A much-loved Bridlington School teacher is hanging up her whistle after 20 years of inspiring generations of pupils – but retirement will be anything but quiet for Sarah Green.
Sarah, who has taught Physical Education at the school since 2006, is retiring after a career that has taken her around the world before returning to her hometown.
Born and raised in Bridlington, Sarah attended Headlands School before beginning her working life at Bridlington Town Hall on a Youth Training Scheme. She later spent four years in the pcouncil’s legal department before deciding to pursue a teaching career, graduating from Leeds in 1995.
Her first teaching role took her to Hong Kong, where she worked as a youth worker and teacher with children from military families. It was there she met her late husband, Paul, who was serving in the Royal Air Force.
The couple returned to the UK to marry in 1997 before RAF postings saw Sarah teach PE in Belfast for a year and Antrim for two years. After a spell at RAF Cosford, where daughter Molly was born, the family moved to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, where son Jack arrived.
When Paul completed 31 years’ service in the RAF, the family hoped to return to Bridlington. Sarah said the timing could not have been more perfect.
“It was almost as though the stars aligned,” she said. “The day Paul applied for redundancy, a PE teaching post came up at Bridlington School, allowing us to come home in September 2006.”
Paul retrained as a teaching assistant at Martongate Primary School, a role he loved, before his death in 2011 from a condition linked to his service during the Second Gulf War.
During her two decades at Bridlington School, Sarah has taught PE, served as Head of Year and also stepped in to teach Drama, Religious Education and English whenever needed.
Alongside her classroom role, she has dedicated more than 20 years to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme as its voluntary manager, helping hundreds of young people achieve Bronze, Silver and Gold awards.
Among her proudest memories are attending Buckingham Palace to see Gold Award recipients receive their honours and hearing from former students who have gone on to successful careers.
Sarah also became involved with the Combined Cadet Force when her daughter Molly joined as a Year 8 cadet. With no female staff available to accompany trips, Sarah volunteered and has since become Officer Commanding the RAF Section, a role she has led since 2021 and intends to continue voluntarily.
She is equally proud that Molly has followed her father’s footsteps into the RAF, serving as an RAF nurse for the past five years at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, while son Jack has completed a Sports Coaching degree at the University of Sunderland and now works back in the local area.
Although retiring from full-time teaching, Sarah is far from slowing down. From September she will continue working with the School Sports Partnership, organising sporting events and staff training for local primary schools, while also teaching for ActFast First Aid in Beverley and running her own first aid courses across the Bridlington area.
Reflecting on her career, Sarah said the greatest reward has always been seeing young people grow in confidence and succeed – something she has helped countless Bridlington pupils achieve over the past 20 years.
