Head teacher’s fond farewell

Jun 6 2008 by Jo Henwood, Chester Chronicle

Headteacher’s fond farewell

THERE will be no rest for a Chester headteacher following her retirement at the end of the summer term.

Polly Dangerfield, headteacher at The Hammond School, will leave the Hoole Bank School in July, get married in August and move to Oxford by September.

The divorced mother-of-three will wed Tony Woolstone, deputy headteacher of a Hampshire school whom she met on a school inspection tour of duty.

Polly studied art at Canterbury Art College and Bristol University and started her teaching career in Chester at Queen’s Park High School. When her children were small she moved to The Hammond School as a part-time art teacher, became head of education and headteacher about 12 years ago.

She considers one of her greatest achievements at The Hammond is getting the school established as a Centre of Excellence through the Music and Dance scheme.

“It was a hard task for which we had a huge amount of support,” she said, acknowledging the help of staff, Chester City Council, the University of Chester and MP Andrew Miller. “It means that children with exceptional talent but not necessarily the means are given the opportunity to benefit from the quality training we provide.”

At present about half the 220 students studying at the vocational dance, music and drama school receive some form of assistance in terms of fees, with some receiving full grants. Senior students receive further support through the Dance and Drama Award from the Learning Skills Council.

Polly is also proud of the school’s community and outreach work, which includes partnerships with state schools and special schools in Chester.

Another jewel in her crown is the opening of the school’s performing arts centre, which recently played host to BBC’s Question Time.

The glass-fronted centre can seat an audience of up to 400 and boasts dance and drama studios as well as a sixth form common room and bistro-style school canteen.

During the fundraising for the centre Polly was prepared to put her money where her mouth was and raised £15,000 by cycling in Ireland.

The centre is not available for commercial hire but Polly is keen to see community groups making use of the facility.

The school’s first performance there will be a production entitled Debut in July.

Polly is very supportive of all her students and said: “I am hugely proud of the students. They learn to take knocks and to cope with setbacks and produce work of an exceptional quality.”

Despite planning at least two of life’s top 10 stresses in the next 12 months, Polly is looking forward to having time to devote to her artwork, digging the allotment and going out to the theatre and concerts.

Of her 25 years at the school, she said: “It’s been a hugely challenging but incredibly rewarding job.

“I have a brilliant team here and I could not have achieved any of it on my own.”

With a smile, she added: “Now I’ve got a blank canvass to work on.”