FORMER Olympic athlete Nick Rose has enjoyed inspiring pupils to take part in sport during his 15-year tenure as a teacher at Parson Street Primary School in Bedminster.
The European 10k record holder is retiring from the profession to concentrate on his business, a running shop in Westbury Park.
The 60-year-old, who lives in Stoke Bishop with his wife Christine, took teaching qualifications after hanging up his running shoes as a professional athlete aged 43.
He said: "I've got great memories. I've always had a passion for health and fitness and I've tried to instil that in the children.
"We see more and more about obesity so I try to explain how important exercise is and encourage them not to sit in front of an Xbox or computer."
Mr Rose has served as a relief teacher to allow other teachers at the school to complete their class planning and marking.
He said: "I take classes for 10 members of staff a week and know the names of 280 children. I have a different class every day. I will miss the children and the staff – it's a very caring school and I've been very fortunate to have been part of the team here."
Angela Burridge has fond memories of the successes she achieved during her headship at Brentry Primary School.
She joined as a head teacher in 2004 after working in education in Bristol and North Somerset for 30 years.
Mrs Burridge, who oversaw the school achieving an outstanding rating from Ofsted, said: "I have loved my time at Brentry where the children, parents and staff are enthusiastic and fun to be around."
During her time in charge, the school has won the Bristol Schools Maths Challenge twice, gained International School, Healthy Schools Plus and Rights Respecting Schools awards and won the Bristol Schools Green Challenge.
Mrs Burridge said: "The pupils have made me very proud to be their head teacher.
"That is what I am going to miss most – the children their laughter and chatter and the friendship of all the staff.
"I am going on to travel, take up photography again, really look into my family history, perhaps write and definitely become 'a lady who lunches'."
Graham Thresher, 58, has retired after 37 years of teaching at Mangotsfield School.
The PE teacher, who also taught children with special needs, has seen three of the pupils go on to become professional footballers.
Mr Thresher, whose father Mike made 450 appearances for Bristol City, oversaw the development of former England defender Keith Curle, Aston Villa striker Gary Penrice and City full back Andy Llewellyn. Since starting at the Chase School for Boys as it was known in the mid 1970s, he has led teams to eight county football cups.
Mr Thresher, who lives in Portishead with his partner Bobbie Vowles, plans to move to Dorset in October to enjoy his retirement.
The sports enthusiast, who has seen the school grow in size from 700 pupils to more than 1,500, said he would miss the companionship he shared with students and staff.
Mr Thresher said: "I've enjoyed the special needs part of my job the most – seeing the progression some of them make and prepared well for their future careers. It's been just as rewarding to me as seeing sixth formers going off and getting degrees."
Graham's colleague Jim Hudson, 59, is bowing out after 37 years in the science labs. He spent 22 years at Mangotsfield after spells at Whitefield School in Fishponds and in Nailsea. He is excited to be leaving behind the "structured" life of a teacher to enjoy mountain walking in Scotland and Wales in his retirement.
Mr Hudson, who lives with his wife Liz in Downend, witnessed the boom in the use of technology in the classroom during his career and said the standard of teachers had improved "dramatically".
He said: "Teaching has become more political and it's changed from being a job where people could be trusted to get on with things. But some of the teachers now are far better than they were when I started.
"A big change has been in the use of computers – there wasn't one in school when I started and now there are hundreds. They are a useful tool but it's good fun doing real experiments and seeing things for real."
Mr Hudson said he would miss the camaraderie of the staff and working as part of a team, adding: "The children come and go but the staff have been much more of a constant feature."
End of term marked the double retirement of Caroline Aspden, after nine years as head teacher of Colston's Lower School, and her husband Nigel, after eight years of teaching at the Upper School.
They have been saying their farewells to staff, pupils, parents and friends before returning to their home in Whitby, North Yorkshire.
The school's headmaster Peter Fraser said: "Mrs Aspden has led the Lower School with distinction for the past nine years. I, for one, know of her capacity for hard work, her unstinting commitment to high standards, and focus on each and every pupil.
"In common with all Lower School parents I would want to thank Mrs Aspden for her kindness and care for our youngest pupils. I would pay tribute to her loyalty, sensitivity and commitment to the highest standards."
