John Winter Retirement Wishes - Messages from Former Staff

Messages from Former Staff

Ali Hoverstadt

Dear JohnWe've had some great times together. I have so many happy memories of working with you I can't list them all, but here are a few of my standouts.

Do you remember our dance together at the very first post-inspection party? Seems like a long time ago and we were much younger in those days. You know how to boogie when you want to!Thank you for the fantastic times we had together with Kate and Mark, working as the Sixth Form team. So many difficult things to deal with but you could always find a way through any problem. We had many, many laughs along the way. I hope Kate and I didn't wind you up too much.I fondly remember our trip to Wellington. It was a scorching September day, with a very early start. We saw the sun rise and you didn't even flinch at the standard of my driving! I'll never forget our visit to London for Kate and Mark's retirement. It was such fun, even though Kate couldn't make it. You took me to my first (and so far only) live football match, and patiently attempted to explain the rules to me. So thank you for that and for the experience of Charles Dickens's London too. I still can't understand why you wouldn't join Fiona and I climbing up to the top of the dome in St. Paul's. Nor will I forget our trip to Newcastle and Durham with Kate and Mark. Watching more football, but this time in a bar, eating a meal by the quayside and always finding something to learn about and laugh at.John, I wish you all good things in your retirement. You deserve to be able to relax a bit and spend some time doing all those things that you really love. You've been the most wonderful person to work with - always supportive, inclusive, honest, not afraid to tackle issues head on but caring and kind at the same time. What more could anyone ask for in a colleague and friend?With loveAli xx

Kate Turner

John and I go back a very long time at C.H.S. He once reminded me that I showed him round the school site when he first came for interview for Head of German!

As well as being in the same academic department, we both started jobs in the Sixth Form at the same time – John as Head of Sixth Form, and myself as his Deputy. We certainly had a few interesting situations to deal with in the first few years of our tenure, but John took to his new role like a duck to water and handled each challenge with even-handedness, fairness and great aplomb.
During our fifteen years working together in the Sixth Form, his prime focus of attention was always the students and their well-being. His vision was second to none. He set about improving the Sixth Form common room with flair, imagination and great gusto. He totally transformed the end of year celebrations for the Upper Sixth, amongst many other initiatives, whilst always maintaining his sense of humour. He took it upon himself to overhaul the whole UCAS process and would always make time to listen to both his colleagues and studentsI had worked in several school before joining C.H.S and I can truthfully say that as a colleague, John was the most helpful and supportive that I have ever worked with. I count myself very fortunate to have had him as a close colleague and to still have him as a friend.
John is well respected by all. He is a first rate teacher, a born mentor, leader and sports coach and his contributions to C.H.S are boundless. He deserves a long and happy retirement.We shall all miss him.

Kate

Gill Wallwork

As Deputy Head Academic from 2001-2009, I was extremely fortunate to work closely with you John, in your capacity as Head of Sixth Form and you also had the task of steering Jamie and Chris through Sixth Form life. They both appreciated your knowledge and care, as I did, and enjoyed working with you in their roles as Senior Prefect and Head Boy respectively.

You fulfilled your role with consummate professionalism and tireless dedication, working hard to support all students both pastorally and academically. Your patience, good sense and gentle humour were key to your success and legendary status! It was a joy to work alongside you, a kindred spirit, and it came as no surprise that you were elevated to Second Master as I saw your obvious potential for Senior Management early doors and was delighted when your talents were recognised. I am delighted though that you will be able to join the ranks of we retirees and can thoroughly recommend life beyond the gates of school. I have no doubt that your love of cricket, German and of course your family, will keep you fully occupied. You will leave CHS a far better place for your presence and complete commitment for so many years. All the very best John and thank you for all you have done for the School and all the lives you have touched for the better.Much love,Gill

Steve Burnage

I first met John in the summer term of 1993 at Arnold School, Blackpool. John was with a cricket team from The King’s School, Macclesfield. During the tea interval, John told me he was joining CHS to become Head of German and our story began.

