SOUTH Tawton Primary School's annual PTA barbecue last Thursday was particularly special — it was the last PTA barbecue before the retirement of long-standing teacher Martin Unwin.

Martin has been teaching at the primary since 1989, and has become a big part of school life, involved in many extra-curricular activities and events.

After teaching in Devon for 35 years, Martin is enrolling in a forest school course at Duchy College, to become involved with outdoor education.

Headteacher Heather Poustie had glowing praise for Martin: 'He's made a fantastic contribution, and is an inspiration for the children. He's really engaged them with nature in particular — every child here can tell you the difference between a house-martin, a swallow, and a swift!

'He's just been a really important part of the children's lives, and I think the parents and children would all say that.

'It's immeasurable how much they will miss him. Hopefully, he'll be coming back as part of the forest school, and he gets involved with lots of other things, so it won't be the end of their time with him, but he'll be missed here.'

Three words sprung to mind for Martin when asked about what South Tawton Primary meant to him: 'Happiness, friendship and family, I think that above all comes through. It's such a good community.

' People work tirelessly for the children here, and you can see that with the fantastic turnout today. It's been an honour to be a part of this community, and I'm going to miss it hugely.

'The thing I'll miss the most is all the people I've worked with. But they all know where I live. I don't think I'll be isolated from them because they're my friends. I think that's one of the things I've felt that's been so special about this school.

'Over the years I've been here, there's no division between parents, teachers, all the staff who contribute to the overall well-being of the children in the school. I've got very good friends here.'