‘She will be sorely missed by everyone’

Lt-Governor Vice Admiral Sir Ian Corder and his wife are to leave the island later this year, as his term of office comes to an end.

The centre staff and members wished to thank Lady Corder for her support and efforts.

‘She will be very sorely missed by everyone here,’ said Mike O’Hara, one of the centre’s directors.

Lady Corder thanked everyone at the centre for their kind words and presents and said she would be sad to go.

‘It’s trying to raise the profile and raise awareness of the fantastic work they’re doing here,’ Lady Corder said of her work with the centre.

Since the relationship began in 2017, Lady Corder has seen a number of children who attended the centre grow and progress through the stages of their education.

Having made regular visits to the centre to sit in on the specialised lessons and spend time with the children, Lady Corder said she knew how much it meant to them.

‘They say “I wish school could be like this”, Teresa [O’Hara, centre manager] and Mike and the staff make it such fun for them,’ she said.

A current attendee of the centre, eight-year-old Daisy Clarkson, said that her favourite thing to do there was game time, where the students were allowed to interact and a play several educational games.

Daisy’s mother, Laura, said that while her reading was very good – she was currently enjoying the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – her spelling had fallen behind and this was what the centre helped with.

‘Her teacher says she’s grown so much in confidence since coming here,’ she said.

She added that the centre had been helping students and parents even throughout lockdown, when Daisy had said that she missed coming in for her extra lessons.

Mrs O’Hara said that Lady Corder’s support had been a blessing over the years and was invaluable to the centre and its students

‘It made a real difference to the children,’ she said.