So, we both arrived at CHS in September 1993 and became colleagues and good friends. I was Head of Cricket and John became an integral part of our cricket staff. He played a huge role in the development of cricket at CHS and coached the 1^st XI for a few seasons as well.John’s two boys, Chris and Matt were also exceptional cricket players and both went on to captain the 1^st XI and play influential parts in the success of cricket. The Winter family have certainly had a big influence on the cricket at school. In fact, it was inevitable that Fiona would become an avid supporter as well and would always offer her help during tea intervals and especially at Old Waconian matches.I would regularly pop in to see John in his office and inevitably the conversation would end up on cricket whether it be school or his beloved Hampshire. Even since I retired from CHS in 2016, I still pop in on occasions to see John and yes we talk cricket. John’s passion for cricket and CHS still burns brightly. Welcome to retirement John. You thoroughly deserve a well earned rest and you now have the perfect opportunity to spend more time watching the great game of cricket and of course spending more time with Fiona and your grandchildren.All the best mate, enjoy.Steve

1st XI Cricket 2006-7

1st XI Cricket 2007-8

1st XI Cricket 2011

Laurence Carr

John - just a few words to wish you well in your retirement. I know that you will be looking forward to having the time to concentrate on a number of interests that you hold dear, particularly cricket & grandparenting but also many others I’m sure.

We go back to you starting at CHS (in 1994?) and throughout the time we worked together you have always given a huge amount to the school in your various guises as an excellent Head of German, a superb Head of Sixth Form and latterly as Senior Deputy (not the easiest job as I can testify!). Central to your professional ethos has always been to be a team player and you have always successfully given your all as both player and leader despite, at times, the frustrations you encountered! In addition you have been a central figure in the development of boys sport at CHS, particularly cricket and football and many boys should be immensely grateful for the time and expertise you have dedicated to their development in these fields. One of my personal highlights is the time we spent together on the cricket tour to Barbados in 2011 - a wonderful experience for everyone involved. You have much to be proud of and well deserve a long and happy retirement. Do keep in touch and I’m sure we will bump into each other at cricket grounds around the world. All the very best to you, Fiona and the rest of your family.With every good wishLaurence

Mark Hackney

John,Mate, you were the best boss I ever worked for. This is quite an admission for me considering you: are a Red; originate from the exotic South; would much prefer Dickens to Hardy. I also suspect strongly that you like cricket more than football, but I'll let you off.

Being in the Sixth Form Management Team was of course demanding, but I only remember it with great affection. The best phase of my career. Working alongside yourself, Kate and Ali was great fun, and I learned a lot. I recall with special fondness:

Thursday early morning briefings - business with humour.
Our 'team' trips to London and The North East (I definitely remember watching Everton vs UTD in a Newcastle ale house with you, where, just for once, the best team didn't win - thankfully. Also, the visit to Durham Cathedral has had a lasting effect, and has really stayed with me.
The atmosphere in the Sixth Form Common Room. The students had such an over-riding respect for you that it was a really happy environment and a nice place to be. You taught me how humour, gentle micky-taking, can actually be a positive, assertive management technique with students.
The leaving 'DOs' at Man City or Old Trafford. Writing our daft scripts, inclusive for every student. Do you remember the time we were talking privately together, and I'm sure inappropriately, when it was pointed out to you that your mic was still on and our conversation was currently, inexplicably, being played throughout the stadium!
The four of us sharing books as Christmas presents. I have kept them all.

I could go on and on, but I suspect strongly that so many others will want to share their memories too. (I am not ending this sentence with a preposition, this is an adverbial.)I know you are going to have a brilliant retirement, and you can look back on a long career where you have been such a blessing to colleagues (friends) and students. Thank you John.Mark

Guy Mason

John, good luck in retirement and thank you for all the help, support and guidance you gave me whilst teaching at CHS. You were and still are a source of great inspiration and I still find myself thinking how would John deal with this situation. I thoroughly enjoyed our time coaching the 1st XI cricket team with you and going to Portugal with the 1st XI footballers too - shame your coaching shirt never came back but I seem to remember you acquired a TV remote control?! Enjoy what lies ahead and I hope to see more of you and your family and your grand children. Very best wishes, Guy.

Andrew Chicken

Cheadle Hulme School Staff 1992 - 2001.

For three decades John Winter has cared deeply for every member of the Cheadle Hulme School Community. His open mind and sensitive ear built confidence and offered reassurance in some turbulent times. John was strongly committed to breadth in education, giving generously of his time and talents across a wide range of activities both inside and outside the classroom. He was swift to see the best in people and worked tirelessly to build a school in which each individual could grow and flourish. A strong role model and a lasting source of inspiration to many, he sustains and personifies the ethos of Cheadle Hulme School.

Annette Gardener

Happy Retirement John!

Luci Howarth

Happy Retirement John!

Barbara Myers

My best wishes for a happy and well deserved retirement. Welcome to the club, John!

