She’s been the gateway to Gordon’s, the first person any prospective parent speaks to and in her hands have lain the hopes and dreams of around sixteen thousand children.
Sue Tozer is finally leaving Gordon’s after 26 years of dedicated service, first as assistant to the PA to the Head, which involved admissions, and then dealing with admissions for both school and sixth form together as well as all the year groups inbetween, and now as Admissions Registrar (Main School).
But for those that know her and have worked with her, leading the sedentary lifestyle of some retirees is certainly not in her nature. A prolific folk dancer and adventurous traveller (Galapagos, Australia, the Caribbean to name but a few! Also Machu Picchu as sighted guides to blind holiday makers!) alongside husband of 41 years Mike a Jubilee Sailing Trust volunteer, she is also a newly-made grandmother and plans to add to her extensive list of activities by joining walking groups and days out lunching with friends and visiting further countries . Retirement, she says, will enable her “to have a bit more energy for other things we do. I’ll be able to have a snooze on a Wednesday afternoon before dancing in the evening with a bit more vigour!”
Early school reports speak of ‘…her reliability and common sense have made her an example to the class’. Later ones spoke of her ‘quiet sense of humour’. Certainly, her teachers knew her well! Hers is a wicked sense of humour, with softly delivered quips that have all those around her guffawing.
Her father was a teacher so she was sent to St George’s, Harpenden, a state boarding school. After a stint at NatWest Bank, where she completed her Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, she ventured into working in education, performing a part time admin support role at Horsell Village Infant School to fit in with her children, where she was also responsible for first aid, school trips and milk money!
As her boys grew older, enabling her to work more hours, she answered an advert to work at Gordon’s, to cope with the burgeoning numbers applying for a place at the school of around 340 students (now almost 950!).
“When I arrived you could more easily get in if you wanted to” she recalled. “There were probably about 160 boarders then. When I first came there were junior and senior houses. Balmoral was for the boys in Years 7 and 8 and Sandringham for the boys in Years 9 to 11. Augusta House the junior house and Windsor House the senior house for girls. It’s now gone full circle with the opening of Woolwich House for Year 7 boarders!”
Her sons, Sam and Ben, joined her at Gordon’s for their Sixth Form.
In the last few years, Mrs Tozer has dealt with five applications for every Year 7 place available at Gordon’s, putting the school high up the league tables for the most over-subscribed in the country.
For the waiting lists, parents need to reconfirm every year if they wish their child to be on the list for the next academic year. Of course, there are also the Open Days in the Autumn Term – around eight of these together with pre-arranged tours for residential boarders who visit all year round. It’s only once a Main School student arrives that Mrs Tozer’s work is done.
Her office overlooks the Parade Square so for Friday Drill she has a ringside seat. “I think I won’t know how much I miss it until it’s gone. I can always put the videos on!” As to what else she will miss, she quickly answers: “Active children and the buzz about the place. The fact is, Gordon’s is not just the brochure and lists on the website. It happens. It is real. Under the leadership of Andrew Moss, Head Teacher, the school continues to go from strength to strength.”
“I’ll miss the people. Colleagues to work with and parents as customers to deal with. Whatever the outcome, whether they get a place for their child or not, they should be left with a warm, fuzzy feeling about Gordon’s. I can’t promise them a place, because there are procedures and policies for that but I want them to feel they were dealt with fairly and had a good experience visiting. Customer service is the thing.”
During her long career, Mrs Tozer says stand out moments include attending the The Patron’s Lunch at The Mall near Buckingham Palace (just the day before being given her last radiotherapy treatment for breast cancer) after winning a place through a ballot at Gordon’s as The Queen, of course, was our Patron. As a Gold DofE holder, she also attended a celebration ceremony at Guildford Cathedral. Other special memories of her long career include the chapel services at Christmas, her last one in December 2022 she was asked to read a lesson which was a poignant moment.
The worst part of her job, she says, is dealing with disappointed parents: “When they are crying on the end of the phone and you know that due to the oversubscription of the school that they are not likely to get a place, dealing with that disappointment.”
In his book ‘From Children’s Home to CBE’ former Headmaster of Gordon’s Denis Mulkerrin wrote this fitting tribute to Mrs Tozer: ‘The hardest working person in all of this was the indomitable Sue Tozer, who did all the vital administration and communication with parents. Her attention to detail was outstanding and she never got flustered. She also loved her job’.
Categories: Gordon's School
