Jean Tracy had several Manx classmates at Edge Hill College in Ormskirk in the late 1960s.
‘It seemed to me that the Isle of Man must be a wonderful place to live as, before the end of each term, they had to have their trunks packed ready for the Steam Packet to collect – so much more interesting than going home by ordinary car or train,’ Jean said. ‘I had never been to the Island. Little did I know that I would end up feeling so at home here.’
Jean retires this Friday after 43 years in education, an incredible 31 of them at Jurby Primary School.
Such is Jean’s dedicated to the children at Jurby that she even delayed her retirement by a year to serve as acting headteacher.
Jean’s first teaching post was in the reception class at St John's School, Blackburn, in 1970. She recalls:
‘During the interview, I glibly said that I could play the piano and on my way out, having been offered the job, I was, to my horror, given a hymn book and a list of the first week's hymns for the new term. My home was too small to house a piano so I had to install one in the shed and practise throughout the summer holidays, sometimes by torchlight.’
A year later, Jean was asked to open a nursery class. She says:
‘We had 40 pupils in the morning and a different set of 40 in the afternoon. It was certainly tiring but I loved learning to communicate with the diversity of cultures and customs and I learned a lot from the wonderful headmistress there about how to deal with people.’
At the outset of her teaching career, Jean married Terry, who was training to be a state registered nurse in Blackburn. A promotion saw a move to Longshaw Primary School, the largest infant school in Lancashire, where Jean had responsibility for new entrants. So large was the register that Reception class children wore coloured badges for the first few weeks so staff knew which class to return them to after breaks. All the roads around the school had Manx-related names, so pupils came from Laxey Road and Peel Street.
Jean had her own children – Kieran, now a systems engineer for Wii Manx, and Catherine, a nurse at Noble’s Hospital. The family moved to Shoeburyness and Jean worked for a private tutoring agency giving lessons ranging from reading to French A level.
In 1979, Jean and Terry moved to the Isle of Man and lived at Glencrutchery School, where Terry nursed. Jean was a supply teacher and she says:
‘I was lucky enough to work for many of the experienced older heads such as Mr Cretney and Mr Taggart.’
In 1982, the year after Jurby Primary opened on its present site, the then nursery teacher gained a promotion and Jean was appointed in her place.
‘It was the first nursery on the Island and we took social services and speech therapy referrals as well as children from the area. It started as mornings but became so popular that we soon became full-time,’ Jean says.
‘Mr Berry was the head and when he got the headship of Peel Clothworkers, Mr Gajewski took over. He was interested in the idea of the school being a community school and introduced initiatives such as the youth club, the pensioners’ club and the mums and tots club, which were all run by school. Mrs Beck took over and developed the school further and we worked together as a team for many years.’
Jean’s appointment as deputy head – a post she held for 19 years – saw a switch to mainstream schooling and she has taught all year groups. However, her great love is teaching the very youngest pupils and nurturing their early reading. Jean says she has seen ‘many innovations in education and worked with many inspiring colleagues’. She is now teaching the offspring of some of her first pupils.
No doubt these mums and dads will remember, like does, back to when Jurby was a vibrant military airfield.
‘Planes would land and tanks and soldiers would unload. Sometimes they would do manoeuvres on the school field. The Regimental Sergeant Major would ring up the head and the whole school would go to the parade ground to see a full dress parade with the band playing. Once, when it was raining, they came to the school hall and we had a stirring concert. I felt privileged to be part of it.’
As well as caring for pupils by day, Jean has, for a long time, been a foster parent – giving a loving home to children from a wide variety of backgrounds. Jean adopted her second daughter after fostering her. She now has three children of her own, two of whom have attended Jurby.
Another long-time foster child has been with Jean for 30 years and travels the world as a Special Olympian.
In total, Jean has five grandchildren. It’s no surprise, given her lifetime’s commitment to children, to learn that she’s not only looking forward to spending more time with her own family but also hopes to do charity work abroad with disadvantaged youngsters.
Jean said:
‘I will most certainly miss Jurby School, which has been part of my life for so many years. I have been privileged to be part of so many wonderful experiences. I am hoping they will have me back to help out in classrooms, just to avoid withdrawal symptoms.’
Martin Barrow, Director of Education, said:
‘Jean has devoted most of her professional life to working at Jurby School with its children and families. It is a sign of her devotion to the school and its community that she has deferred her retirement to enable the appointment of a permanent headteacher and the Department is grateful for that commitment.‘I am sure that Jean will be hugely missed by the everyone at the school and within its community and I am sure that they would all want to join with me in thanking her for her long and dedicated service as well as in wishing her a long, healthy and happy retirement.’
Photo: Jean Tracy outside school with some of her pupils
