A Fond Farewell to Mrs Hooke

Mrs Hooke has taken the very difficult decision to retire after teaching Piano, Keyboard and Theory here at Penwortham Girls’ for over 20 years. As well as being a talented pianist, Mrs Hooke also enjoys writing her own music and this is one thing I know she is looking forward to in the future. 

Mrs Hooke has been a tremendous support, not only to the many hundreds of students she has taught in her time here but also to the other peripatetic staff and not to mention myself and my colleagues in the Music Department. 

In her time with us, Mrs Hooke embodied every single one of our PGHS Core Values.  She is ambitious for her students, always encouraging them to reach their potential; She is compassionateand always has a friendly ear for anyone whenever they need it.  She is dignified- always treating everyone with respect (even if they forgot what time their lesson was!) Mrs Hooke encouraged her students to be curious by seeking out new music and new styles to play.  She encouraged students to show social responsibility by working together effectively with each other in musical ensembles and our school productions.  Most of all, Mrs Hooke was resilient and encouraged her students to be too. To be a successful musician, you must be resilient; learning to play an instrument is not easy and can only be done by practising over and over and over again. 

Mrs Hooke, we will all miss you tremendously, your kind, caring and gentle nature and welcoming smile. We wish you a very happy, enjoyable and musical retirement and cannot thank you enough for everything that you have done for us all at Penwortham Girls’ High School.   

Mrs Cattanach
Associate Assistant Headteacher
Curriculum Leader for Music

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