FORMER pupils of Cliff Lane Primary School have a chance to see their former headteacher before he retires on Wednesday.Roy Blunden has been the headteacher since 1984 and has helped transform the appearance of the school.

FORMER pupils of Cliff Lane Primary School have a chance to see their former headteacher before he retires on Wednesday.

Roy Blunden has been the headteacher since 1984 and has helped transform the appearance of the school.

An open house event will be held from 3pm to 5pm on Monday and all former pupils are welcome to attend.

A leaving assembly will also take place on Tuesday involving some of the school's 350 children before Mr Blunden's last day on Wednesday.

From the beginning of his time at Cliff Lane, he has wanted to improve the facilities and, earlier this year, work was completed on a £350,000 project to install a nursery and build a new reception and administration area.

Mr Blunden, 60, is expecting Wednesday to be an emotional day and has experienced many changes in his time at the school. He said: "It will be very hard at the end, but I am leaving behind a legacy for my successor.

"Going back to 1984, computers were only just introduced and driven by a cassette tape. All the classrooms had blackboards, now they have got whiteboards. Boys and girls wore ties and just about everybody walked to school.

"There were no carpets anywhere and the old staff room was abysmal, but that has all changed now.

"I will not miss a lot of the hassle and a lot of the paperwork. But talking to the kids is something that is really nice and you get a buzz out of that."

n Owain Richards will be the new headteacher at Cliff Lane Primary School. He comes to Ipswich from Essex where he had been the deputy headteacher of a school in Great Bentley.

n What are your memories of life at Cliff Lane Primary School with Roy Blunden as headteacher? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send us an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk