Hilltop school says goodbye to long-standing headteacher and deputy

Two teachers who helped a Windsor first school achieve back-to-back ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted ratings are leaving.

Headteacher Liz Clark and deputy headteacher Sue Kinghorn have spent more than 30 years between them at Hilltop First School in Clewer Hill Road.

But on Friday they bid farewell to their pupils and colleagues, with a special mural being unveiled to mark the occasion.

Dedworth resident Liz, 59, joined the school 18 years ago and will now be retiring after 35 years in the profession.

She said: “We have a mantra here that ‘would we want our own children to come to this school?’.

“This is not a job that you can switch off from and it is not a job that you should switch off from. It is relentless and you have to be on it all the time.”

Liz oversaw ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted inspections in 2007 and 2010 and also had the role of executive headteacher at Eton Porny First School from 2014 to 2016.

Her fondest memories included a school trip to Legoland where the children got to meet the Queen.

Liz is now aiming to make the most of her lifetime membership of the National Trust by visiting all of its properties during her retirement.

Eton Wick resident Sue joined the school in 2003 and became deputy headteacher eight years later.

She said: “The atmosphere is something that you’d want to capture and put it in a bottle because you’d make a fortune if you sold it.

“There’s a real uniqueness to the pupils.”

She will now be taking up the role of headteacher at King’s Court First School in Old Windsor.

A mural, designed by the school council and sponsored by Eurodec, has now been unveiled on a wall in the school grounds.

It depicts the school’s values of success, teamwork, respect, enjoyment, trust, creativity and honesty.

Liz added: “There’s been a mural before I joined the school and I just said I would love there to be a new mural, some sort of legacy."