TEACHERS and children at Chippenham’s Sheldon School will come together and say an emotional farewell to a member of staff who has spent 30 years working there.

Carolyn Wakefield will leave the school as a member of staff for the final time tomorrow (Friday, December 16), after joining in 1986 having previously worked at an estate agents.

She started off producing reprographics before moving on to other roles in the school, including helping with medical care, publishing the school newsletter and eventually becoming the sixth form administrator.

“I saw an advert in the paper, had some young children and it wasn’t far from where I lived, that was the reason I took the job,” said the 69-year-old.

“It’s been a move I have absolutely loved, I shall be 70-years-old next April and I could have retired ten years ago but decided that there has never been a day where I walked through the door and I thought ‘what in the heck are you doing here?’.

“I don’t suppose I did expect to be here 30 years after I started but I have taken on various roles and it’s been a learning curve throughout.”

Mrs Wakefield lives with her husband of 49 years, Chris, on Bristol Road and has three daughters, Sophie – who previously attended Sheldon School – Sarah and Claire, and one of her grandchildren, Annabel, currently attends the Chippenham school.

Once retired she hopes to spend more time volunteering at a care home in Chippenham and seeing her family.

“I visit Seymour House and help out because my parents were there when they were alive and I’m hoping that I might be able to do more,” added Mrs Wakefield.

“I have eight grandchildren as well aged four to twenty-two-years-old so they will take up some time and we have a caravan down in Bream which we will spend more time at.”