Warmly thanked by the Chairman of the Board, Mr Perry Glading, for his expertise and tireless service to St Joseph’s College over 11 years, Mr John Button has stepped down as a governor. His significant contribution has been saluted by colleagues.
‘It has been a privilege and honour to serve our great school and community as a governor, he said. ‘My first involvement with the school was developed through my work with Castons Chartered Surveyors in Ipswich. As a practice we undertook several development projects at the school over many years, including the science block and prep school and I managed these for the practice.
‘When it came to selecting a suitable senior school for our sons to attend in the early ‘90s our minds were quickly made up by the wonderful sense of welcome and community with which we were greeted. My oldest son joined in 1991 and the youngest left in 2001, so we enjoyed a period of 10 years as parents at St Jo’s. Both our sons loved their time at the school, as we did as parents.
‘My work and therefore association continued at the school and in 2014 I was invited to become a governor, by the then chair, Paul Clement.
‘As governor I have principally been responsible for property and estates matters and have overseen the refurbishment of the Chapel, redevelopment of the sixth form facilities and lately the development of the new sports pitches, but the biggest challenge was obtaining planning permission for our proposed redevelopment of the boarding facilities. This took over four years to achieve.
‘Recent years have proved challenging for the school and governors due to Covid and now the imposition of VAT on fees, but I can honestly say that I have enjoyed (nearly) every minute of my time as a governor and have felt thoroughly privileged to work alongside a talented and committed group of governors and some exceptional senior education staff.
‘St Jo’s is a very special place and has been a significant feature of my life. I wish the school, governors and staff every success for the future, and will of course be keeping a keen eye on future developments, plus continuing the regular visit to the Rugby Festival.’
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