A HEAD teacher said an emotional farewell to the school he had been at for 20 years last week.

Peter Fielden, 58, who spent ten years as deputy head and ten years as head at Roysia School, had a surprise assembly organised for him, with children, parents and staff presenting him with gifts.

Mr Fielden said: “The assembly was very moving and great fun. All the children had written farewell messages, and they presented me with a scrapbook with photos from past and present.

“Everyone was extremely kind, giving me many gifts – including a gold-sprayed litter-picker, as I was often seen picking rubbish up around the school!”

A teacher for 35 years, Mr Fielden had began work at a senior school in Rickmansworth, before moving to Doncaster and Kidderminster, where he taught science.

He landed the deputy head position at Roysia in 1990, in order to be nearer to his wife’s parents, who lived in Kent.

“I didn’t know the school that well when I got the job,” he said.

“We had three small children though and wanted to move closer to my wife’s parents. Since then, we have lived in Royston for 20 years, and all our children have been to Icknield Walk, Roysia and Meridian schools.”

Mr Fielden said his greatest achievements at the school involved the relationships he has created with parents, pupils and staff.

“Seeing people, whether it be students, their parents or my colleagues, achieve something they thought they could not, is a great satisfaction and is very rewarding.

“I enjoy feeling that parents can talk to me about issues then working with tem to resolve them.

“I wont enjoy Ofsted inspections or paperwork though. That is the side of the job I can do without!”

A New Year’s Eve trip to Paris is first on the retirement agenda for Mr Fielden and his wife, while he will also be making more frequent trips to Newcastle to visit his son, a Newcastle Falcons rugby player, and his daughter, a lecturer at Northumbria University.

“I aim to travel around and visit family a bit more, including my children, and brothers in Australia,” he said. “I hope to do a bit more bird watching and gardening too, and generally take time to relax.

Current deputy head Zoe Linington will step into Mr Fielden’s shoes from January.