The staff at a Sheffield primary school are enjoying an unusual take on the name game, reports Helen Ward
Pupils at Greenhill primary could hardly have more appropriate teachers for literacy than Mrs Reid and Mr Wright.
And they are not the only people at the Sheffield school to find themselves in jobs which match their names.
Music lessons are given by the peripatetic teachers Heather Tune who specialises in the flute and keyboards teacher Ian Sharpe.
Helping children get to school safely is the lollipop man Alan Rhodes, and cleaning up after they have all gone home is caretaker Charlie Dyson.
Mrs Reid, who teaches Year 3, said: “I have never worked in a school where there has been quite such an abundance of appropriately-named colleagues before.
“I am a Reid by default; my maiden name is Everett but there isn’t really any job that goes with that.”
Mrs Reid has found her name is not only appropriate but useful when teaching her pupils how to spell. She said: “We talk about different ways of spelling the same sound: read, reed or Reid.”
In total, 11 of the 68 staff at the 510-pupil school have names suited to teaching.
Jim Marriott, headteacher, said: “I was going through the staff handbook with one of the admin staff, when we noticed it.
“Jan Reid and Graham Wright have been joked about for a while, but we ended up with an entire list of them.”
Susan Wright, a teacher, works with teaching assistant Emma Wise. In the infants, children are called in from breaktime by their teacher Linda Bell.
And there are two admin officers, Joan Baker, who collects dinner money, and Maralyn Lord who, Mr Marriott said, “watches over us all”.
“I have been here 10 years and have employed most of the people myself. I call it unequal opportunity - you have to have the right name or you don’t stand a chance,” said Mr Marriott. “Now we are looking for Mr or Ms Goodsats. Anyone with that name should step forward.”
Spotting the name has proved a popular pastime at the school. Mr Marriott said: “I have been quite touched by the way it has become a talking point in the school. These days it is very easy for people to keep their heads down, but this has been something chatty and pleasant for people to share.”
But, of course, there have to be some exceptions. Mr Marriott said the nearest he has come to becoming an international hospitality baron is the free pen that he once picked up from a training session in a hotel.
