GRAHAM Clarke, our Maintenance Manager, has retired after being a part of the King’s family for 24 years!
Graham started with us in 1997 as a Custodian. He was soon promoted to Head Custodian and then moved across to the Maintenance Department when a vacancy arose for a carpenter, which is his trade. He was then promoted to Maintenance Manager a few years ago.
Graham is taking early retirement as he wants to build a new barn-style property on the outskirts of Ely before he gets too old and forgets how to use his chisels (these are his words not ours!).
Graham said: “24 years is not too bad at all considering it was only meant to be a temporary job for a year! I will miss King’s in lots of ways having been here for so long and seeing many people coming and going in various roles in the school. I enjoyed helping out as a driver for Ely Scheme at weekends and holidays for many years when Nick Nicholas was in charge – camping in the frost and being eaten alive by midges in Skye tends to come to mind, but also the trips to France in the summer with Paul Lott and the kayakers.
“My latest role as Maintenance Manager has been challenging at times but enjoyable when you see everything coming together at the end of a job, no matter how big or small. I would like to thank Mark Hart for all of his support over the years, and would like to wish the Maintenance Team the best of luck for the future. You never know, I may find the time to pop back and have a cup of tea and say hello now and again!”
Thank you for everything Graham, and good luck with the build!