Popular principal reflects on wonderful 37-year career

4 July 2018

AFTER 37 years in primary education, Downpatrick school principal Philip Artherton is calling it a day.

He’s been the popular principal of St Brigid’s Primary School for the last 15 years and retired on Friday after a week of farewell celebrations.

Although the last few years of his principalship have been the toughest in regards to funding issues, Mr Artherton still remains hopeful about education in the Down area.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in teaching. When I look back and reflect on those years, it’s been a great honour and privilege to have been a teacher,” he told the Recorder.

“It’s a very challenging job and being a principal is particularly challenging, but it’s a sort of job that gave me the level of satisfaction that no other job could have given me in spite of all the challenges.

“There are challenges ahead with the funding crisis, but the wheel always turns. I believe that we have to be very hopeful in the future that things will get back to being good again.

“I always believe that these things go in cycles. Hopefully we will get a government where there will be a change in emphasis as so much now is taken up by Brexit and public services like the NHS and education are no longer the focus, which they should be.”

He’s proud to have led the Rathkeltair Road school with its 286 pupils and 13 teachers, including himself but is happy to leave teaching to devote his time to his family, especially his new baby granddaughter Lucy.

A proud born and bred Strangford man, Mr Artherton qualified as a teacher in 1981 and naturally gravitated towards primary teaching.

He was vice-principal in St Patrick’s Primary School in Ballynahinch before becoming principal at St Brigid’s Primary School in 2003.

His successor come September will be Mrs Dolores Miller, former vice principal of St Mary’s Primary School in Killyleagh. An extra teacher has been appointed for the new school term.

Mr Artherton struggled to pinpoint one highlight of his long career, saying he had too many to select just the one.

“I have to say it’s been all one big highlight,” he said. “There has never been a school that I have not been sad to leave or pupils and colleagues that I didn’t miss.

“It’s been an absolute privilege to have been at St Brigid’s and I’ve been humbled by the warmth and good wishes I’ve received from the pupils, staff, board of governors and the Parents Association.

“The biggest gift undoubtedly has been the boys and girls. It’s been wonderful that over the last few years that I have been able to meet and chat with former grown-up pupils that I taught as well as enjoying some of them bringing their own children to St Brigid’s.”

He described the addition of Polish, Lativan and Lithuanian pupils over the last few years as “refreshing” which had encouraged the school to become more inclusive and culturally aware.

However, his only disappointment was on occasions having to turn some parents and their sons and daughters away due to funding.

“I found that particularly hard because as a primary school you want to give your best to every child who wants to go to your school,” he added.

Mr Artherton’s own family — his wife Janet, three adult children and 11-month-old granddaughter Lucy — joined with his ‘school’ family to mark his farewell with a thanksgiving mass on Thursday night. The staff, pupils and governors all held their own celebrations as well.

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