00:00Hi, I'm Karen Geddes and I'm currently headteacher at Court Lane Infant Academy.
00:04So tell me how you feel about retiring.
00:07It's a mix of emotions really. I'm going to be incredibly sad to leave the school, the community, the parents, the children, the staff.
00:14But obviously I'm really looking forward to whatever the next chapter in my life may bring as I start my retirement.
00:20Tell me what your best memory has been at the school.
00:24My best memory, I think, is always the joy that children bring every day.
00:29Whatever they're doing, they put everything into it and they really live the values of the school.
00:35So you've been here for three decades. Tell me what it's been like.
00:43There's been multiple changes over the 30 years.
00:46I can remember coming here first of all as a teacher and I taught in one of the classrooms.
00:51And then in 2000, there was a massive building project and all eight classrooms out of 12 were located at the front of the school in portacabins with a playground, a third of the size.
01:03Yet all the staff rose to the challenge and we made sure that every day was a good learning day for the children.
01:08Then, of course, we had our new building, which was exciting for children to go into.
01:13And since then, we then had a pandemic where we had lockdown, where we were operating across the infant and the junior school and we had 50% of the children in.
01:23And that was a challenge. But we also made sure that children had learning at home and the children were really resilient and they continued to learn during that time.
01:31And then in 2016, we joined the University of Chichester Academy Trust, became a trust school, which opened up many opportunities for us to work with some of the university staff and to work in a multi-academy trust.
01:45And more recently, I became headteacher in January 2021, after many years of being here, eventually took on that role and I've thoroughly enjoyed it.
02:00And for me to have the Ofsted that we did in April 2024 really reflected the achievements of the children, the staff, the community.
02:08And it just really reflected what I'd worked so hard on.
02:13Tell me what retirement looks like for you.
02:16I think retirement for me will be not having to get up at half past six every day.
02:20And it will also mean that I've got time to really think about what is it that I want to do for myself now, because my teaching career has been all-consuming and I just want time to be me and find out what life's about for me.
