Burgess Hill Girls School headteacher to retire after 35 years in the job

Liz Laybourn joined the school in 1986 as a newly qualified PE teacher and would go on to spend her entire career at the well- known girls' school in West Sussex.

Liz said: “It’s going to be a wrench leaving the school after so many years and so many memories but I have lots of plans for my retirement and I leave it in the capable care of the new head Lars Fox.

"I’d like to thank all the many pupils, parents and staff members I have had the pleasure to have met in all those years for making my tenure at Burgess Hill Girls such a very happy one.”

Aged only a few years older than the sixth formers she taught sport to, her former pupils reminisced at a cocktail party in the school grounds about her huge enthusiasm for the school, which encouraged numerous girls into sport.

Cath Holmes, a former pupil, said: “Liz was so much fun and had so much energy for sport. She wasn’t that much older than us at the time and she really inspired me to become a PE teacher – in fact she inspired quite a few of us with her infectious attitude.

"She just made it look fun and was a breath of fresh air.”

Fellow former pupil Jo Duffield said: “In the fifth form my dad died and I think sport was the only reason I did not go off the rails. Thanks to Liz, I was able to play non-stop and that really helped me through it.

“That is what is special about the school then and now. It is small enough that everyone knows everyone and looks out for each other and cares what they are going through.

"Everyone has to get involved in everything that’s going on, from sports teams to school plays. That’s why I sent my daughter here.”

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Liz rose through the ranks as the years passed and became headteacher five years ago.