A RETIREMENT gift of a relaxing garden will bloom long after Jacqueline Martin leaves Langenhoe Primary School.

The four metre square garden used to be a underused cut-through to access some of the classrooms but before Mrs Martin left on Friday she saw the space in all its glory.

Colourful pebbles and stones decorated by the students brighten the garden - some bearing Mrs Martin’s name.

Cornflowers, poppies, bamboo bushes and various other wildlife are in “glorious bloom” the headteacher says.

Some were gifted by parents and Travis Perkins donated hundreds of pounds worth of materials.

She said: “It’s beautiful, and is now a joyous place to be.

“Ultimately, it will be a lovely space where people can sit, be calm, take in the beauty and fresh air and allow nature to go on around them.”

Mrs Martin has spent nearly seven years as headteacher at the school she describes falling in love with.

“When I was deputy head at Myland Primary School and gained my National Professional Qualification for Headship, I began looking for a headship.

“The moment I walked into Lagenhoe there was such warmth and a welcoming feel.

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Reluctantly waving goodbye...

“Then during a tour of the school’s site, I thought, this is the most amazing place I’ve ever been at and it would be lovely been part of this community.

“The moment I walked in I thought, I could be really happy in this environment and leading this school into the future.”

A teacher since 1996, Mrs Martin’s career has took her all over Essex and East Sussex, but being a headteacher is admittedly one of the best jobs she has done.

However, given all the changes to the education sector during her headship, it means the job has not been without its challenges.

She said: “Government cuts have made life much more tricky but I still work with some absolutely inspirational people, and it’s all about the children.

“Being able to move a strategic direction and be responsible for a whole community of children, and take them on a journey of having a love of learning, has been absolutely brilliant.”

After retirement, Mrs Martin’s time will be spent with a child closer to home in Colchester - her nine-month-old grandson.

“It seems mad doesn’t it?” she joked. “There’s no greater feeling than being a grandparent and it’s great to have that opportunity.

“When my own children were little, I was teaching, so I didn’t necessarily get the amount of contact I’d have wanted.

“As a working parent it’s always difficult juggling a career and family life.”

As of September, Sarah Stevenson, headteacher of Powers Hall Academy in Witham, will move over to Langenhoe.