The children from Salcombe C of E Primary School waved goodbye to their Head of School Andy Pugsley.

He had been at the school for five years.

In a letter to parents and carers, Mr Pugsley said: “When I first joined in September 2017, I know that there was going to be plenty to do to get the school back to where it belongs. Numbers of children were falling, there wasn’t a consistent staff team, changes of head’s of school and parents were not connected to the school. We brought about the notion of everyone working together as one ‘Team Salcombe’. This was the start of something amazing.”

Highlights of his time included going to London with Years five and six, camping out in a field as well as going paddle boarding and sailing.

The most difficult time was during Covid when the school was closed to most pupils. Mr Pugsley said: “Team Salcombe took on a different meaning. It meant getting supporting families with food parcels, giving telephone/ virtual hugs when we couldn’t support in person and to put together an online curriculum with next to little notice from the government. Celebration Assemblies become virtual with my bad dad dancing, and we still tried to keep everyone smiling!”

He is very proud of the ‘Good’ Ofsted grading that was awarded to the school after an inspection.

Mr Pugsley ended his letter by saying: “People have been saying to me, “You have done an amazing job since you arrived, the school has completely changed!” – I haven’t changed anything. It has only changed because of the ‘Team Salcombe’ around me. Together, we have made this school something that we can all be proud of and take onto the next level, next year. I will never forget my time here.”