Leeds pupils say it with flowers in Belgian style welcome to new headteacher

KNOWING that their new principal had come from a school in Brussels, the youngest children at The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL) wanted to welcome her with a true Belgian tradition.
Pupils say it with flowers in Belgian style to welcome Leeds school's new headteacher Sue Woodroofe.Pupils say it with flowers in Belgian style to welcome Leeds school's new headteacher Sue Woodroofe.
Pupils say it with flowers in Belgian style to welcome Leeds school's new headteacher Sue Woodroofe.

Sue Woodroofe joined GSAL this term after five years as principal at The British School in Brussels. On Mrs Woodroofe’s first visit to Rose Court, GSAL’s nursery and pre-prep school, nursery children greeted her with a specially created flower carpet inspired by the famous example that appears every two years in Brussels’ Grand Place.

Mrs Woodroofe said: “This is the loveliest flower carpet I have ever seen and a wonderful reminder of Brussels which was home for 16 years.

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“I am grateful to everyone at GSAL for the warmth of their welcome and this is the icing on the cake.”

The Rose Court flower carpet has been several weeks in the making, in contrast to the Brussels flower carpet, which despite its size - 18,000 square metres - is put together in just four hours by 100 volunteers, using around 700,000 begonias. The 70 nursery pupils started work on their version last term with art teacher Gemma Crilley, and put the finishing touches to it after the Easter holidays.

Brought up in Yorkshire and completing her secondary education at York College for Girls, Mrs Woodroofe trained at Durham University as a teacher of English and history. She has worked in a wide range of schools in the UK, both single sex and co-educational, selective and comprehensive.

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