Retiring Horsham headteacher to miss school ‘enormously’

A long-serving Horsham headteacher who is retiring from his post in the summer after 17 years said he would miss the school ‘enormously’.
JPCT 130115 S15020557x Kingslea Primary School headteacher Nigel Goodall retiring in summer -photo by Steve Cobb SUS-150113-144754001JPCT 130115 S15020557x Kingslea Primary School headteacher Nigel Goodall retiring in summer -photo by Steve Cobb SUS-150113-144754001
JPCT 130115 S15020557x Kingslea Primary School headteacher Nigel Goodall retiring in summer -photo by Steve Cobb SUS-150113-144754001

Nigel Goodall was appointed headteacher of Chesworth Junior School in 1998 and has served as Kingslea Primary School’s first head since its creation in 2006 with the amalgamation of Chesworth and St Leonard’s Infants School.

He announced to Kingslea’s staff, parents and pupils last week he would be stepping down in the summer after 36 years in teaching, 21 as a headteacher.

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He is looking forward to doing more travelling, including a trip to Australia to see his daughter next year.

He told the County Times he would miss the children and staff ‘enormously’, and added: “Governors and parents have always been supportive.

“There’s a really strong community feel about the school. That’s made my job a lot easier with people being so proactive and supportive.”

Nigel, who lives near Horsham, described the most enjoyable parts of his job as seeing children blossom, as well as working alongside a mix of colleagues, both newly qualified and experienced teachers, and empowering them to challenge themselves and be adventurous.

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He added: “It’s not just children moving on, it’s nice to see staff move on and develop in their own careers.”

He described one of his biggest successes as coming out of the amalgamation process with a ‘successful popular school’, which he put down to having a strong team in place, including his long-time deputy Janet King, who passed away last year.

The school’s governors have started the process of recruiting a successor and Nigel expected the vacancy to attract some excellent candidates given Kingslea’s great facilities and strong team.

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