THE headteacher of a West Swindon primary school has said her career has been one big high, as she announced her decision to retire after 20 years.

Suzanne Seaton took up her role as deputy head of Westlea Primary in 1993, and was given the headship five years later.

Suzanne said she had loved every second of her two decades at the school because of the strong morale and support network.

“This has been such a lovely place to work in,” she said.

“It is a good size so we are not having heads who are ambitious to move into a bigger school, and it has always been demanding enough as it is.

“It is a place where you come and just want to stay, because everybody works with such a superb team, and everybody is happy in their job.

“It seems very strange the closer it gets. I keep forgetting I am not going to be here next year, so I keep forward planning.

“I want to see a bit of England after I leave. I want to relax a little bit and pick up hobbies again, because school is all consuming, but also a bit of travel to places I have never seen.”

Westlea Primary joined schools in Millbrook, Peatmoor and Shaw Ridge as a collaborative trust of academies this month, and Suzanne thinks she is leaving the school in good shape for the future.

But she said frustration with the Department for Education had contributed to her decision to leave, which comes as the school moves into academy status.

“I am confident in the future of the school,” she said.

“It is a good school and the academy is now up and running. I am going to miss the children and the staff considerably.

“I could have stayed on another couple of years, but I think now is the right time.

“I am very fed up with the government’s attitude to teaching. I think what they are doing to pensions and pay is terrible, and I do not think they have got any understanding of the job and how hard teachers work.

“A lot of people will argue and say that in the commercial world people are having targets, but they are not dealing with human beings. These are children and there is a limit to how far you can push them.

“There are also a lot more children with English as their second language, which has increased from three per cent to between 15 to 20 per cent. That has proved a challenge because the Government expect the same results, but without any extra money to achieve them.”