By next month (September), a total of three King’s Ely colleagues will have retired from their roles at the school.
The 2021/22 academic year was the final year of working for Susan Stirrup, Steve Merrell and Hazel Nuttall.
Susan, a teacher of English at King’s Ely Senior, has taken an early retirement, having worked at King’s for 19 years.
When asked what she will miss about the school, she said: “I will miss my colleagues – the camaraderie, the humour, the support and the incredible variety of personalities.
“I have never ceased to be amazed by their level of commitment, their ingenuity, and their sheer dedication.”
Susan said she will also miss the students too, describing them as individuals who are “such a melting pot of characters, cultures and personalities”.
“I’ll miss their energy and humour, building relationships with them and gaining their trust, as well as helping them to achieve their potential in English – whatever level that might be.”
Steve, head of film and media and teacher of English at King’s Ely Senior, has retired after working at King’s for 20 years and having been in teaching for 42 years.
He arrived at King’s as head of English and it was in 2009 that he set up the school’s film and media department.
“I only intended to stay in teaching for one or two years until I got a ‘real job’,” he said.
“Many years later I realised that teaching was indeed a real job and something to be proud of, despite all the ambitious new directives by various governments.”
During his time teaching, Steve has seen in the national curriculum, O Levels to GCSEs, coursework, SATs, appraisals, remote learning and a revolution in technology.
When asked what he will miss most about King’s, Steve said: “I’ll really miss the atmosphere of friendliness, both from students and staff, including all the non-teaching staff who keep the place clean, pleasant to be in and have always made me feel valued.
“I will miss the enjoyment of seeing students enthused by the work they are doing, overcoming problems they thought they couldn’t answer, and having a laugh.”
Hazel Nuttall, exams administrator at King’s Ely Senior, has not retired quite just yet.
She will retire at the end of the month (August) having worked at King’s for 24 years.
Hazel has stayed in the same role throughout her time at the school, as well as helping out in reception and anywhere else with her organisation skills, can-do attitude and friendly face.
When asked what she will miss, Hazel said “the people” and when asked to describe King’s in three words, she chose “friendly, caring and diverse”.
Hazel is now looking forward to being able to spend more time in her garden, visiting her family up north, and helping with her new grandchild who will be arriving in November.
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