By Saul Cooke-Black

A PRIMARY school teacher is retiring after 32 years at Park Junior School, Stonehouse – when she had only intended to stay for two years.

Mrs Sue Jones, 59, from Leonard Stanley, joined the school in 1983 after shorter spells at Callowell Primary School and Rosary Catholic Primary School - and she leaves as the school's longest serving teacher.

Since then has served two generations of children under three headteachers.

She said: "It has been such a happy and supportive place to work that I found myself staying for much longer than I first intended.

"I now find myself teaching the children of parents who were some of my first pupils which is really lovely.

"It has been a really rewarding and fulfilling career. I have absolutely loved it."

She bid farewell to pupils and staff at a leaving party on Friday.

Mrs Jones, who teaches from reception to Year six, has also run the school magazine, No Parking, for 25 years with a team of cub reporters made up of pupils from the school.

Long before the days of laptops and smartphones, Mrs Jones remembers producing the copy on a typewriter - and now the magazine is emailed to parents across the school.

The long-serving teacher will join her husband Graham, who is also retired, and help out with walking their three-year-old border collie, Misty.

She also plans to spend more time with her two children Matt, 28, a lawyer in London and Sarah, 23, a charity fundraiser living in Leonard Stanley.

Mr Richard Gasser, headteacher, said: "Mrs Jones has been a major part of the Stonehouse community for a number of years.

"As well as giving a lot in the classroom, she has also run the school magazine for nearly 30 years, helped set up the library and has volunteered on numerous school trips and activities.

"She has done an awful lot for the school."