The Bythams Primary School teaching assistant retires after 35 years

A devoted teaching assistant is leaving a school after 35 years.

Sue Foster joined Little Bytham Primary School as a teaching assistant after moving to the village with her husband Mick in the 1980s.

At the time there were just 24 pupils but since then the school merged with Castle Bytham Primary School and Sue has seen hundreds of pupils pass through her classroom.

Sue, who trained as a nursery teacher, said: “I’m now teaching the children of pupils I used to teach.

“When it’s getting to the point where I could be teaching grandchildren, I know it’s time to go.”

Despite many changes with teaching nationally and among the members of staff, Sue says the good village school ethos has always remained.

She noted that The Bythams Primary School has shifted to keep up with advances in technology and what Year 6 pupils learn in maths has become ‘phenomenal’.

Sue, 66, said: “I have so many memories I could write a book.”

Highlights throughout her long career at the school include the Christmas productions and a trip to the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre.

“The children just make you smile,” she said.

“To see them grow up is wonderful.”

This week Sue was given a keyring by one of the parents which praised ‘the difference she has made and the lives she has touched’.

An afternoon tea retirement party was also held and she says there have been lots of tears ahead of her final day today (Friday, July 19).

Over the years Sue has worked with different age groups, but has mainly been based in Reception.

“There is always something different with little ones. They say it how it is,” she said.

“To teach them from September to the summer term you see the improvements to their literacy, reading and writing which is just phenomenal.

“The information they take in is the groundings for the future.”

As children and teachers return to the classroom in September, Sue will be heading off on holiday. In retirement she plans to spend more time with family and friends as well as gardening.

Not only has Sue been a familiar face among children but also with adults, having worked at the village pub The Willoughby Arms for decades.