Headteacher Jo Legge leaves Innerwick and Stenton Primary Schools

Headteacher Jo Legge leaves Innerwick and Stenton Primary Schools

The school bell has rung for the last time for a headteacher leaving her “dream job”. Jo Legge has spent four years at the helm of Innerwick and Stenton Primary Schools, having previously been based at Dunbar Primary School. However, she finished up ahead of the Easter break, as staff at the two schools were invited to her home to mark the occasion. The 55-year-old spoke to the Courier on her penultimate day and said: “I think it has been quite an interesting few weeks.

“You are still operating to keep the day-to-day going, doing the job you are expected to do, but you have got one eye on handing over to the next headteacher and doing that well. You want to tie things up so you are leaving the school in a good place. Emotion wise, I have not had time to really stop and think about it. This morning, Stenton came to Innerwick and did an assembly with lots of songs and messages. They all challenged me to do some different challenges against them and it was great fun. This morning was when it struck home more than it has that tomorrow I will be walking out of the door. I cannot quite imagine how it is going to feel not having to think about what is a full-on and responsible job.”

Mrs Legge, who was a financial adviser before entering the world of teaching, revealed that her connection to the two schools stretched back to before she became headteacher. Early on in her teaching career, she had two placements at Innerwick Primary School, which is home to 51 youngsters, and another placement at Stenton Primary School, which has 26 pupils.

She said: “I actually applied for the job previously and was not successful. The second time it was advertised, I really wanted to do it. I worked in Dunbar, which is obviously a huge school, but my heart has been in small, rural schools. I knew I wanted to come back in the leadership position – it was my dream job.”

Mrs Legge, who lives in Oldhamstocks with husband David, took on the role during the Covid-19 pandemic. That meant initially getting to know many of the children virtually. She was full of praise for her members of staff who worked through that challenging period, and through the challenges that a shared headship brought.

She added: “One of the joys is knowing everybody and knowing all their family backgrounds. Across the schools, we have got siblings, we have got cousins and we know how it all fits together. Every school is important but particularly small schools at their heart of the community – you hold a very special place within the community.”

Amy Kay, depute headteacher at Gullane Primary School, is currently acting headteacher at Innerwick and Stenton Primary Schools ahead of the appointment of a permanent headteacher. In the meantime, Mrs Legge, who has a 26-year-old daughter, Mary, was looking forward to her retirement.

She said: “I’ve got a nice garden and do a lot of growing of vegetables. I have got a caravan and will be going off to do trips around about. I do intend to work in some capacity but will take a wee bit of time and look around. I feel very involved in the local community and will look for opportunities to do that as well.”