Tears as head resigns

A SUFFOLK primary school headteacher will put his chalk away for the last time when he leaves teaching behind to tackle a new challenge.

Devastated staff wept as Mike Jude told them he would quitting his seven year tenure as Headmaster at Trimley St Mary at the end of this term.

The 50-year-old will take on the role of General Primary School Adviser for the southern area of Suffolk, based at County Hall in Ipswich, after Easter.

Meanwhile an acting headmaster is being sought to fill the void that the well-loved principal leaves.

Colleagues said he will be sorely missed and could not see how anyone could replace him.

"He is a wonderful person. Kind, considerate and always smiling." said Beverly Williams, a clerical assistant at the school since Mr Jude started.

"The children love him so much they make excuses to see him and will often proudly march off to his office to show him their work."

Although looking forward to his new job, Mr Jude said: "I have mixed feelings about it. I will miss the community feel of working in the school, and especially the children, but it is time for a new challenge."

His wife, Janet, is also a teacher at the school and together with their two children, Philip, 19, and Emma, 17, entirely supports him in what they see as exciting move.

Last year the school won the Department for Education and Skills award for greatly improved standards from 1999 to 2001.

Mr Jude said: "This was the highpoint of my career at Trimley. I am particularly pleased as the award recognised the hard work of children, parents and teachers in sustaining standards of numeracy and literacy."

Before taking charge at Trimley, Mr Jude spent ten years as the headteacher at Waldringfield Primary School. He founded a federation of primary schools, including Bealings, Bucklesham, and Nacton, encouraging the children and teachers to work together to provide better education for all.

After Waldringfield, Mr Jude spent year as the acting head of Parham primary.