Staff Leaving

At the end of the academic year we always have certain staff leaving to take up
positions in other schools, moving area or indeed retiring. This year is no exception.Paul Murray
Paul is retiring after serving St Peter’s magnificently for over 25 years. I was delighted to see him
presented with a long service award from the County Council at our Mass on the 29th June. It was all
the more special that it is was presented by local authority council Cabinet Member, Andrew Gravells.
Paul has been an outstanding teacher over his time in the school. He has built up a reputation within the
county for being one of the very best Spanish teachers and the results he has helped our young people
attain emphasise the quality of his work. Paul was also a first rate leader of an excellent languages
department prior to stepping down and commencing part-time work some 2 years ago. Many of his
former students have great cause to be grateful to Paul for the excellent jobs they find themselves in at
present. Not only is Paul an excellent language teacher he is also a brilliant role model for everything St
Peter’s stands for. A truly Christian man who contributes greatly to the music of the school with his
exceptional singing talent. Paul will be greatly missed but we wish him and his wife, Jan, a long and
happy retirement, I suspect he will spend a significant amount of it in his beloved Spain!!Vin Kilty
Many of you know Vin as the linchpin of our Lourdes Group work and also as a member of our 6th form
leadership team. Two years ago Vin decided to step down from teaching and concentrate on pastoral
work with support for the 6th form and a small amount of A level teaching. He has now decided to retire
permanently and I suspect enjoy playing a few more rounds of golf! Vin has been Head of RE as well as
in the leadership of the 6th form and he has also provided priceless support to many young people when
they have had great personal difficulties. We wish him a long, healthy and happy retirement.
Wendy Knight
Wendy has been one of the stalwarts of our teaching assistants over many years. Wendy has helped
some of the most vulnerable young people in the school and many have had great cause to be grateful
to her not only for the help she has given them to come to terms with school life but also the personal
support she has offered them. With her medical training she has been an invaluable asset with many
young people and she will be greatly missed by the school in general and the TA team in particular.
Wendy has been marked by her permanently being on the ‘run’ in school and this has masked a real
problem she has had health wise in trying to undertake her TA role. It is for this reason that she has now
decided to retire and we wish her a long, healthy and happy retirement.
Alison Perrio
Alison is one of our young science staff. She is leaving us to join a school in Bath. We are sorry to see
Alison leave as she has made terrific progress in the early years of her teaching career but she wants to
gain wider experience with a view to working abroad eventually. In thanking Alison for all she has done
whilst at St Peter’s we wish her every success in her future career.
Mel Umbleja
Mel is a member of our highly successful PE department and has been particularly influential in
developing the girls netball. She is an excellent role model for the girls and we have been fortunate to
benefit from her expertise during her time at St Peter’s. For personal reasons she is now moving to
London and we wish her every happiness in her personal life and every success in her professional
career as she commences at a new school.
Louisa Harris
Louisa has been a member of our food technology department for 2 years. She left us at the Whit halfterm
and will be taking up a new post in a school in London in September. We wish Louisa every
success in her new appointment.
Kirsty Thomas
Kirsty left our maths department at Whit and will not be returning in September. She is taking a little time
out of teaching. We thank her for all she did for us and in her work with Bishops College. We wish her
well for the future and hope that her time away from teaching enables her to make decisions about when
she wishes to return to the profession.
Chris Denton
Chris, as many of you know, has been a member of the school for 3 years in different capacities. He is
an excellent musician in his own right and you often see him performing with our jazz band and in our
musical productions. Chris is endeavouring to secure work closer to his home in Swindon and we wish
him every success in finding the appointment he desires. We would also like to thank him for
undertaking the many roles he has had during his time at St Peter’s.
James Morelli-Green
James has been teaching Psychology in the 6th form over the last 2 years. We are changing our 6th
form courses and unfortunately it has meant that James, who is on a temporary contract, is no longer
required to cover A level Psychology. We wish him every success in gaining qualified teacher status
and securing a post he desires in the not too distant future.
Pam Powick
We lost a very loyal and long standing servant of the school on the 1st July. Our Assistant Cleaning
Manager Pam Powick has had to retire for personal reasons. Pam was one of the stalwarts of St
Peter’s, always willing to assist and played a major role in ensuring the standard of the schools cleaning
was at the highest level. She has been so much a St Peter’s person in the sense that she always gave
her best for the benefit of the young people of the school and we shall miss her. We will keep her in our
prayers as she leaves to go into what will be a challenging period of her life.
Jamie McDonald
Jamie is a vital member of our Extended School team having come through St Peter’s as a student He
went on to join the Extended School where he excelled as a tennis coach and also in the manner in
which he dealt with the many people who use the facilities of St Peter’s. He has formed an incredibly
strong working relationship with Keiran and together they have built something extremely special in the
schools’ extended school activities. Jamie however has always had a wanderlust and he loves to travel.
He is a young man and has decided that the travel bug is too much to resist. Hence he is leaving us to
once again wander the world. This time I am led to believe on a bicycle! We thank Jamie for everything
he has brought to St Peter’s and wish him well in his travels.
Mrs Marie Palmer and Miss Lindsey Roberts
I would like to thank Mrs Marie Palmer and Miss Lindsey Roberts for their work in Science and
Technology respectively over the last 12 months. They have both been in the unenviable position of
being on a one-year contract due to covering maternity leave. It is never easy working in an
environment where you know you will not be staying but both these ladies have been totally committed
to the students and their departments. Thanking them for the work they have done I wish them success
in their future careers.