Deputy headteacher Wil Hulbert has been looking back on the highlights of a 35-year teaching career after he bid an emotional farewell to staff and children at Monkton Park Primary School last week.

Mr Hulbert, 57, of Dallas Road, retired on Friday after spending 26 years at the Chippenham school where he taught his sons, Lee, now 24, and Mark, 21.

He was given a send-off to remember after staff organised a party with teachers past and present, while each year group made him farewell cards.

Mr Hulbert said: “It has been a pleasure to teach at Monkton Park for 26 years, it is a lovely school, and the children are brilliant.

“It is really going to hit me on September 1 when the schools go back, but I am hoping to carry on as a supply teacher, I don’t want to cut myself off completely.”

During his career, which began in Surrey before he moved to teach at Tidworth Clarendon for three years, Mr Hulbert has seen some dramatic changes, including the introduction of IT suites to every school.

He said: “When I began teaching, we used blackboards, now it is all white boards, projectors and computers.

“It has changed a lot and there is a lot more paperwork these days, but I think it is important for schools to move with the times.

“The children on the whole don’t change, but they are a lot more independent and far more technology-aware these days.”

Mr Hulbert lists drama re-enactment days and Monkton Park School’s six winning entries in to the Chippenham carnival as highlights of his career, but says Ofsted inspections were his least favourite aspects of the job.

“We always did very well in inspections, but I know a lot of people who have given up on teaching because of the stress of Ofsted,” he said.

“The Chippenham Carnival was a big highlight for me. We used to have Carnival Club at the school on a Wednesday and the parents would come along and they would put so much work in to our float, it was brilliant.