THE staff and pupils of Ballinamallard Primary School have bid a fond farewell to a long-time member of staff following his recent retirement.

After 41 years working at the village primary school, caretaker and school bus driver Sammy Shaw retired on December 18.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter about his time working at the school, Sammy explained that over his 41 years there he had seen “big changes”, including three school extensions.

When asked about the highlights of his time working in the school, Sammy said that it had all been good. He added: “The best thing would have been the children – they were great. The children are the same on a Friday evening as they are on a Monday morning. When you’re working with adults, they can complain a wee bit on Monday mornings,” he laughed. When Sammy first started working at the school, his first job was a temporary position as a school bus driver. Prior to this, he had worked oversea in England as a lorry driver.

“A job came up after a couple of months and I applied for it, and I happened to get it,” he said.

Sharing a funny anecdote that has stuck with him over the years from his time at the primary school, Sammy said: “One of the teachers had given homework for the night and it was an A4 sheet of paper and the children had to put a line down it, a line across it, and write A,B,C,D, etc.

“Then the children had to draw for A, an apple; B, a bicycle, etc. And this wee fella, he used to be very interested in bulls. He put an apple for A, a bicycle for B, but he put a bull for C, and a donkey for D. The teacher called him up and said, ‘You shouldn’t have done that’. And he said, ‘No, you’re stupid – it’s a Charolais bull. “That was good,” laughed Sammy.

A keen fisherman, in his retirement, Sammy plans to spend more time by the lake. “I’ll do a bit of game fishing on Lough Erne and a bit of sightseeing,” he said.

Speaking fondly of his former colleagues, who he always had a great rapport with, Sammy said: “The staff are 100 per cent. To have a good school, you need a good secretary, and a good head teacher, Ballinamallard Primary School have always had both.

“I will miss the staff, and I’ll definitely miss the children, because I’ve always had a good way with them,” he told this newspaper.