A MUCH-loved teacher who has seen generations of pupils through their first years at school is retiring after more than 30 years at Penketh South Primary School.

Sue Sweeney, 63, first joined the Finlay Avenue school in 1984 as a supply teacher, but 34 years and four head teachers later, she has announced her retirement.

“It’s just a lovely school, that’s why I have been here for so long. People say that when they walk in the door, they can feel the friendliness,” she said.

Sue has taught pupils in every year group and has found that her pupils are now returning to the school as parents themselves.

She said: “That’s one of the lovely things about this school – families tend to keep coming back here. When they see me, they say ‘are you still here?’.

"My own children and my grandchildren have been pupils here too.”

Sue, who lives in Great Sankey, has three children and four grandchildren, two of whom have just started at the school’s nursery.

She said: “Probably one of the most memorable and scariest things was when one of the former head teachers used to make us act in school shows in front of the parents.

“I remember playing Ginger Rogers in Flying Down To Rio, singing while I was strapped to the stairs in the hall and pretending I was strapped on to the wing of an aeroplane.

“The biggest thing I will miss is my colleagues. They are like part of my family and I’m going to really miss them.”

Sue said that anybody who is considering teaching as a career should think of it as more than a job.

She said: “It’s a rewarding career because you can watch children blossom but it can be very hard and demanding. It really is a vocation.”

But Sue said she will be back at the school to volunteer with some of the classes and to pick up her grandchildren.

She said: “I’m still enthusiastic and I enjoy seeing the children learning – they have been the focus of my career. You just feel you have been a part of those children’s lives and that’s a wonderful thing.

“I had very mixed feelings when I handed in my retirement letter – I cried. I wish I could keep going.

“But I’m also looking forward to retiring so that I can spend more time with my grandchildren and help my children out.”