Pat Fitton, 59, deputy head teacher at St Philip's Marsh Nursery School, has retired following working in nursery education for 48 years in England, New Zealand and Australia.
Mrs Fitton, who lives in St Andrew's with her husband Mark, taught at St Werburgh's Park Nursery before moving to St Philip's 18 years ago.
She said: "I have mixed feelings about leaving. I know I'm going to miss it but I will still have a connection with the school and help with the garden."
After taking a well-earned break in Portugal, Mrs Fitton plans to buy a camper van to enjoy her new found freedom by travelling the world.
She said: "What I've enjoyed most is the privilege and honour of people entrusting me with their most loved children. I've also loved the creative way you can teach in a nursery – you can do things in a artistic way and make it more exciting.
"I'll miss the friendships I've made – it's a lovely school and we are all very good friends."
Elizabeth Stenner, who teaches Year 3 and Year 4 pupils, leaves Cheddar Grove Primary School in Bedminster Down after 27 years' service.
Cheddar Grove was a junior school when she joined and the National Curriculum had not been introduced. Mrs Stenner remembers when the school had a single BBC computer which was wheeled around the classrooms on a trolley.
She said: "It's incredible how things have changed – now we have a computer in each room and pupils have got notebook computers and staff have got iPads.
"More is expected of the children now and things are more results focussed."
Watching the children progress during the school year is one of the things Mrs Stenner, from Ashton, will miss most.
She said: "It's great to compare how they were at the start of year and how they are at the end, and seeing how things have clicked into place. I'll also miss the laughs and jokes we have amongst the staff and children. I'll still be keeping in touch with people here."
Head teacher Claire Waters said she would look back on her eight years in charge of St Barnabas Primary School in Montpelier with great pride and affection.
The 58-year-old said her much-loved pupils were the "most talented and creative bunch it would be possible to find anywhere".
Mum-of-two Mrs Waters, who lives in Cotham with her husband John, has been at the school since 2000 and previously taught at nearby Sefton Park Primary School for 12 years.
She said: "It's been an absolute privilege to have been head teacher at St Barnabas – it's a shining example of how great an inner city school can be. It's been a collaborative effort and I've been amazingly well supported.
"The parents are absolutely lovely and really help their children, whom I will miss so much."
Travelling and walking are two of the things Mrs Waters is planning to enjoy more in her retirement.
She said: "I won't be sitting around at home doing nothing. I want to spend more time with my family and I also might try something completely different."
Linda Edgar believes the emergence of Ofsted inspections has been the biggest change she has witnessed in her 35 years at Winterbourne Down Pre-School.
She said education policy had gone round in a full circle since she began the pre-school in 1977, when the cost of a morning's nursery care was just 50 pence.
Mother-of-two Mrs Edgar, who lives in Winterbourne Down with her husband Ian, said: "Ofsted has been a big change and some of the regulation but it goes in a full circle – we used to be told that children should learn through play and we are being told that again now."
She started at the pre-school as an assistant when it was based at the Bethesda Chapel before it moved to All Saints' Church Hall.
Mrs Edgar, 60, said: "I'll miss being with the children, caring for them, nurturing them and seeing how they grow."
Jenny Light and Liz Leonard have left their roles as teaching assistants at Cadbury Heath Primary School after a combined 60 years' service.
Mrs Light, 63, who lives in Warmley, worked as a dinner lady and a general assistant before she became a TA. She said: "I've loved every minute of it the 30 years and will miss everybody. I'm looking forward to doing all the things I couldn't normally do – like looking after my mum. We have a touring caravan and might do a bit of that as well.
Mrs Leonard, 59, from Cadbury Heath, worked with children with special needs. She said: "I loved my job and didn't want to give it up. I will miss it because it's a lovely school."
Peter Day has stepped down after spending 25 years serving as a governor for St Michael's Primary School in Stoke Gifford.
The 57-year-old remained a governor after his three daughters had progressed through the school, which has seen its capacity grow from 120 pupils to 630 during that time.
Mr Day, part of a 18-strong team of governors, said: "It's going to be a bit of a wrench to leave. I've worked with some very good people and tried to make the school the best it could be and provide the best education.
"I would like to think I've made a contribution to the school.
"As governors, we get to direct the school and that can be extremely satisfying."
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