West and sails off down to the glorious beaches of Devon.

Emma’s Beaudesert career has been colourful and her love and kindness has been felt in all corners of the School. As a family, Emma joined Beaudesert to take up the reins of Houseparent in the Boarding House. Emma, Jamie, Hector, Oscar and not forgetting the lovable Labrador, Digby, quickly settled into the family environment and created a calm and caring atmosphere for those staying overnight. Not only was Emma mum to her boys, she adopted every child in her care, every night, to ensure that they felt that the House was a home away from home. Her door was always open and her ear was always available to bend. Emma then joined the teaching staff in Pre-Prep, and spread her love and patience further afield to the youngest of the school cohort. After a short stay with the little people, Emma then moved up to Prep School where she spent the next few years as a Form Tutor for Year 3 and Year 4. As a Form Tutor, Emma proved just how loved she is by the children. She has a wonderful way of making all those in her care feel secure and safe, enough to allow them to express themselves in whichever way they felt comfortable. If you walked by her classroom, there was always laughter, song and discussion. It was about doing for Emma; getting the children to experience and learn through making and actions. Her incredible artistic talents were drawn upon regularly and there was always a model of something on the children’s desk. Even through Lockdown, Emma was constantly delivering online lessons with art and craft – an Anglo-Saxon boat….a rainforest diorama.

More recently, Emma moved into the Learning Support department where her incredible understanding of and patience for children’s learning has enabled the children in her care to make substantial progress across all areas.

Emma has a knack. It is not learnt, practised or rehearsed. She has been a wonderful colleague, and friend, and the corridors of Beaudesert are going to be much quieter without her. We know that she will remain a part of the community, and we will look forward to the weekends when she returns for visits. We wish her the very best as she starts to carve out her permanent home in Devon. Thank you all so very much for the fun, laughter and memories. PM

Jay Stephenson

Jay joined us at Beaudesert less than three months before we transitioned into one of the biggest IT changes to affect education – remote learning! Jay proved that he could quickly up-skill, adapting to the new challenges and became a trusted source of help and guidance to many during an incredibly unique time.

As part of the IT Support Team, he has been instrumental to projects such as our one-to-one device launch; that saw our Year 7 proudly receiving Chromebooks to further their individual learning and personal responsibility.

Jay brought energy and fun to the role that perfectly countered the grumpy IT stereotype. His support and kindness will be missed by all. He takes a developed skill set into a fantastic opportunity that is closer to home and we wish him the best of luck.

CH

Mark Fitch Kemp

(Baron von Mylius)

The loss of Mark Fitch Kemp was felt acutely by the whole Beaudesert community, a reflection of the man and his character. As both a former parent, a grandparent, a colleague and a friend, Mark touched the lives of so many. Always on hand to share a good story, to offer words of kindness and support, or to help others in whatever way possible, Mark lifted us each and every day. Whether driving his bus, enjoying watching the children play sport, or sharing a sandwich and a cuppa, Mark did it all in the very best of spirits. A man of immense warmth, modesty and kindness, Mark will be greatly missed, but his impact never forgotten.

CDS