AFTER 24 years Alan Voyce is preparing to bid farewell to the school he has come to love.

The King William Street Primary School headteacher will be walking out of the school gates for the last time next month.

But his staff will be throwing him a farewell party and are hoping as many of his former pupils and staff as possible will be there to reminisce about his time at the Old Town school.

"I first came to Swindon in 1982," said Mr Voyce. "Previously I had been teaching in a large school in Sussex so it was quite a change for me to be at King William Street, which was so small.

"But I will be 60 in January and after 24 years I think this is a good time to go."

Mr Voyce is planning to stay in the area but books, marking and league tables will be far from his mind."I think I'll just have a rest for a while," he said.

Because King William Street is such a small school Mr Voyce is not the type of head to hide away in his office. In fact his office door opens up into the playground.

"I like the fact that this is a small school because you get to know all of the children and the children all get to know each other," he said.

During his time at the school Mr Voyce has taught several generations of the same family.

"The people here are wonderful," he said. "You don't have to put on any airs and graces and everyone is friendly.

"The pupils really make this school and I will miss them."

One of Mr Voyce's most memorable moments at the school was in 1995. "We had a school play about the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War," he said.

"A former pupil was an evacuee and lived in a house that a current pupil was living in.

"It was lovely for her to visit the house and we made her a guest of honour at the performance."

Mr Voyce says the fact that he only has a month left at the helm of the school hasn't hit him yet.

"I'm am so busy still but it will hit me and I'm sure I'll have mixed emotions," he said.

"I'm looking forward to having time to relax but I'll miss everyone.

"I'll miss individual achievements like when a pupil first learns to swim and the big things when we have a great school nativity at Christmas."

Year One and Two teacher Claire Jones, who has been at the school for four years say she is going to miss her boss.

"Alan is one of the nicest people I have ever worked for," she said. "He is understanding and compassionate to the children. He has been like a father figure to many people."

The deputy headteacher from Lydiard Millicent Primary School, Simon Burrell, will be taking over the headship in September.

The farewell cheese and wine party will be on Friday, July 14 from 6pm to 9pm at the school. Anyone who would like to say farewell to Mr Voyce should call Julie Holland on 01793 522346. Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult.