A sodden Wednesday signalled the end of Fionnuala Johnson's impressive 28 year period as Headmistress of St. Paul's Roman Catholic Primary School. 

The Our Lady Of Lourdes Church hosted the primary school's annual end of spring term Mass, yet this mass was two-pronged. The ceremony would develop the children's knowledge of Holy Week, and it would also reminisce Mrs Johnson's successful era as Headmistress. The mass began in an ordinary St. Paul's fashion - stacked full with excited children and staff, encircled by a thin layer of parents and alumni. The formalities of the Mass ran smoothly, with each year group actively taking part (through either readings, hymns, prayers or the Offertory). During the Homily, the parish priest, Father Robert Esdaile, inquisitively translated the Liturgy of the Word into fun, simple analogies for the younger children. After the Eucharist, a congregation of eyes were drawn to the retiring Head. 

Poems and fond memories were shared by current pupils, before Mary Reynolds, the current Director of Schools for the Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton and long-term friend, was invited to the lectern to share her memories of Mrs Johnson over the last 3 decades. In 2016, Mrs Reynolds was awarded the Papal Award as a Dame of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St Gregory, an honour that was granted by the Pope for her great service to the Catholic Church. 

As Mrs Reynolds spoke to the congregation, she divided her speech into 3 p: to the parents, to the children and to Mrs Johnson. The first was to the parents, she informed them that they were very lucky to have had Mrs Johnson as the Head of their children's school; as she was diligent, hardworking and caring. She also mentioned that being a headteacher is 'a vocation and not a job' and that Mrs Johnson definitely saw it this way, by putting in thousands of additional hours towards the school. Mrs Reynolds then put forward a profound, engaging and fun message to the pupils. She told them that one of their Head's unique, beneficial attributes was the enormous amount of care and time she put into the pupils' wellbeing. Also, her desire to always place the children's best intentions at the heart of all of the decisions made. 

Finally Mrs Reynolds spoke to her friend and colleague, whom she simply addressed as Fionnuala,  to recall the many jubilant memories that they have shared over the past 30 years. She concluded by thanking Mrs Johnson for her monumental commitment to St. Paul's and to Catholic Schools across the country. The priest then thanked her for the loyalty she has shown to the Thames Ditton parish.

For the final term of the school year, Deputy Head Mrs DeMorais, will be the acting headteacher for the school. In September, the school will have a permanent headteacher .