It may look like a tatty old garden seat, but it’s the template for a very special memorial.

Last month, one of the Chippendale school’s longest-standing members of staff died.

Isobel Edgar (pictured below), the school’s student welfare officer, had worked with the Chippendale team for 25 years, and passed away following a stroke.

This month, we’re planning to remember Isobel with a fitting memorial that we know she would love.

Our tatty old garden seat is to be copied, with all our students and members of staff contributing a small piece.

The completed pieces, under the supervision of deputy principal Tom Fraser (pictured), will then be assembled and the finished bench placed in the school’s grounds, with a tree planted beside it, offering views over the surrounding countryside.

It’s a panorama that Isobel was fond of and will afford staff and students in the future a place of peace and quiet contemplation.

We’ll mark the placing of the completed bench with both solemnity and remembrance for a valued and irreplaceable member of our school community.