HEAD teacher Peter Smith said goodbye to pupils today after 20 years at Manor CE School in York.

Mr Smith, who is 60 on Christmas Day, is retiring after 37 years in teaching.

Originally from Ripley, near Harrogate, Mr Smith started his career as a chemistry teacher in Colchester, moving to Liverpool, Penistone in South Yorkshire, then Leeds, before starting at Manor in 1981.

In 1985 he saw through the change from secondary modern to comprehensive and was the only head teacher in York to stay at the same school after the changeover. At Manor, pupil numbers went up to more than 600, new staff were appointed and more facilities, like new science blocks, were built.

Since then he has seen the school grow even more and he mentioned improving exam results, the success of the school's ManJazz band and obtaining the Sportsmark as recent sources of pride.

"I have mixed feelings on retiring. In some ways I'm sad to be going and I shall miss the children, but in other ways I'm looking forward to retirement and a new phase in my life," he said.

"The achievement of individual pupils has given me the most pleasure, pupils who've struggled then overcome difficulties and have done really well and the support from an excellent staff I've been fortunate to work with.

"Being a head has become more difficult over the years. There are more demands on schools and teachers. Teaching has become a more difficult job. I still think it is a very rewarding job and still a job I would recommend people to do.

"I think there is more of a tendency by pupils to challenge authority than there used to be. But there is an easier contact between teachers and pupils.

"And I think schools can easily be judged on statistics these days and it is a dangerous ways of measuring schools' success. The most important things in schools can't be measured."

Mr Smith, from Skelton, a church organist, said he hoped to teach piano and organ after retirement, to do more work as a York magistrate and travel more.

Last night, a special evening was held at the school, which was attended by colleagues and friends, past and present.

The climax was a This Is Your Teaching Life presentation that concluded with a personal message from the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope. His leaving gift from school was a set of garden furniture.

The new head teacher next year will be Brian Crosby, currently assistant head at Archbishop Holgate's CE School, also in York.

Updated: 11:16 Wednesday, December 19, 2001