Minerva Learning Trust
15th July 2019

Staff Leavers

Claire Tasker, Headteacher

It occurred to me that the demise of the school newsletter means that often members of the wider community do not get to hear about staff departures and arrivals. So, with that in mind, I have created this short ‘farewell’ blog to share the news and wish the staff who are leaving us well. I am also planning a ‘new staff’ blog in September. Inevitably, it will not capture all the changes (as some staff leave mid-year) but it will share most of the news!   

There have been a number of staff who joined High Storrs this year for the year or part of the year on short-term contracts or to cover maternity leaves. This is often a hard thing to do but these colleagues have worked hard to support their classes. This includes Mr Shaw in Politics and Sociology, Mrs Hodgkinson in Sociology, Mr Scrupps in English and Mrs Bullock in RE. We also bid farewell to our Cover Supervisor/Art and ICT teacher, Mr Turner, at the end of the year. He has been with us for nearly two years and is going on to be a full-time Art teacher in a school in Derbyshire.

Three of our Science teachers are departing at the end of this year. Mrs Rzepinski leaves High Storrs after eleven years to join Bents Green Special School. This is an exciting career change and will really play to Mrs Rzepinski’s strengths; she is very much a teacher who goes out of her way to support students’ needs and Bents Green Special School is so lucky to have her. Mrs Richards-Gourves is leaving us after five years for a more exotic location – a new school in Thailand. We are all slightly jealous. And Mrs Cooper leaves us after a year to join the Physics Department at King Edwards! Not so far away!

Three long-standing members of our support staff leave us before or at the end of the school year for new roles or new locations! Mrs Ward (school office) and Mrs Wragg (Sixth Form team) are leaving us and re-locating and Ms Helm (communications) is taking up an new and exciting marketing role in a growing local business.

Ms Bell has been working in another Minerva Learning Trust School this year and has been promoted to be Head of English at Stocksbridge High School from September. Mr Selby leaves us as Coordinator of Dance. His six and half years at HSS have been magnificent - Dance has gone from strength to strength. He takes up a shiny new post at a Creative and Performing Arts College closer to home and will continue to dazzle there! Ms Tiffin (Head of Montgomery House and DT teacher) has also achieved an exciting promotion. She leaves High Storrs School after sixtenn years to become Assistant Headteacher at Westfield School. Such a well-deserved promotion!

Finally, there are, as ever, some changes to roles and two that I wanted to share with you. Mrs Dobson and Mrs Hetherington are going to be working part time from September. They have worked at High Storrs for 22 years and 40 years respectively! We are so pleased to not be losing their expertise but they are both stepping down from their leadership roles as Head of Lyceum House and Head of PSHE.

Look out for the new staff blog in September to introduce new colleagues to High Storrs School.