School says goodbye to Mr McLellan

by John Donnelly and Chris Lewis

Vic McLellan with pupils Laura Todd and Jayne Conroy

St. Ambrose Barlow bid a fond farewell to its long-serving headteacher, Vic McLellan in the summer.

Having been head of the school for 14 years, Mr McLellan has retired from teaching altogether to take up a civil service post. He has often been asked the reasons for his stepping down, to which he replies: "I wanted to retire good and well." Andy Traynor has been appointed as acting headteacher.

Mr McLellan said he had thoroughly enjoyed his years at St. Ambrose Barlow, and he believes that most children respond well to being treated fairly and being shown respect. He added that he particularly enjoyed the "good humour and perkiness" of the pupils and paid tribute to the dedication of all the staff.

Asked if he had any regrets about working at the school, he replied that there had been "some frustrations." The saddest thing, he says, is to see pupils wasting their talents. He praised the "good community feeling" at St. Ambrose Barlow and added that he was sorry to leave as "it is never the right time to go."

Mr McLellan was the most experienced headteacher in the area. He was proud of his involvement in the development of the local community due to funds from the SRB. He was local president of the National Association of Headteachers and a member of the Sefton Education Committee. All the staff and pupils of St. Ambrose Barlow would like to convey their thanks to Mr McLellan, whose advice to the future headteacher is: "Try to do what you can, and listen."

These words will have been taken onboard by Mr Traynor as he begins his new role as acting head. A teacher of 25 years experience, Mr Traynor was offered the job at the end of June this year, with Ms McClorry as deputy and Mr Dolan as acting deputy.

Although Mr Traynor has only been appointed until January 1997, he says if he is the most suitable applicant, he could get the job on a more permanent basis.

When asked how he felt about taking up the post, he replied that getting used to the different demands on his time would take while. Another area of difficulty was having a much reduced teaching commitment which could distance him from the pupils. Asked if there were to be any changes around the school, he answered: "No, not immediately. The school has been extremely well managed and is in fine spirits."

Mr Traynor leads an interesting double life, as in his spare time he is a J.P. (Justice of the Peace). He also enjoys rebuilding classic cars and doing D.I.Y. around his home.


Back