Taking up her new role as deputy head teacher at St Mary’s School in Falmouth brought back a lot of happy memories for Lucy Draycott as she had been a pupil at the school herself in the |late 1980s.

Mrs Draycott, who had spent 14 years at Parc Eglos School in Helston where she had been key stage one leader, is delighted to be back in Falmouth.

“I feel extremely lucky to have the opportunity to come back,” she said.

“It was a wrench to leave Parc Eglos, but it was perfect timing for me and for the next step in my career.

“I am excited to be part of such an amazing team. It is already an outstanding school and the challenge is going to be to keep it outstanding.

“I have an inspirational head teacher (Jacqui Scarborough) to learn from, but having said that, if it had not been for |the head at Parc Eglos, Brett Dye, I |would not be where I am now. He is |another inspirational head and believed I could do it.”

Mrs Draycott, who lives in Falmouth, has brought something with her from Parc Eglos which dates back to her days at Tremough Convent School in Penryn, which is now the Penryn campus of Falmouth and Exeter Universities.

“I have brought a piece of the pew |from the chapel,” she said. “When it was turned into the university, they cleared out the chapel of all the pews and one of the men who had been working on the building project brought part of one over on a trailer for me.

“It was in my classroom at Parc Eglos and is now in the main hall here.”