Mr Barlow's retirement letter
   

13 November 2008
 
Dear Parent
 
After a great deal of consideration and not without a certain amount of regret I have made the decision to retire. If a suitable appointment is made then this will be effective from April 2009.
 
I have not reached this decision lightly; I am however 60 next year and will have taught for 37 years, 15 of them as headteacher of LAMPS. Prior to my teaching career which began in 1972 I had left school in 1964 at 15 and worked across a variety of occupations which included the armed forces, commerce, construction and manufacturing as well as part-time then full-time education. I feel therefore that it is time to go and pass the responsibility as headteacher onto someone else.
 
I informed the governing body of my decision in September and they have been active in drawing up a plan to appoint a successor. The successful candidate will be from outside the current staff and will need to be suitably qualified and match the selection criteria formulated by the governing body and the LEA.
 
The post will be initially advertised tomorrow in the Times Educational Supplement with short listing in December and interviews in mid January.
 
If you would like to know the criteria laid down by the governing body access the village website Staff Vacancies page from Friday 14 November.
 
After 15 wonderful years as Head of the school I feel able to approach my retirement with the knowledge that I have left a legacy of success, an experienced, caring and committed staff, a building fit for purpose and a sound financial base. Any future headteacher will be able to use this foundation to maintain our unique ethos and to achieve even more.
 
It will be a great wrench for me to finally give up; I will miss the support of parents and particularly the PTA, I will miss my staff and governors whom I don’t regard as mere colleagues but as friends. Most of all I will miss the children whom I must rate the most rewarding I have ever had the privilege to work with. Finally, I will miss the laughter because that’s what makes the job worthwhile. 
 
So ….
 


I remain,
Yours sincerely
D G Barlow
HEADTEACHER

   
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