Page 13 - link magazine

Westlea head sails into the sunset in school’s thirtieth year
Headteacher Suzanne Seaton - only the third since Westlea Primary School opened
in 1983 - is retiring at Christmas after being in post for 15 years.
The continuity at Westlea is remarkable with the second and third headteachers both
previously being deputies at the school. Suzanne said: “I came here as deputy to Neil
Griffiths in 1993 but it only seems like two minutes ago. I will feel very sad to leave
but I’ve had enough of the Government not letting teachers get on with their jobs.”
Describing her legacy Suzanne said: “I’m leaving a school which has a good ethos,
good results, a good reputation in the community it serves, and a very happy band of
children, parents and staff. I will miss them all a lot.”
Suzanne has a Caribbean cruise planned to begin her retirement. She said: “We set
off on the Queen Elizabeth on 10 January. I’m looking forward to sailing into New
York, along the Panama Canal and under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
“After that I haven’t a clue what I’ll be doing. Hopefully it will be lots of reading,
walking, cooking and rediscovering parts of the UK.”
Suzanne with former pupil and paralympic torch carrier Ben Fox in 2012 Suzanne’s successor is Rose Carbury, currently at the University of Worcestershire .
Discovering real world writing

Youngsters at Westlea Primary School have stretched their com-
position skills after discovering how writing takes place in settings
outside the classroom.
Link magazine publisher Roger Ogle gave talks to two assemblies
in late September about how the publication is put together every
month, with particular emphasis on making every word count.
Writing coordinator Julie Field said she was delighted with the
reaction from pupils. “The point that really struck them was the fact
that stories in The Link are proofread several times.
“Teachers are always saying to children to read through their work
before they think it’s finished. They were really surprised when they
saw some of the draft pages of the magazine with corrections all over
them. We were able to talk to them about this and how important
it is to read and redraft as part of the process of writing.” Year 6 children holding up pages of the magazine before it is cut and stapled

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