For the past 35 years Joanna Coe has taught and inspired generations of children at one Norfolk school.
This month, Joanna Coe is celebrating her retirement after a fond farewell from teachers, pupils and parents at North Elmham Primary School at the end of the school year.
“I didn’t ever intend to stay in one school for so long – in fact, after my first day here I told my husband not to send me back as I felt really out of place, I wasn’t used to a small, village school,” she laughs. “But of course, I soon loved it and quickly realised how lovely the children were.
“When I started we were using chalk boards and of course now technology has transformed the classroom. But essentially, the children are still the same, they still have the same needs and keenness to learn, and that remains at the heart of why I love teaching so much.”
Joanna, who lives in Taverham, says while she will miss school life, she is very much looking forward to retirement.
“My other love is fashion. I have always been interested in clothes and the fashion magazines. But working in a school you are always getting covered in glue or paint, so I never get much opportunity to wear nice clothes. Now I am looking forward to getting dressed up and going out for lunch with my friends.”