Miko Johnson

Dear John,You can't yet be old enough to retire, so I'm assuming you've decided early retirement is the way to go! You have been part of the fabric of all that is good about CHS and you will be remembered fondly by staff and students alike, myself included. I wish you much happiness and laughter in your next adventure.Miko x

Paul Dixon

I would like to wish John all the best for his well earned retirementHe has been a loyal and totally committed member of staff at CHS and will be remembered by thousands of former pupils whose lives he changed for the better. They will all remember him fondly for his fairness , patience and high standards, qualities so characteristic of the CHS approach to life.With best wishes, Paul Dixon

Donald Wilkinson

John Winter came to Cheadle Hulme School in 1993 to take on the role of Head of German. It was clear at interview that he had great potential. German had been well led previously (by Catherine Buckley) and we were keen to keep its popularity going. At a time when Modern Languages were beginning to lose some of their sheen amongst pupils nationally if not at CHS, it was important that the new Head of Department had the ability, skills and personal qualities to ensure that we remained distinctive. John more than fulfilled those hopes. He was a brilliant teacher, always expecting the highest standards from his pupils – and almost always gaining them. His lessons were meticulously prepared, and fun to be in. The exchange visits he arranged were thoroughly enjoyed by both British and German students. Through his teamwork, he led his colleagues in exemplary fashion. German continued to flourish.

There was much more to John than his ability in the classroom. He was a complete schoolmaster. His particular contribution lay in the field of sport. As an accomplished footballer himself, he not only greatly strengthened the staff football team, but he played a critical role in the development of football at CHS after it was introduced as a major school sport in the mid-1990s. Like his teaching, his soccer coaching was outstanding. He consistently enabled individual players to improve and he forged competitive teams who, very importantly, played the game in the right spirit. Football was dear to my heart, but cricket even more so, and it was to CHS’s great good fortune that John shared that love of the game and stepped up to running the 1st XI as soon as he joined us. It is probably fair to say that CHS’s cricket was not one of its greater strengths in the years preceding John’s arrival, but its fortunes took a different direction thereafter. Coaching and practising became more frequent and much better organised. The XI’s game plan matured and gradually performance improved considerably. John’s intelligent, measured, careful, patient approach is ideal for this most cerebral of sports.Earlier in my time at CHS, we had reformed the way the Sixth Form was led and managed. Catherine Buckley oversaw the successful introduction of these changes and when she moved on to be Head of the Girls’ Division at King’s, Macclesfield, we needed a new Head of Sixth Form. We attracted very strong fields of applicants for posts, but there was little surprise amongst the senior team when John emerged as the strongest applicant, so in 1997 he became our new Head of Sixth Form. Very quickly, he proved his worth. He was an encouraging supervisor of pupils’ work and progress, and at the same time, through his natural quiet, but authoritative, demeanour enabled Sixth Formers to develop the self-discipline academic success – indeed any sort of success – requires. He became expert in providing UCAS advice. He quickly gained the confidence of the Sixth Form tutors and, this time in a wider field than his German department, built another very successful and unified team, revealing again the extent of his leadership potential.I left CHS in 2000, confident that the Sixth Form (and other sections of the School) were in good hands. I like to think that in my tenure as Head the School developed considerably. However, if that is the case, its progress was very heavily dependent upon very able people like John Winter who saw working in schools as a vocation and who gave unstintingly of their time and energy to their pupils. Of course, he went on to yet greater things within the School and I know that he will be hugely missed when he moves on to his well-deserved retirement.Oh, and there’s one more thing. John was, and is, an inveterate Manchester United supporter. That never did you any harm in seeking a job at CHS between 1990 and 2000. Let’s hope OGS brings a return of the glory days for John to enjoy.

Fergus Morris

Dear John,Thirty years is a long time and you have given so much to CHS; to students, to staff and to the school itself.It was great to get to know you during my time there and I can truthfully say that I have met very few people who are so universally respected and popular in their place of work.You fully deserve all of the tributes that will come your way, in spite of your unfortunate footballing loyalties but, like Herr Klopp, du bist wundebar.Take care,Ferg

Kurt Foster

Hi JohnI hope you enjoy your retirement as much as I enjoy mine! You deserve a well earned rest. It was always a pleasure to work alongside you during my time at CHS.Hope to catch up soon for that coffee we never got to take.CheersKurt

Anne Bolton

Dear JohnCheadle Hulme School has been so lucky to have you at the heart of its community in all your various guises over the past 27 years. I thoroughly enjoyed working with you during my time at CHS, and could see how well-regarded and well-loved you were by your many students. Your dedication, loyalty and kind personality earned huge respect. I can't believe you're about to be a grandfather. Along with retirement, being a grandparent is the best thing ever, so enjoy!

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