An Arnold care home resident’s dream of revisiting the primary school where she worked for 16 years has now come true.
Janet Marden, who lives at Coppice Lodge, last set foot at her former place of work, Abbey Road Primary School in West Bridgford, in 1988.
She joined the team in 1972 and taught five-year-olds for five years before moving on to teach 10-year-olds in 1977 until she retired. It’s thought she taught almost 500 of Nottingham’s children in total.
After almost 31 years since her last visit, Janet’s trip forms part of Coppice Lodge’s wish tree initiative, where residents can make a special wish and the care team does everything in its power to fulfil it.
During the visit, Janet took a tour of the school, hosted by headteacher Mrs Toom and school secretary Mrs McNeil, whom recalled very fond memories of Janet’s time at the school, thanks to members of the school’s current and former teacher’s lunch club, of which Janet was once a part.
Janet said: “It was fantastic to be back at Abbey Road and it brought some lovely memories flooding back. The school hall hasn’t changed one bit but it’s lovely to see how the school has grown in recent years.
“A big thank you to everyone at Coppice Lodge for making this possible and to Mrs Toom and Mrs McNeil for showing me around.”
Mrs Toom, headteacher at Abbey Road Primary School, said: “It was an absolute pleasure to show Janet around Abbey Road and to witness her joy when seeing young children at work and play. She had so many fond and funny memories and we loved hearing stories about our school from her time here.
Coppice Lodge’s lifestyle manager, Lorna Thornley, said: “It was a real joy to be able to grant Janet’s wish and take her back to the school where she spent so much of her career. It was lovely to see her smiling throughout the visit and remembering some very happy times from years gone by.”
Proud to be rated “good” by the Care Quality Commission, Coppice Lodge is operated by Ideal Carehomes and offers 24 hour residential and dementia care for up to 64 residents on an inclusive fee basis.
