End of an era at Terrington Church of England School for Hartas family (From Gazette & Herald)

Ann Hartas retires from Terrington Church of England School

9:53am Wednesday 11th August 2010 in News

A FAMILY’S links with a Ryedale village school spanning nearly a century have come to an end with the retirement of school secretary and administrator, Ann Hartas.

Ann’s grand-parents, parents and her own children all attended Terrington Church of England school. She became its secretary in 1984 after managing the village shop for the Co-operative Society for several years, before running it herself.

When it was taken over, she joined the school staff and has seen the school grow in numbers and standing over the years.

“At one point we were down to 18 pupils in the 1970s and it was threatened with closure when there were plans to build a new school to serve the area at Hovingham. But that scheme didn’t materialise,” said Ann, who attended the school herself as a youngster before going to St Andrew’s in Malton and later the town’s grammar school.

Today, Terrington primary school, which dates back to the 1890s, has 39 pupils – a figure which is set to rise to 46 in September.

While only a handful of children attend from Terrington due to its population, the school has pupils from Malton, Norton, Lilling Whitwell and Amotherby, said Ann, a lifelong resident of Terrington where her family roots go back to the 1700s.

“It’s a wonderful school, with a lovely friendly atmosphere. I shall really miss it, especially the children, the staff and parents,” said Ann.

“It’s a wonderful example of a happy and successful village school.”