PHOTO: Willie Urquhart
Gardening, grand-children and a great holiday are very much part of a Lochalsh teacher’s plans as she contemplates retirement after 38 years’ service.
Mardi Wood from Balmacara first took up teaching at Kilmuir Primary School on Skye in 1983. Since then she has taught in Auchtertyre, Broadford, Kyle, Kyleakin, Plockton, Glenelg and Loch Duich, where she has been for the last 16 years.
Mardi told the Free Press: “It has been a privilege to work for most of my career in such strong communities with wonderful families and dedicated staff. I will miss my pupils at Loch Duich because I have got to know them like an extended family and I can’t begin to tell you how much they’ve taught me.
“I’m also going to miss the view from my classroom window which has to be one of the best of any school anywhere. I feel so lucky to have been teaching most of my career in this wonderful part of the world. But, when you find yourself teaching the children of former pupils and the grandchildren of your friends, you realise it’s probably time to go.
“I’m looking forward to a new beginning – probably involving grandchildren, gardening and a great holiday deal.”