An ex-school boss is setting up shop in a community woodland with a new business venture. Ceri Porter is trading in schoolbooks and classrooms for artisan coffees and a barista apron. The 52-year-old will be selling an assortment of hot and cold drinks, pastries and snacks from the Petite Retreat – a retro van – in Bearsted Woodland Trust. Ceri, her sister and their mum had been the owners of the independent primary school, Shernold, in Queen’s Avenue, Maidstone, which closed in 2021 after suffering knock-on effects caused by the pandemic. Low enrolment numbers and therefore low funds meant th…
