Sue France will be handing over her computer, office chair and business files to her successor, as she looks forward to a retirement with husband Les and numerous term-time holidays together.

Sue joined Westminster Primary Academy as a 4-year old and is leaving as a grandma of two after working at Westminster for a quarter of a century! She has been part of the Claremont community, where Westminster is based, since 1967. Sue started her education at Claremont Infant and Junior School before heading off to Collegiate High School for her secondary years.

She tells the story of sliding on the ice with her friends and breaking her arm on the very same playground that she undertakes daily duties on now.

Sue returned to Claremont Primary in 1999 as a parent volunteer, when her own children attended the school. She has worked as part of the school’s administration team, as the school bursar and as business manager for the last 11 years.

Headteacher Beth Latham said, “Sue has worked with 5 different headteachers and she knows everything there is to know about the ins and outs of the buildings and the day to day running of the school. She is a familiar face to all parents/carers and visitors to the school and has seen numerous previous pupils come back as parents in more recent years.

"I am extremely grateful for the way that Sue has gone above and beyond her role and she has always been involved in all aspects of Westminster Primary life, supporting all children and staff. I for one will be lost without her”.

Westminster Primary joined the Fylde Coast Academy Trust in 2017 and immediately became part of a family of ten schools. As Business Manager for many years, Sue’s skills and experience were evident at the half termly meetings of all Site Managers/Business Managers held at FCAT Central Offices.

John Topping, FCAT Community Relations and Estates Lead said:  “Sue has been a key member of our multi academy trust, bringing to our meetings a knowledge and experience of managing school buildings and how to maintain them. Her understanding of health and safety in schools is very clear and much appreciated.

"The FCAT site teams, Gary Fletcher and myself are grateful to Sue for her wisdom and skills in solving real life day to day problems that schools face in the upkeep of their buildings. We all wish her a long, happy and healthy retirement”