Volunteer retires after 33 years service to West Berkshire education
Englefield and Theale Green Schools have said an emotional farewell to Jon Chishick, who dedicated 33 years of voluntary service to education in West Berkshire.
Several people, including past and present headteachers and the chairman of West Berkshire Council, Rick Jones, attended a tea organised on Tuesday, September 20, to celebrate Mr Chishick's exemplary service to both schools.
Chair of governors at Englefield School, Chris Gittins, paid a fond parting tribute to Mr Chishick. He said: "We shall miss him greatly and thank Jon sincerely for the outstanding and lasting contribution he has made to our schools and to the promotion and organisation of education for many thousands of children in our West Berkshire community over the last 33 years.
"It is through our Englefield school that my family and the Chishick family have become such dear friends, a pleasure that started in September 1987 when our sons Daniel and Michael joined the school.
"Jon’s service to the school began pretty much immediately after his family arrived here, when his wife Annette was asked to join the PTA committee and cleverly 'volunteered' Jon instead.
"Straight away he began raising funds to furnish a hoped-for new building, and by 1990 he was chairing the PTA and persuading governors to join with the parents in raising a £24,000 contribution.
"The new building was opened in 1993. Job done, Jon stepped down as chair of the PTA and became a governor with oversight of the school’s finances and later vice chair of governors.
"An engineer by training, his experience at the highest level of banking and finance does not diminish his outstanding ability to analyse, understand and organise finances at the level of a small village primary school.
"Witnessing and knowing that talent led me to hijack Jon and persuade him to apply his talents in the bigger arena of Theale Green School, where I was headteacher at the time.
"Jon was first elected chair of the finance committee and then from 2005 for seven years he was chair of governors.
"Yet again, he made a huge contribution to that much bigger school community by constantly and generously responding to the need for guidance and advice.
"In addition to ensuring that finance was rarely a limiting factor for the school’s growth and development, his hands on approach is typified by minibus driving for trips, matches and swimming, accompanying residential trips, health and safety walks – and notably with his wife Annette – fundraising events too numerous to list and the complete refurbishment and adding of computers to the school library and of course giving a deep 'ho ho' as a suitably portly Father Christmas each year.
"As if that is not enough, Jon has also made a significant contribution to our LEA as governor representative on the Pupil Placement Panel and The West Berkshire School Funding Forum – a contribution recognised by his receiving of the West Berkshire Volunteer of the Year Award in 2011."
