A teacher has returned to lead her former school more than 30 years since first entering its gates as a pupil.

Kate Espley, from Canterbury, is back at Holywell Primary in Upchurch, Sittingbourne, to become its new head of school.

The 40-year-old first attended the site as a seven-year-old and completed her first full year back in 1990.

Mrs Espley, who has also been headteacher at Eastry Church of England Primary School in Sandwich and whose mum also taught at Holywell previously, took over her new position shortly after Easter.

She admits the nostalgia and adding to the Forge Lane site’s exising reputation was too good to turn down.

"The amount of familiar faces I saw on my first day was incredible, especially parents and grandparents who I recognised from when I was at the school,” she explained.

"So that was really nice, as was seeing my old netball coach Dawn Hearn - who still works here.

"She is one of the reasons why I love outdoor activities like hiking and netball now, so to see her again is really amazing.

"The buildings have developed too – whereas back in my time we had a swimming pool, we now have a forest area which is like a sheltered nature space and that’s really stimulating for the children.

"So it’s fantastic to see how it is still such a great positive place in the community, which is massively important, and it’s this theme of happiness that I want to install here.”

When asked what she plans to change about the Upchurch site, she admits her main target is to “finesse” Holywell’s reputation in the village and beyond by giving pupils the opportunity to grow ahead of their jump to secondary school.

“Of course we want to keep making progress,” Mrs Espley added.

"Working as part of the EKC Schools Trust, I have obviously worked really closely with all the schools who are involved in the Trust, so that's why I couldn’t turn the job down.

"I also don't want to change anything major because my vision is about finessing all the practices in place now, as the school was already in such a good place when I arrived.

"I hope to be here for the school's future as I enjoy the sense of community which is installed in the village here and the way families really support the school well.

"The people here want to be part of the children's education, so when you add that with the insane care of the staff that work here, you can see why everyone goes the extra mile.

"A primary school is the foundation for any young person in their life, and that's why we are making sure this is a wonderful place to be so that when they leave, they do so with individuality and are good at building relationships.

"We have about 200 pupils here and some great secondary and grammar schools nearby, so we intend to use our position as something of a geographical epicentre in Swale and Medway to propel pupils forward with confidence.”